Reducing barriers to network sewage

Sewerage systems in many cities (mainly in Sub-Sahara, South Asian and Latin America) serve few people. They cover only a small fraction of the urban area and even where available, the connection costs are high and unaffordable for poor households.

For those households within proximity of the sewerage network, the cost of a connection can be twice as much as a water connection. In addition, householders must then consider the cost of in-house installations (e.g. connecting toilets and modifying plumbing). Further, once connected, households also incur a wastewater charge That may represent 50% (sometimes as High as 90%) of the water bill.

Considering non-sewered sanitation

Improving sanitation requires the involvement of whole communities, but is dependent on individual decisions to invest time and money into keeping neighbourhoods clean. Billions of dollars would be required for all countries to achieve full water borne sewerage, an investment which would have to keep pace with population and urban growth rates. In the meantime, the sector must move beyond ‘traditional’ development approaches, which view sanitation as a physical asset (a latrine or a toilet) and instead consider sanitation as a service, bringing in entrepreneurial and private sector approaches.