Dear Working Group 4 Members,

Trick or treat? Grey or black?
Implementing wastewater treatment systems is essential for achieving sanitation that is safely managed. However, many a local context does put restrictions on what is feasible on the ground in this regard.
The GIZ global programme Sanitation for MIllions, currently implementing in Jordan, Pakistan and Uganda, aims at creating and improving access to safe access to sustainable sanitation. Constructing in DEWATS in Pakistan and conducting a feasibility study on decentralzed treatment systems in Jordan, we have encountered challenges and obstacles, as well as chances and opportunities regarding the two last steps in the sanitation service chain - treatment and reuse/disposal.

We would like to share our learnings and exchange ideas with the wider sanitation practitioner community.
Thus, we suggest to have a joint webinar on the feasibility of implementing decentralized wastewater treatment systems in developing countries.

Looking forward to your comments and feedback!
Best, Alice

Dear Alice,

I find it would be a good idea to have a webinar on decentralised systems.
Although shallow / condominium sewers and decentralised treatment systems such as DEWATS have proved to be technically effective and financially efficient, they are not very often considered as an option at the design and planning stages. I found that quite often the research focuses on either centralised or individual sanitation solutions.
I would be interested in knowing more on the costing aspects along the whole sanitation chain (with a life cycle cost approach) and in cost sharing (in terms of access but also maintenance) between the public sector and the households.
My experience in a decentralised sanitation project in Egypt showed that this was a good opportunity (not without challenges) to share costs (and management) between the users and the governments / utilities which is potentially efficient in countries where both stakeholders have limited resources.
Best regards and looking forward,
Cécile

Dear Cécile,

thank you very much for your reply.
The costing aspect of decentralised treatment systems is definetly an aspect woth looking into and exchanging learninhs about!
Our project is actually constructing greywater treatment plants at mosques, an institutional setting within which the budget allocations derive from religious taxes and community donations. I believe it would be an added value to the sanitation community to have a joint webinar on this particular topic and open the floor for a discussion every participant can chip in. What do you think?

Best regards,
Alice

Hi alice

I would agree that a webinar or other sharing channel on decentralized sanitation would be useful

We have partners with housing projects in multiple African and Asian countries where community scale sanitation (not township or city or individual) is needed

Useful to understand what has been done and what could be done

Alice can you also post link for case studies you have?

Dennis

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.mcngreenmangroup.com
www.realchangeimpact.com
Ph +60169839715

Dear Alice

This is very good idea as interested person lives in the south Asia and Middle East (Iran) I have found decentralize sanitation very suitable for rural regions which face with drought . Since 2008 I participated in BGR symposium satiation and ground water protection I have been following this issue seriously particular decentralize sanitation (wetland) and bio waste which have not been applied here (Iran) yet, so I am very interested participating this joint webinar.

Regards;

Moahammad Mojtabaei
Telfax:0-0937629569
P.O Box:91865-358
Mashhad,Iran

Yes good to have a discussion/webinar on the setting up challenges of decentralised sanitation systems.

Dear all,

thank you for your responses and interest in the matter.
I am happy to see that there is motivation in the group to discuss the issue of decentralized sanitation. However, I would like to focus on decentralized treatment systems, looking especially on the costing and O&M of these systems.
Do you agree with me that we should narrow down the topic to this particular theme?

Cheers,
Alice

I'm happy to keep the focus on decentralized treatment systems Alice

Hello!! sorry for my English, this webinar would be very interesting, I am in Cameroon, it would really help me to start decentralized sanitation in the slums of my country. Cost and feasibility would be a very important aspect before launching this project Thanks you

Hi alice

Seems like lots of support !!!

You want to collaborate on content and arrangements for this webinar?

Let's get it together for November

Dear Alice

I suggest If you and all member group reach to final agreement please put briefing for construction conditions in webinar agenda for example consider climate condition and etc..

regards;
Mohammad

If you are putting such a webinar together I suggest you also take a look at this thread which was started by Dennis (ex-BORDA):
forum.susana.org/wastewater-characterisa...developing-countries (Communal wastewater characteristics and population equivalents in developing countries). In his post from 26 September ( forum.susana.org/wastewater-characterisa...tries?start=12#26150 ) he posted a list of literature. Going through that list you get a good overview of all the active players in the field of decentralised wastewater treatment systems, which you might consider including in such a webinar, e.g.:
- BORDA
- Uni KwaZulu Natal
- Marcos von Sperling
- The EAWAG/SANDEC ESRISS-project
- Pieter Crous
- Nicolas Reynaud

You can find more by filtering the library for decentralised treatment systems (only 6 entries to far though, I thought we had more): www.susana.org/en/knowledge-hub/resource...4&vbl_2%5B%5D=&test=

Or by filtering the project database by the same gives you these 41 projects:
www.susana.org/en/knowledge-hub/projects...4&vbl_2%5B%5D=&test=

Of course we also have a Wikipedia article on this topic (which needs further improvement):
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_wastewater_system

If you have a webinar that's great. Please use it to galvanise some energy to add to forum discussions, library collection, project database and Wikipedia article(s) so that the benefits of such a webinar go beyond the 60 minutes of attending the live session. Thanks!

Elisabeth