Wastewater Management and Sanitation Readings

The United Nations Development Programme estimates that three billion people in developing countries currently lack access to safe sanitation. Within the next 20 years, an additional two billion people will live in urban areas, mostly in developing countries, and they will need access to safe water and appropriate sanitation infrastructure.

Notwithstanding the achievements of the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade, sewage pollution still remains the predominant water quality problem in cities in developing countries. Inadequate or lack of wastewater treatment facilities, direct discharge of pollutant loads into receiving water bodies, water quality standards, pollution from diffuse sources, weak institutional structures for enforcement and issues of financing remain a challenge to many practitioners in wastewater management.

The selected publications below are part of World Bank's Analytic and Advisory Activities which have wastewater and sanitation components. They prove an insight into different environmentally and cost effective approaches to wastewater management within diverse geographical context, illuminate techniques for pollution abatement and attainment of water quality standards including other relevant issues pertinent to wastewater management and sanitation.

The Urban water supply and sanitation website provides more detailed and comprehensive information on aforementioned issues.

Relevant Readings

Wastewater Management

Wastewater Treatment in Latin America. Old and New Options (pdf file), Idelovitch, E. and Ringskog, K. (1997). This publication reviews old and new technological as well as financial and implementation options available for wastewater treatment and reuse in the Americas.

Municipal Wastewater Treatment in Central and Eastern Europe: Present Situation and Cost-effective Development Strategies (pdf file), Somlyody, L. and Shanahan, P. (1998). This report presents an evaluation of municipal wastewater treatment in five countries in Central and Eastern Europe, namely, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Hungary and Bulgaria. It evaluates the present status of water supply and municipal wastewater treatment, demonstrates cost-effective wastewater treatment strategies, and estimates the costs in implementing the aforementioned wastewater treatment strategies.

Water Quality Modeling: A Guide to Effective Practice (pdf file), Palmer, M.D. (2001). This document serves as a guide to the utility and relevance of water quality prediction modeling, drawing upon examples from recent World Bank water resources and wastewater management projects.

Wastewater Reuse

The reuse of wastewater in agriculture: a guide for planners (pdf file),Khouri, N., Kalbermatten, J.M. and Bartone, C.R. (1994), Water and Sanitation Report No. 6. UNDP-World Bank Water and Sanitation Program, The World Bank. These guidelines summarize information on the reuse of wastewater for irrigation. They integrate the World Health Organization health guidelines for the reuse of wastewater with those of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations water quality guidelines for irrigation. It furthermore summarizes relevant agronomic information including potential benefits of wastewater reuse and its environmental implications.

West Bank and Gaza: Wastewater treatment and reuse policy note.pdf (pdf file) (2004). A policy note presenting the results of a World Bank study that assessed options for wastewater treatment and reuse in West Bank and Gaza. It further outlines guiding principles in relation to the treatment and reuse of reclaimed water as well as identifying key priority areas for action.

Water Quality Protection

Brazil: Managing Water Quality: Mainstreaming the environment in the water sector, (pdf file), Sergio, M. et al. (2002). This study reviews how environmental issues have been addressed in the water sector in Brazil, within the context of activities of the Federal Government and those implemented under Bank sector operations. The core focus of the study lies in the management of water quality, as it affects both the users of raw water and those who are primarily concerned with the disposal of wastewater.

Water Quality: Assessment and Protection, (pdf file), Davis, R. and Hirji, R. [Eds.] (2003). The note discusses general concepts on water quality and integrated water resources management, the objectives of water quality assessment, and the iterative steps in water quality assessment and protection. It further discusses water quality standards, information needs and monitoring networks; sampling and analysis of water quality; processing and interpretation of data; water quality management programs; and the general economic, legal and institutional framework required for water quality management.

Regional Approaches 

Kyrgyz Republic Water Supply and Wastewater Sector Note, (pdf file), (1999). This note provides an assessment of the current situation of the sector and diagnose the main sector issues and constraints that prevent better water and wastewater services.

