The challenge of dry-weather sewage intakes as a sustainable strategy to develop urban sanitation in the tropics

Abstract

Abstract Informal housing, and operational and management deficiencies, influence sewerage system performance in Brazil. Inadequate sewage volumes in storm sewers lead to fecal contamination and affect recreational water environments. As overflow structures, dry-weather sewage intakes (DWSIs) are used to intercept and transfer sewage from storm- to sewage- sewers. For cities without public services, the DWSI strategy has been suggested as an option to enable easier and more rapid responses in terms of sewage pollution control. The strategy may also lead to gradual construction of a separate sewerage system in a two-step plan: initially, based on the construction of DWSIs and wastewater treatment plants, and then, on the construction of separate sewers. The paper is a discussion of the main technical challenges in sustainability of the DWSI strategy, and includes a case study of slum and other informal housing areas in Rio de Janeiro.