Sanitary Engineering: Central or Decentral Solutions?

To minimize volume and rate of abstraction from aquifers and man-made reservoirs the century old concept of water supply and sanitation needs to be complemented by innovation concerning use, transportation and pricing of water and wastewater. Particularly in water scarce areas maintenance of assets, cascading use of water and water reuse deserves specific attendance. Wastewater has to be considered a source of water useable as substitute of fresh water. When choosing the water reuse option it might be useful to place the facility where wastewater is converted into useable water close to the user of the purified water (decentral solution) instead of pumping the water over long distances from central wastewater treatment plants.