Principles of Wastewater Treatment

Caribbean Environment Programme United Nations Environment Programme Proceedings of the Workshop on Adopting, Applying and Operating Environmentally Sound Technologies for Domestic and Industrial Wastewater Treatment for the Wider Caribbean Region CEP Technical Report No. 43 1998 Note: The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP concerning the legal status of any State, Territory, city or area, or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of their frontiers or boundaries. For bibliographic purposes the printed version of this document may be cited as: UNEP: Proceedings of the Workshop on Adopting, Applying and Operating Environmentally Sound Technologies for Domestic and Industrial Wastewater Treatment for the Wider Caribbean Region. CEP Technical Report No. 43. UNEP Caribbean Environment Programme, Kingston, 1998. FOREWORD The enhancement of awareness and the development of the capabilities of managers and decision makers at a regional and national level are among the program priorities of UNEP’s International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC) and the Regional Coordinating Unit of the Caribbean Environment Programme (CAR/RCU). In particular, knowledge of the issues in adoption, application and operation of environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) has become essential in planning the sustainable use of natural resources and the reduction of environmental impacts from human activities like waste. IETC has already undertaken two pilot workshops on Adopting, Applying and Operating Environmentally Sound Technologies in different parts of the world. The first one was held in September 1996 in Dresden, Germany and focussed on Urban and Freshwater Resources. The second was in December 1997 at Murdoch University in Australia and focussed on Urban Management. The Workshop for the Wider Caribbean Region, held in Montego Bay, Jamaica, November 1998, has its origins in the Dresden Workshop, where participants from the Caribbean and the Atlantic Region elaborated proposals for regional follow-up. In the Dresden Workshop, training modules were prepared by Murdoch University encompassing presentations from specialists on industrial and domestic wastewater treatment as well as country representatives. Presentations during the workshops addressed different key issues such as information systems and databases related to ESTs, alternative technological approaches to treatment, technological solutions and innovations and the identification of future actions by the countries. The Montego Bay Workshop gathered national experts from 20 Technical Focal Points in the Wider Caribbean Region plus a number of experts on wastewater treatment, private enterprises, members of the US Peace Corps, and representatives from various international agencies such as the US Agency for International Development, European Union, Caribbean Environmental Health Institute and German Technical Cooperation (GTZ). Also, as part of IETC’s and CEP’s support to the Program for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) a government official from the island of Cape Verde in the Atlantic was invited to participate and share experiences with experts from the region. The Workshop provided experts from Governments in the Region with the basic concepts related to Adopting, Applying and Operating Environmentally Sound Technologies (ESTs). This background in ESTs was supplemented with information on the latest technological alternatives for the treatment of industrial and domestic wastewater. The IETC and UNEP-CAR/RCU believe that the Workshop has provided a sound basis for ESTs to be considered in the planning process when governments are identifying and selecting technologies to suit their specific needs. Lilia Casanova Nelson Andrade Colmenares Deputy Director and OIC Co-ordinator IETC UNEP-CAR/RCU EDITORIAL Communities in the Wider Caribbean Region have a strong desire to improve their environment. This desire was clearly expressed in the country presentations given by delegates to the UNEP Workshop on Adopting, Applying and Operating Environmentally Sound Technologies for Domestic and Industrial Wastewater Treatment. There was as well a general realization that the solution to environmental problems facing the marine environment in the region lies with communities themselves, and that the future will be shaped by steps and actions taken within the region. Furthermore a significant contribution can be made by the country delegates attending the workshop. It was therefore a pleasant and rewarding experience for the group from Murdoch University to facilitate the workshop to help define the existing problems more clearly, to consider technologies that have been developed within the region and elsewhere, and to assist country delegates with developing strategies that they can implement in the short, medium and long term in their countries. The process described above began quite some time before the workshop with countries in the region identifying national experts to send as delegates to the workshop, and with the preparation of country papers by the delegates. At about the same time, specialists familiar with the environmental problems faced by developing nations came to present technologies that can provide solutions to the problems that were identified by country representatives. From the country papers (Part 2 in this book) it becomes obvious that the existing situation in the Wider Caribbean Region is generally similar, differing only in the degree of the problems experienced. There is a lack of collection and treatment of wastewater, with much of it ending in the marine environment and impacting negatively on it. The marine environment is a major tourist attraction that needs to be protected to ensure its long term viability. Where there is collection and treatment of wastewater, the facilities are not generally operated or maintained to specification. Lack of resources, personnel, training of personnel, institutional arrangement or enforcement of legislation were mentioned as possible causes. While there is cultural and economic diversity in the Wider Caribbean it appears that the experience in the region is not very different from the experience elsewhere as illustrated by the case study of Cape Verde, an island located west of the continent of Africa. Invited speakers presented papers (Part 1 of this book) on technologies that have been successfully used in both developed and developing countries. We think this is an important point to make because technologies that are proposed for developing countries should not be seen as being appropriate only for the latter. We are very pleased to see papers from the United States, Canada, South America and Australia giving examples where technologies have been demonstrated to be equally applicable in both, having regard to long term sustainability. While papers were presented on specific technologies for wastewater management, these were placed in a wider context by other presentations. The other presentations covered subjects ranging from technology choice and sustainable development, the basic scientific understanding required to assist with the choice of technology, impact of waste disposal on the marine environment, to the development of a protocol to control pollution of the marine environment of the Wider Caribbean Region developed by countries in the region. Two major benefits of workshops are the networking of delegates and the exchange of ideas that make the contribution of individual papers greater than their sum. We are pleased to report that these two were very evident during the workshop. Presenters from outside and within the region were questioned about their ideas and their applicability for the region. Sources of information were made available and a number of these were formally presented. A significant outcome of the workshop is the deliberation of delegates on what steps they can take in the short, medium and long term to assist with efforts to protect the marine environment in the region from land based discharges of wastewater. These were formalized on the last day of the workshop through discussion groups summarising the existing conditions, current technologies and future options. We trust that the networking achieved at the workshop and the outcome of the workshop, which includes this publication containing proceedings of the workshop, will contribute towards achieving a better marine environment in the Wider Caribbean Region. We would like to suggest that we follow up the recommendations made at the workshop after a year or two to assess where steps have been taken and improvements made, and what further steps are required to achieve the goal. We commend the initiative of UNEP IETC and UNEP - CAR/RCU and invite readers to evaluate the papers for application in their specific community, country or region. We would also like to welcome comments and suggestions on papers presented at the workshop and on the workshop itself. Goen HoDirector, Institute for Environmental Science Murdoch University Perth, Australia February 1999 PART 1 INVITED PAPERS Technology Choice and Sustainable Development Dr Martin Anda Institute for Environmental Science, Murdoch University, South Street, Murdoch WA 6150, Australia Tel: (61-8) 9360-6123, Fax: (61-8) 9310-4997, Email: [email protected] The Concept of Sustainable Development In recent years, the pursuit of Sustainable Development has become a

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