Developing alternative approaches to urban wastewater disposal in Latin America and the Caribbean

ABSTRACT

The explosive rate of urbanization and industrialization in Latin America and the Caribbean has aggravated serious wastewater disposal problems. To address those problems, sound pollution control programs are needed - programs that are founded on a firm legal base and supported by an institutional infrastructure suitable for their effective operation. Such programs should make a point of employing technologies that are appropriate for the climatic and economic conditions prevailing in the areas they serve. Promising methods for dealing with such problems include use of submarine outfalls with minimal pretreatment for cities along coasts and estuaries, maximum use of receiving waters' assimilative capacity (as determined through application of system management and water quality models), reuse of treated sewage effluent for irrigation, and the application of unconventional technology for urban slum sanitation. This article reviews those various approches and describes the ongoing collaboration between national governments and PAHO's Pan American Center for Sanitary Engineering and Environmental Sciences (CEPIS) in the areas of research, information exchange, human resources development, and institutional development for the purpose of establishing a viable strategy and framework through which these major problems can be confronted and perhaps ultimately over come.(AU)