Water Resources Management in South Eastern Europe Vol. I: Issues and Directions, (pdf file), (2003). This is volume one of the report on Water Resources Management in the South Eastern Europe region, summarizing key issues and strategic directions for improved WRM at the national and transboundary levels. The report serves as a contribution to the World Bank's work on sub-regional issues in SEE. It identifies key water resources issues faced by the SEE countries, documents the approach adopted to address the water challenges, suggests ways of strengthening WRM policies and programs and international cooperation, and makes recommendation for future action.

Water Resources Management in South Eastern Europe Vol. II: Country Water Notes and Water Fact Sheets, (pdf file), (2003). This is volume two of the aforementioned report on SEE. It is divided into two parts. Part I provides a compedium of Country Water Notes prepared for the focus countries, namely, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, FYR macedonia, Romania and Serbia and Montenegro. These notes provide a brief description of the socio-economic and geographical context and development objectives pursued in each country and their implications for water resources management. Moreover, they describe the water resources base, trends in water use management, floods and droughts, institutional issues, transboundary water issues, and key challenges and priorities. Part II includes water facts sheets for the non-focus countries namely, Greece, Hungary, Moldova, Turkey and Slovenia.

Private Sector Participation

Pakistan Private Sector Participation in Urban Environmental Services: Water and Wastewater Services and Solid Waste Management, (pdf file), A sector study (1997). The purpose of this study is to propose options for promoting private sector participation in urban environmental services - water and wastewater services and solid waste management - based upon its observed potential in Pakistan. The study reviews the existing structure, performance, regulation and current activities in the sector in four cities to map the groundwork that has already been done and from which private sector participation may grow. It also draws upon international experience to establish best practices for promoting greater private sector involvement in urban environment services in the country.

Private Sector Participation in Municipal Water Services in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Facing a crisis of confidence in Private Sector Participation in the Water Sector, Measures to overcome obstacles to more effective PSP, (2003). Conference proceedings, Vienna. The report sums up the papers and presentations given at the Conference on Private Sector Participation in Municipal Water Services in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Private Sector Participation in the Water Sector in the ECA Region: Emerging Lessons: The World Bank and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, (2003). The report represents the findings of a study on private sector participation in the water sector in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The study seeks to identify the status and trends including the number of transactions, affected populations, types of contracts and amounts of investment.

Pollution Control

Industrial pollution in economic Development - Kuznets revisited, (pdf file), Hettige, H. et al. (1998). This paper attempts to advance the state of the art, using new data on industrial water emissions in developed and developing countries. The analyses decomposes total industrial pollution into four proximate determinants: national output, the share of industry in national output, the share of pollution sectors in industrial output, and end-of-pipe pollution intensities in the pollution sector.

How the Chinese System of Charges and Subsidies Affects Pollution Control Efforts by China's Top Industrial Polluters, (pdf file), Wang, H. and Chen, M. (1999). This paper presents an empirical study of Chinese industrial firm's pollution control efforts in responding to the complex pollution management system.

Agriculture Non-Point Source Pollution Control. Good Management Practices - The Chesapeake Bay Experience, (pdf file), Rita Cestti, et al. (2003). The paper draws attention to the wide number of management measures being used in the Chesapeake Bay Region (USA) to address the challenges imposed by eutrophication. It also documents the wide range of on-farm measures used in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed to reduce nutrient loads from non-point source pollution.

Financing

Deciding where, when and how much to invest in wastewater treatment. An integrated approach to wastewater management, (pdf file), Marino, M. and Boland, J. (1999). This paper looks at the experience of four high-income countries (USA, Germany, France, Spain) in managing wastewater at the river basin level. Each of the country has gone through three stages of wastewater management, inter alia: uncoordinated local management, decentralized approach and uniform discharge standards. The paper concludes that the first stage has led to inefficiencies as well as gaps in coverage, and the third stage gives poor value for money. The second stage would be more effective for capital-scarce economies.

Water Conservation and Pollution Control in Indian Industries: How to use water tariffs, pollution charges and fiscal incentives, (pdf file), Bhatia, R. et al. (1994). The paper presents an analytical framework that explicitly considers linkages between economic and environmental aspects of water use in industries, then uses the framework to assess the effects of changes in water tariffs and effluent discharges on water demand and effluent discharge in the case of selected industries.