Further Resources: Wastewater Treatment

Leach Field

A leach field, or drainage field, is a network of perforated pipes that are laid in underground gravel-filled trenches to dissipate the effluent from…

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Waste Stabilization Ponds (WSP)

Waste Stabilization Ponds (WSPs) are large, man-made water bodies. The ponds can be used individually, or linked in a series for improved treatment.…

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Soak Pit

A soak pit, also known as a soakaway or leach pit, is a covered, porous-walled chamber that allows water to slowly soak into the ground. Pre-settled…

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Aquaculture (Fish)

The term aquaculture refers to the controlled cultivation of aquatic plants and animals by making use of various types of wastewater as a source for…

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Application of Dehydrated Faeces

When faeces are stored in the absence of moisture (i.e., urine), they [8251-dehydrate] into a crumbly, white-beige coarse, flaky material or powder.…

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Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR)

An anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) is an improved [8217-septic tank] with a series of baffles under which the wastewater is forced to flow. The…

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Septic Tank

A septic tank is a watertight chamber made of concrete, fibreglass, PVC or plastic, through which blackwater and greywater flows for primary…

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Greywater Towers

A greywater tower is a circular bag, which is filled with soil, ash and/or compost mixture and a gravel column at the centre. It is used to treat and…

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Struvite

Urine, which contains valuable nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, can be applied to soil and used as fertiliser for crops. Though valuable,…

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Anaerobic Digestion (General)

Biogas sanitation is the treatment of waste and wastewater by a process called anaerobic digestion. During anaerobic digestion, the organic matter in…

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Anaerobic Digestion (Small-scale)

A small-scale biogas reactor or anaerobic digester is an anaerobic treatment technology that produces (a) a digested slurry (digestate) that can be…

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Anaerobic Digestion (Organic Waste)

Anaerobic biogas digesters are airtight reactors in which organic waste is decomposed and transformed into biogas by a biological process called…

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Biogas Settler

A settler is a primary treatment technology for wastewater; it is designed to remove suspended solids by sedimentation. It may also be referred to as…

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Urine-Diverting Dry Toilet (UDDT)

A urine-diverting dry toilet (UDDT) is a toilet that operates without water and has a divider so that the user, with little effort, can divert the…

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Pour-flush Toilet

A pour flush toilet is like a regular cistern flush toilet except that the water is poured in by the user, instead of coming from the cistern above.…

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Sanitation Systems

Sanitation systems are a combination of different functional units that together allow managing and reusing or disposing the different waste flows…

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Double Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP)

The double VIP has almost the same design as the single VIP with the added advantage of a second pit that allows it to be used continuously and…

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Urine-Diverting Flush Toilet (UDFT)

The urine-diverting flush toilet (UDFT) is similar in appearance to a cistern flush toilet except for the diversion in the bowl. The toilet bowl has…

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Flush Toilets

The cistern flush toilet is usually made of porcelain and is a mass-produced, factory-made user interface. The flush toilet consists of a water tank…

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Urinal

An urinal is used only for collecting urine. Urinals are generally for men, although models for women have also been developed. Most urinals use…

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Twin Pits for Pour Flush

This technology consists of two alternating pits connected to a pour flush toilet. The blackwater (and in some cases greywater) is collected in the…

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(Co-) composting (Small-scale)

Composting at the household level is an important method for managing organic waste, which is normally the largest portion of household waste.…

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Free-Water Surface Constructed Wetland

A free-water surface constructed wetland aims to replicate the naturally occurring processes of a natural wetland, marsh or swamp. As water slowly…

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Non-planted Filters

A non-planted filter is a box filled with sand and gravel, through which wastewater flows and is filtered. There are several types of non-planted…

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Incineration (Small-Scale)

Small-scale incinerators are a useful technology to combust household waste, medical waste, slaughter waste, etc. instead of discharging it in a…

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Aquaculture (Plants)

The term aquaculture refers to the controlled cultivation of aquatic plants and animals by making use of various types of wastewater as a source for…

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Fertigation

To reduce dependence on freshwater and maintain a constant source of water for irrigation throughout the year, wastewater of varying quality can be…

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Evapo-transpiration Beds

Evapotranspiration beds are an alternative secondary treatment solution for greywater, pre-treated effluents from septic tanks, anal cleansing water…

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(Co-) composting (Large-scale)

Co-composting is the controlled aerobic degradation of organics, using more than one feedstock (faecal sludge and organic solid waste). As organic…

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Compost Filter

The compost filter is a fairly new method for pre-treating wastewater. There are two different methods: two chamber compost filters or compost filter…

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Urine Storage Tank / Container

When urine cannot be used immediately or transported using a conveyance technology (i.e. [8287-jerrycans]) it can be stored onsite in containers or…

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Vertical Gardens

The Vertical Garden is a stackable planter made for indoor and outdoor use. Also called plant wall, green wall and bio wall, this is a light framed,…

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Horizontal Flow Constructed Wetlands (HFCW)

HFCWs are secondary treatment facilities for household, municipal and industrial wastewater, and they can also be used as a tertiary treatment system…

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Vertical Flow Constructed Wetland (VFCW)

VFCWs are secondary and/or tertiary treatment facilities for household, municipal and industrial wastewater. Pre-treated wastewater is intermittently…

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Vertical Flow Constructed Wetland (VFCW)