Training on Decentralised Wastewater Treatment Systems for Engineers

environment and causing serious health risks, particularly for the poor in developing countries. With rapid and haphazard urbanization, discharge of untreated sewage in to the rivers has become a common practice. The condition of Bagmati River in Kathmandu is a blaring example of this current trend. Experiences from Kathmandu and other cities in developing countries have shown that large centralized sewage treatment systems are expensive and difficult to construct and operate. In this context,  decentralized wastewater treatment system (DEWATS) can complement conventional treatment systems for more sustainable and effective service. Although there are a few DEWATS plants in Nepal, there is a need to rapidly scale up the application of these systems in order to make a significant impact.  This requires increased knowledge and skills in designing, developing and maintaining these systems. 

Environment and Public Health Organization (ENPHO) is a Nepalese NGO with over ten years of experience in designing and implementing DEWATS. ENPHO is a member of Consortium of DEWATS Dissemination (CDD), which is a network of more than 20 partners in India seeking to promote proven decentralized basic needs services such as DEWATS. ENPHO and CDD, with support from  Bremen Overseas Research and Development Organization (BORDA), are organizing a five-day residential training to introduce the concept of DEWATS, explain different modules such as simple settlers, anaerobic baffle reactors, anaerobic filters, biogas settlers and constructed wetlands, and provide hands-on knowledge on designing and implementing DEWATS project.

After the training, participants will be able to design, implement and monitor DEWATS projects.   Additionally, they will be linked with CDD/BORDA’s international DEWATS Engineers network and will have access to regular knowledge and skill up gradation through the network.