15 years of practical sewage treatment in Venezuela

Abstract

A summary of fifteen years of experience of the design, operation and performance several Venezuelan municipal wastewater treatment systems to serve a population of 5 million is presented. Technical and institutional problems which occurred during construction and operation are described and some of the solutions are presented. It was found that the most simple systems were the most effective and that it was important to develop solutions appropriate to local needs and avoid the technological dependance on imported spare parts.