Global challenge of

wastewater
Examples from different continents
Sarantuyaa Zandaryaa, PhD
UNESCO Division of Water Sciences
Does all wastewater we generate arrive
to wastewater treatment facilities?

 2 million tons of waste per

day are discharged to
receiving waters
 human waste
 industrial wastes and
chemicals
 agricultural wastes

 An approximate estimate of
global wastewater
production is about 1,500
km3 per day
Source: United Nations World Water Development Report, 2003.
Sanitation - where it all starts from

Worldwide use of improved sanitation facilities in 2008

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme. Progress on Sanitation and Drinking-water: 2010 Update.

Improved sanitation facilities:

 Piped sewer system • Composting toilet
wastewater
 Septic tank collection
 Pit latrines
 Wastewater and sanitation:
Developed regions - Europe

Population connected to wastewater Percentage of the population connected to sanitation

treatment facilities, selected European facilities in urban and rural areas, selected countries in the
countries, 1980–2003. Source: EUROSTAT WHO European Region, 2004. Source: WHO Europe
Access to sewerage connection:
Developing regions

1990 2000
Source: WHO/UNICEF Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment 2000 Report.
Global and regional sanitation
coverage (1990-2008)

Improved sanitation Shared facilities

Unimproved facilities No facilities (open defection -1.1 billion)

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme. Progress on Sanitation and Drinking-water: 2010 Update.
Improved sanitation:
Urban and rural disparities (2008)

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme. Progress on Sanitation and Drinking-water: 2010 Update.
Wastewater treatment by world
regions

Population with sewerage Portion of wastewater

Regions connection in large cities, % treated to secondary level, %

Northern America 96 90
Europe 92 66
Asia 45 35
(incl. Japan, Korea)
Latin America and 35 14
Caribbean
Africa 18 <1

Source: WHO/UNICEF Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment 2000 Report.
Lack of wastewater treatment

 The lack of treatment of wastewater is a

serious health and environmental hazard.
 In developing countries, wastewater
treatment is applied in only a minority of
systems.
 Over 80-90 % of urban wastewater is
discharged, insufficiently treated or directly
untreated.
 Even in developed countries, for example
in Northern America, sewage is not
universally treated.
Wastewater as a resource
Wastewater use

Sources of water use globally and for major sectors:

Withdrawals by supply source (2000)
Source: FAO AQUASTAT.
 Wastewater use in agriculture

 Wastewater is widely used

a source of irrigation water
in developing countries
 Some 10 percent of total
irrigated land in
developing countries using
wastewater for irrigation.
 Is wastewater reuse in
agriculture for food
production safe?
 What is the extent of
untreated wastewater Source: FAO AQUASTAT.

reuse?
 Are pharmaceuticals and
chemicals in wastewater a
potential threat?
Water stress-a driver for wastewater
reuse: Eastern Mediterranean region

Quantities of wastewater generated treated and reused in eleven countries of the

Eastern Mediterranean (various years: 1991-2000). Source: WHO Eastern Mediterranean, 2005.

Freshwater availability in
countries of the Eastern
Mediterranean Region
Source: FAO-AQUASTAT
The need to address the global
wastewater challenge
 The global wastewater generation is increasing at an
exponential rate, as a result of rapid population growth and
urbanization.
 An overwhelmingly large portion of Africa and Asian populations
still remains without access to sanitation and wastewater
treatment facilities.
 Only a small fraction of the total volume of wastewater collected
in developing cities is treated at the secondary level
 A huge volume of untreated wastewater is dumped directly into
our water resources, threatening human health, ecosystems,
biodiversity, food security and the sustainability of our water
resources.
 What needs to be done

 New and different ways of looking at wastewater

 reduce wastewater at source

 wastewater as a “valuable resource”

 Innovative solutions to tackle wastewater problems

 not necessarily to be based on investment-intensive, huge plants

 promote decentralized systems

 Education and capacity building

 sensitize decision-makers and the public on the importance of
tackling sanitation and wastewater problems
 Integration of sanitation and wastewater
 close the urban water cycle