Appropriate wastewater treatment systems for developing countries: criteria and indictor assessment in Thailand

摘要

This paper presents a comprehensive approach with factors to select appropriate wastewaterntreatment systems in developing countries in general and Thailand in particular. Instead of focusingnmerely on the technical dimensions, the study integrates the social, economic, and environmentalnconcerns to develop a set of criteria and indicators (C&I) useful for evaluating appropriate systemnalternatives. The paper identifies seven elements crucial for technical selection: reliability,nsimplicity, efficiency, land requirement, affordability, social acceptability, and sustainability.nVariables are organized into three hierarchical elements, namely: principles, criteria, and indicators.nThe study utilizes a mail survey to obtain information from Thai experts—academicians,npractitioners, and government officials—to evaluate the C&I list. Responses were received from 33nexperts on two multi-criteria analysis inquiries—ranking and rating—to obtain evaluativenjudgments. Results show that reliability, affordability, and efficiency are among the most importantnelements, followed by sustainability and social acceptability. Land requirement and simplicity arenlow in priority with relatively inferior weighting. A number of criteria are then developed to matchnthe contextual environment of each particular condition. A total of 14 criteria are identified whichncomprised 64 indicators. Unimportant criteria and indicators are discarded after carefulnconsideration, since some of the indicators are local or site specific.