Promoting sustainable sanitation through wastewater-fed aquaculture: a case study from Ghana

Abstract

Several of the 10 key challenges targeted by the African Water Vision 2025 are directly or indirectly related to human waste management, in particular strengthening the financial base for providing adequate sanitation services. This case study describes a novel approach to improving the operation and maintenance of a waste stabilization pond system in Ghana by turning it into a dual-purpose wastewater treatment plant and commercial fish farm. Results of a collaborative pilot study between private, public and academic partners to test the institutional and technical feasibility of the model as well as the public health impacts are presented.

Keywords:

• waste stabilization pond
• public-private partnership
• wastewater treatment
• African Water Vision

Notes

1. For example, O&M and capital costs for WSPs average $1 to $2 per person-year and $20 to $40 per person, versus $6 to $10 per person-year and $50 to $75 per person for activated sludge systems. Local labour costs will influence these global estimates (von Sperling and Chernicharo 2005).

2. There is no formal billing system in place; therefore, the contractor's system entails going door to door and requesting a sum of money from the occupants. Weak billing systems are a fact for many water and sanitation utilities in developing countries, and thus a major source of their poor financial health (WSP, 2008).