Sanitation: A Global Estimate of Sewerage Connections without Treatment and the Resulting Impact on MDG Progress

Abstract

Progress toward the sanitation component of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Target 7c was reassessed to account for the need to protect communities and the wider population from exposure to human excreta. We classified connections to sewerage as "improved sanitation" only if the sewage was treated before discharge to the environment. Sewerage connection data was available for 167 countries in 2010; of these, 77 had published data on sewage treatment prevalence. We developed an empirical model to estimate sewage treatment prevalence for 47 additional countries. We estimate that in 2010, 40% of the global population (2.8 billion people) used improved sanitation, as opposed to the estimate of 62% (4.3 billion people) from the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP), and that 4.1 billion people lacked access to an improved sanitation facility. Redefining sewerage-without-treatment as "unimproved sanitation" in MDG monitoring would raise the 1990 baseline population using unimproved sanitation from 53% to 64% and the corresponding 2015 target from 27% to 32%. At the current rate of progress, we estimate a shortfall of 28 percentage points (1.9 billion people) in 2010 and a projected 27 percentage point shortfall in 2015.

Water Quality Assessment of Streams and Wetlands in a Fast Growing East African City

“…The optimal scenario was based on that of Flanders (Belgium), where approximately 80% of the population is connected to the sewerage/WWTP system [30]. The other scenarios included a 10%, 30%, and 50% sewerage connection which was the situation in 2010 for Somalia, Namibia, and South Africa, respectively [31]. Table 2 summarizes the eight scenarios.…”

Strengthening the Human Right to Sanitation as an Instrument for Inclusive Development

“…However, despite the growing global consensus on the existence of a human right to sanitation in law, over a third of the current 7.3 billion people worldwide lack improved sanitation services (Baum, Luh & Bartram, 2013) caused by a variety of drivers that are not entirely connected to law. There are also spatial, group, and individual inequities in access even within countries that have presumably better records of improved access.…”

“…Over a third of the current 7.3 billion people worldwide lack improved sanitation services (Baum, Luh & Bartram, 2013) and there are spatial, group, and individual inequities in access even within countries that have presumably better records of improved access (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe & World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, 2013). The resulting social and relational inequities and environmental degradation make the realisation of the human right to sanitation (HRS) and inclusive development (ID) pressing concerns for all levels of governance, from the international to the local levels (see…”

A mini-review on the impacts of climate change on wastewater reclamation and reuse

“…Most of the countries had inadequate and insufficient systems for handling wastewater collection and treatment. Despite the fact that more than 80 % of wastewater was treated in high-income countries (Baum et al, 2013), a majority of their sewage systems was installed 30-50 years ago or even more (Willems, 2013). These systems were approaching their useful life (O'Neill, 2010), and rather old to cope with the new intensified rainfall regime (Mailhot and Duchesne, 2010).…”

“…The situation was more pessimistic in developing countries where the rates of connection to sewage collection networks were extremely negligible (Baum et al, 2013). In higher-middle income countries, the collecting rate was improved (53%), but only a third of collected municipal wastewater was treated (Baum et al, 2013). The probability and severity of ultimate situations would definitely decide the cost of adaptation.…”