Decentralised Wastewater Treatment Plant for University of Zimbabwe Technical Staff Housing, Hatcliffe Harare: A Site Analysis

Collection and treatment of wastewater have a huge impact on the environment and economy, both at the local and global levels. To achieve sustainable sanitation services, we need to overcome the limitations of conventional centralised wastewater treatment (sewerage) systems. This chapter seeks to find an ideal location for the establishment of a decentralised wastewater treatment plant as a way to reduce pressure on the already existing centralised treatment plants. Using a case study of Hatcliffe in Harare, an attempt was made to select decentralised treatment plants with appropriate wastewater treatment technologies using Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques. Decentralised wastewater treatment systems are being used as an environmentally friendly and economic strategy for wastewater in Harare. It is generally agreed that cities are facing rapid urbanisation. This results in informal extension of cities into peri-urban and rural areas. The expansion of cities leads to problems in infrastructure maintenance and development. The sustainability of urban water management and sanitation poses serious challenges in most developing cities. In Harare, problems in water supply and wastewater treatment have already been noticed. Wastewater generation, treatment and disposal strategies which are centralised appear to have several limitations. Decentralisation appears as a rational solution to tackle sustainability problems of wastewater management systems, as it focuses on the on-site treatment of wastewater and on local recycling and reuse of resources contained in domestic wastewater.