Socio-Economic Criteria for Wastewater Treatment System Selection: a Case of Municipality Contextual Determinants in Thailand

摘要

Socio-economic factors have been proved to be crucial determinants in the selection of wastewaterrntreatment plants in developing countries, provided that their local needs and constraints are closelyrnconnected with the technical remedy. This paper thus aims to establish an analytical approach forrnlocally appropriate technology, treating socio-economic factors as part of the decision makingrnprocess. Three principle variables?land requirement, affordability, and social (public) acceptabilityrnare evaluated towards a decision making model for alternative wastewater treatment systems—rnactivated sludge (AS), oxidation ditches (OD), aerated lagoon (AL), and waste stabilization pondsrn(WSP). Utilizing Thailand as a case study, information from plant survey and secondary data are usedrnto evaluate the existing municipal treatment plants, to be used as database to develop a decisionmakingrnmodel in the later state. Resultant from the land usage and cost models is then used to identifyrnan appropriate wastewater treatment system for a wide range of scenarios in suburban Bangkok. Thernstudy demonstrates the possibility to include such socioeconomic factors as part of the waterrntreatment planning process, viable to the developing countries focusing on land requirements,rnconstruction cost, and O&M cost. These factors are proved to be effectively tabulated with technicalrnand environmental criteria as well as local conditions to form a decision making model for identifyingrnthe appropriate wastewater alternatives in Thailand.