Greywater Treatment in Sand and Gravel Filters: Low Tech Solution for Sustainable Wastewater Management
Manual for Design, Construction, Operation and Maintenance
23.07.2015
Only 20% of global wastewater is currently being treated which is not only a risk to public health but results in a serious damage for ecosystems and water resources. Greywater is a major part of domestic wastewater and as it excludes toilet wastewater, greywater causes less hygienic risks and is easier to manage. Greywater can be a valuable resource for water reuse, for example in agriculture.
Greywater management is complementing sustainable onsite sanitation solutions such as an ecosan toilet. This manual explains how greywater can be treated in a sand or gravel filter before being re-used. Different greywater filter designs have been demonstrated in Georgia in two villages close to the Black Sea by the Georgian NGO RCDA with guidance by the student Lukas Huhn from Hamburg University of Technology. The technology is very efficient, relatively simple, low-cost and can be realized by practitioners in rural and peri-urban areas of most settings.
Please download the manual here
WECF is member of the Global Wastewater Initiative (GW2I) which has been launched by UNEP as a multiple stakeholder platform in order to address wastewater management, prompt coordinated action and encourage new investments in the sector. The GW2I aims to increase priorities for wastewater management in world water politics, to prevent further pollution and damage and emphasize that wastewater is a valuable resource for future water security. For more information, click here.