Centralised V/S Decentralised Wastewater Treatment Solutions - A Case Study

The paper outlines and compares the two wastewater management strategies: centralized and decentralized solutions, as a general background for decision makers. It does not aim to suggest that one strategy is better than the other, but rather to present both as viable options in making the decision regarding wastewater management in smaller areas having low density and bigger areas having higher densities. To meet the standards set forth by various authorities, centralized treatment plants capitalized on economies of scale in treating large quantities of wastewater. However, with the exponential growing demands for sewage treatment, the centralized sewage treatment systems are unable to keep up with that growth. When appropriately designed, sited, operated, and maintained, decentralized wastewater systems meet public health and water quality goals as well as a centralized systems does. Decentralized sewage treatment systems on the other hand, can be developed along with new colonies as and when they emerge.