Urban Water Management

1
Module 3 Exploring the options

SWITCH Training Kit Module 3C Sustainable
wastewater management An overview
2
The issues facing urban wastewater management
Urbanisation
Population growth
Environmental impacts
Energy costs
3
Links between urban wastewater management and
other areas of the water sector
Water treatment
Stormwater management
Water supply
Water quality
4
Links between wastewater management and other
sectors of urban management
Energy
Housing
Parks, gardens and recreation
Farming
Local economic development
Health
5
The conventional approach

• Wastewater network to collect all wastewater
  streams from individual buildings
• Combined sewers
• Centralised treatment
• Discharge of treated effluent to receiving water
  bodies and disposal of sludge by-product

6
Drawbacks of the conventional approach to urban
wastewater management

• Pollution risk
• Cost
• Carbon emissions
• Failure to make use of resources
• Non-flexible

7
A more sustainable approach

• Separating wastewater flows such as urine,
  blackwater, greywater, industrial wastewater and
  stormwater at source
• Employing appropriate treatment methods
  (including natural systems) for different
  wastewater flows
• Reusing wastewater for different purposes

8
A more sustainable approach
Non-conventional wastewater treatment and reuse
options include

• Urine diversion toilets
• Greywater reuse systems
• Constructed wetlands
• Soil Aquifer Treatment (SAT)
• Waste stabilisation ponds
• Bio-energy production

9
Urban ecohydrology
10
Benefits of non-conventional wastewater
management solutions

• Increased access to sanitation
• Water savings
• Flexibility to change
• Reuse of nutrients for agriculture
• Financial savings
• Energy recovery
• Improved treatment

11
Why non-conventional wastewater management
solutions are more sustainable
Improved sanitation coverage Amenity value
Creation of renewable resources Low investment
and maintenance costs
Reduced risk of contaminated effluent being
discharged to the environment Reduced carbon
emissions
12
Examples of non-conventional wastewater
management options
13
Acknowledgements
This presentation has been produced as part of
the SWITCH Training Kit by
Ralph Philip and Barbara Anton ICLEI Local
Governments for Sustainability based on the
joint efforts of the following SWITCH
partners J.M. Cai (Chinese Academy of Sciences),
Y, Feng (Hamburg University of Technology), Y. Hu
(Hamburg University of Technology), W.H. Ji
(Chinese Academy of Sciences), K. Kujawa
(Wageningen University), A. Mels (Wageningen
University), R. Otterpohl (Hamburg University of
Technology), A. Roman (Hamburg University of
Technology), M. Sanz (UNESCO-IHE), M. Snel (IRC
International Water and Sanitation Centre), N.
Stoll (Hamburg University of Technology), F.
Tettenborn (Hamburg University of Technology), R.
van Veenhuizen (ETC Foundation), E. von Münch
(UNESCO-IHE), M. Winker (Hamburg University of
Technology), A. Adin (Hebrew University of
Jerusalem), A. Aharoni (Mekorot), G. Amy
(UNESCO-IHE), H. Cikurel (Mekorot), D.J. Conran
(University of Birmingham), A. Drobniewska
(University of Lodz), P.A. Ellis (University of
Birmingham), W. Fratczak (University of Lodz),
R.B. Greswell (University of Birmingham), K.
Izydorczyk (University of Lodz), C. Lydon
(University of Birmingham), M.O. Rivett
(University of Birmingham), D. Rousseau
(UNESCO-IHE), S.K. Sharma (UNESCO-IHE), H. van
Bruggen (UNESCO-IHE), I. Wagner (University of
Lodz), M. Zalewski (University of Lodz) The
UNESCO-IHE led SWITCH project runs from Feb. 2006
to Jan. 2011 and is part-financed by Directorate
General Research of the European Commission under
the Sixth Framework Programme. For more
information see www.switchurbanwater.eu