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The traditional wastewater management concept (urban wastewater collection system plus treatment of the wastewater in a central treatment plant) has been successfully applied over many decades in densely populated areas of industrialized countries. Whether this technology is of ultimate wisdom must be questioned, especially considering the urgent need for improved sanitary infrastructures in developing countries. The problem is that the costs for implementing a centralized system in mega-cities, in particular the investment costs for the sewer system, are exorbitant. Decentralized wastewater management systems, with the wastewater treated close to where it is generated, are being considered by various researchers and institutions including the World Bank as an alternative to the traditional centralized system. The degree of technological sophistication that should be applied is under dispute, however. In this paper, we advocate development and application of high-tech on-site treatment plants, designed and fabricated by modern industrial methods. When mass produced, the costs for manufacturing such package plants can presumably be kept at a relatively low level. The plants should be delivered in a “user ready” state. Local plumbers may connect toilet bowls and sinks and washing machines, but may not be involved in the manufacturing of the treatment system. The plant should produce an effluent which is hygienically safe and can subsequently be utilized for toilet flushing, washing clothes, cleaning floors or watering lawns. In order to keep the plants operating properly, they should controlled by remote sensing, and maintained by specialized service enterprises. The conceptual design of such a compact plant is discussed in the form of a case study.
Wilderer et al. (Sat,) studied this question.