Integrated

Wastewater
Management :
Applicability in
developing countries

Yudha Panji A
a Department of Environmental Infrastructure Engineering,
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Bandung Institut
of Technology, Indonesia
 Integrated Wastewater Management :
Applicability in developing countries
Yudha Panji A
a
Department of Environmental Infrastructure Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Bandung Institut of Technology, Indonesia

I. KEY ISSUE

T HE global demand for water is expanding due to

population growth, rising standards of living,
urbanization, increasing economic activities and
expanding areas of irrigated agriculture. Therefore, improved
water demand management and development of new water
resources are needed. Inadequate wastewater treatment
resulted in a serious deterioration of existing water resources
as well as seas and oceans in many regions.
The modern wastewater management system takes into
consideration the life cycle of the wastewater, from generation
until ultimate reuse schemes (Durham et al., 2003). The major
functional elements of wastewater management are generation
and composition, collection, treatment (including sludge
treatment) and disposal and reuse (Abbassi et al., 2000).
Proper wastewater management can contribute efficiently in
solving the problems associated with the scarce freshwater
resources. The relationship between the different functional
elements and the water demand represents the integration of
wastewater management system (InWEnt, 2006).
The most important criteria for long-term sustainability of
wastewater management implementation are affordability
(capital and O&M costs), functionality (possibly with locally
available staff and support), reliability (e.g., safe effluent for
water reuse), environmentally sound (e.g., little sludge
production and low energy consumption) and climate
suitability (temperature specific).
The overall objective of this chapter is to provide guidance
on decision making in wastewater management. The specific
aim of integrated wastewater management is to incorporate the
selection of cost-effective and efficient wastewater treatment
technologies with the ultimate disposal and reuse schemes.

Picture 1.1 Wastewater treatment plant in Massachusetts, United States; 1.2 Waste
disposal in Accra, Ghana; 1.3 The outlet of the Karlsruhe sewage treatment plant flows
into the Alb.

