Assessment of decentralized wastewater treatment systems in the rural area of Cuenca, Ecuador

Abstract

The rapid urbanization of Cuenca, Ecuador, since about 1990 has led to efforts to build and operate decentralized domestic wastewater treatment systems in periurban and rural areas. The treatment efficiency of some of these is falling, however, and others are no longer working. ETAPA, the municipal institution in charge of water supply and sanitation, is evaluating them fully to identify common operating and maintenance difficulties, as well as deficiencies in design and/or construction. This paper presents an evaluation of the physical infrastructure and characterization of the treatment processes performed historically. The objective is to overcome the technical deficiencies and adopt a long-term, sustainable O&M plan.

Key criteria for considering decentralization in municipal wastewater management

“…This approach defines the level of centralization for an urban area and combines several of these levels into a single unit. For example, cities with centralized treatment plants and satellite treatment plants that can offer multiple uses for the effluent treated according with water quality standards ( Alvarado et al., 2017 ; Roefs et al., 2017 ; Capodaglio, 2017 ).…”

Water treatment and reclamation by implementing electrochemical systems with constructed wetlands

“…Even though land availability is not a significant concern in rural and peri-urban areas as compared to the situation in denselypopulated areas, the potential of decreasing the surface footprint by implementing an ECin-CW is still advantageous for simplicity in controlling one reactor unit. Moreover, sensors installed in the CW bed can allow for online monitoring and data transfer to a central platform to encourage regional management of decentralized systems, which allows municipalities to avoid often reported problems of abandoned decentralized systems in remote locations [26,187].…”

Hydrological Resources in the Southern Andes of Ecuador: Brief Study of the Tabacay River Micro-Basin

“…The restricted financial budget available in developing countries, there is an increasing demand for environmentally and economically sustainable water and sanitation systems. Urban water and wastewater treatment offers many other public health advantages since they fulfill certain quality criteria opening the door to resource recovery as well as water recycling for selected agricultural and industrial uses (Alvarado, et al, 2017).…”