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. 2021 Mar 8;7(3):e06375.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06375. eCollection 2021 Mar.

Key criteria for considering decentralization in municipal wastewater management

Diana Bernal  1 , Inés Restrepo  2 , Simón Grueso-Casquete  1
Affiliations

Key criteria for considering decentralization in municipal wastewater management

Diana Bernal et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Wastewater pollution problems are associated with population growth and the concentration of population in large urban centers. According to United Nations projections for 2050, the world population will reach 9 billion people, increasing the pressures on water resources due to their demand and pollution. Based on UNICEF and World Health Organization estimates, 2.4 billion people worldwide currently lack access to improved sanitation facilities, with 946 million practicing open defecation. Decentralized wastewater treatment systems are a viable and necessary alternative for wastewater management, thus, minimizing environmental impacts, facilitating resource recovery, and providing rural and peri-urban inhabitants with access to basic sanitation. This literature review article uses the multicriteria analysis tool to present the key economic, institutional, social, environmental, and technological aspects, criteria, and indicators that must be considered for successful decentralized system implementation planning to strengthen basic sanitation service coverage in the rural and peri-urban areas where it does not exist.

Keywords: Centralization level; Decentralized systems; Multicriteria analysis; Natural wastewater treatment technologies; System resilience; Wastewater treatment systems.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Applicability of conventional and natural technological alternatives at each centralization level.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Application potential according to reuse type and its relationship with natural and conventional technological alternatives.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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