The rapid urbanization of Cuenca, Ecuador, since about 1990 has led to efforts to build and operate decentralized domestic wastewater treatment systems in periurban and rural areas. The treatment efficiency of some of these is falling, however, and others are no longer working. ETAPA, the municipal institution in charge of water supply and sanitation, is evaluating them fully to identify common operating and maintenance difficulties, as well as deficiencies in design and/or construction. This paper presents an evaluation of the physical infrastructure and characterization of the treatment processes performed historically. The objective is to overcome the technical deficiencies and adopt a long-term, sustainable O&M plan.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.