Source:1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewage_treatment 2.
http://www.returnrecycling.com/blog/2015/11/21/waste-disposal-in-accra-ghana
3.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MiRO3.jpg
II. KEY FINDING
The functional elements of integrated wastewater
management system are generation and composition,
collection, treatment (including sludge treatment) and disposal
and reuse. A successful wastewater management decision
requires a comprehensive, impartial evaluation of centralized
and decentralized treatment systems. However, centralized
systems should be evaluated based on the investment of the
associated collection sewers and their operation and
maintenance (O&M). Selecting appropriate technology for
wastewater treatment should be based on area-specific
integrated factors such as land availability, wastewater quality,
desired finished water quality, socio-economic factors and
local and provincial regulations.
2.1. GENERATION AND DECOMPOSITION
Wastewater generation represents the first element in a
wastewater management system that ensures a proper design
of successive unit operations and unit processes for both
collection and treatment. Generally, municipal wastewater
stream can be separated into three components, namely black
water (water containing feces), yellow water (water containing
urine) and grey water (wastewater from washing machines,
showers, baths or cleaning and possibly from kitchen sinks).
These components differ greatly in composition and
concentration of the various constituents.
Streams like black water and kitchen refuses are high in
organic load and conversion into biogas via anaerobic
treatment appears to be attractive. Black water is of major
concern with respect to health risks (pathogens and
pharmaceutical residuals). Yellow water contains high
amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus and could be used as a
source for fertilizer. Grey water can be purified relatively
easily and used for several reuse purposes (e.g., flushing
toilets, cleaning and irrigation).
2.2 WASTEWATER COLLECTION AND MAINTENANCE
Wastewater collection represents the major element in an
integrated wastewater management system and conventionally
accounts for 50 to 70% of the total implementation cost of the
entire functional elements of wastewater management.
Different types of collection systems are available and the
choice between them is based on generated wastewater stream
characteristic, wastewater treatment system (centralized or
decentralized), area-topographical condition and financing
affordability.
2.3 WASTEWATER TREATMENT
Generally, centralized and decentralized wastewater treatment
using biochemical reaction principles can be broadly classified
into high- and low-rate systems. High-rate (intensive) systems
imply a treatment in small reactor volume at high microbial
concentration. In low-rate (extensive), wastewater is treated at
larger reactor volume with lower microbial concentration.
2.4 SELECTION OF APPROPRIATE WASTEWATER TREATMENT
SYSTEM
The selection of specific unit processes depends not only on
the nature of wastewater, including degradability and
treatability by selected processes, but also on discharge
requirements. Other important factors are environmental
impact, land availability, projected life of plant design and
cost. All the relevant factors in process selection should be
considered, although their relative importance will vary due to
social, environmental and political differences as well as
technological availability and expertise. Consideration and
selection procedure will vary according to whether the
treatment plant serves an urban or rural catchments area, or in
a developed or non-developed country (Metcalf and Eddy,
1991). Gray (1999) suggested guidelines in the form of
algorithms (Figure 3.1) to aid process selection for biological
wastewater treatment processes. These were based on yes/no
responses and so should be used in conjunction with more
detailed accounts of the application and suitability of unit
processes, such as those of Metcalf and Eddy (1991).
2.5 WASTEWATER REUSE
The reuse of treated wastewater can be a valuable alternative
to freshwater resources, especially in water-scarce countries.
Water reuse should be viewed as one of several alternative
sources of new water, all of which will be important tools in
the toolkit of the water manager of the 21st century (Miller,
2006). According to Sheikh (1998), water reuse projects are
often undervalued when compared to other projects as a result
of failure to properly quantify reuse benefits, such as
watershed protection, local economic development and public
health improvement. Today, technically proven wastewater
treatment and purification processes exist to produce water of
almost any quality desired. In the planning and
implementation process, the intended wastewater reuse
applications dictate the extent of wastewater treatment.
2.6 SELECTING APPROPRIATE REUSE APPLICATIONS
For proper selection of appropriate reuse technology, an
integrated approach is required, where technological,
economical, legal, social, environmental and institutional
aspects are considered. While technological and legal issues
might be easier to identify and tackle, special attention should
be given to market assessment for reuse options and to public
acceptance of reuse. The selection process should involve the
following steps:
● inventory of potential sources and demand for wastewater
● identification of legal requirements and responsible
institutions
● detailed analysis of reuse alternatives
● economic evaluation
● financial feasibility check
III. SCHEME The community should be able to finance the
implementation of the system, the operation and
maintenance including the capital improvement needed
in the future and the necessary long-term repairs and
replacements.
Understanding the receiving environment is crucial for
technology selection and should be accomplished by
conducting a comprehensive site evaluation process.
Developing guidelines for the selection of small
community wastewater treatment systems could
facilitate decision making.
Centralized management of the decentralized wastewater
treatment systems is essential to ensure they are
inspected and maintained regularly.
Providing local people with access to resources,
education and information necessary to influence
environmental issues that affect them is a crucial step
toward sustainable management of wastewater.
Strengthening the knowledge base of environmental
problems and solutions in developing countries,
reflecting scientific thought and country empirical
experience, is required.
Training programs for municipality employees are
Source : May A. Massoud a,*, Akram Tarhini b, Joumana A. Nasra; Decentralized essential for the proper operation and maintenance of
approaches to wastewater treatment and management: Applicability in
developing countries, Journal of Environmental Management equipment and facilities including monitoring of
wastewater quality.
While there are many impediments and challenges
concerning wastewater management in developing
countries, these can be overcome by suitable planning
and policy implementation.

This shows that a holistic view of the entire system is

required for a proper wastewater management, starting
from the wastewater generation until the ultimate
disposal, including reuse schemes. The decision
approach for wastewater management should include a
comparison between centralized and decentralized
treatment systems for the specific area of study. The
selection of the appropriate technology should consider
the financial and human capacities to properly operate
and maintain the facilities.Legal standards to regulate
wastewater reuse need to be adapted to local conditions.

V. REFERENCES
[1] Basssim Abbassi,Ismail Al Baz, “Integrated Wastewater Management A
Review,”
[2] May A Massoud, “Decentralized approaches to wastewater treatment
Source : Process selection algorithm for biological wastewater treatment (Gray, 1999) and management: Applicability in developing countries” Journal of
Environmental Management
[3] Ismail Al Baz (2008), “Efficient Management Wastewater” Its
Treatment and Reuse in Water-Scarce Countries : Springer,Verlag
IV. SUMMARY Berlin Heidelberg
[4] Abbassi B, Dullstein S, and Räbiger N. (2000). Minimization of excess
sludge production by increase of oxygen concentration in activated
Management strategies should be site specific accounting sludge flocs; experimental and theoretical approach. Water Res 34:139–
146.
for social, cultural, environmental and economic [5] Metcalf and Eddy. (1991). Wastewater Engineering: Treatment and
conditions in the target area. Disposal, third edition. McGraw Hill, New York.
The ‘‘Most Appropriate Technology’’ is the technology
that is economically affordable, environmentally
sustainable and socially acceptable.