Summary
Within the framework of this project a study was made (worked out) on the distribution and utilization of decentralised utility systems at home and abroad. The reason for this was the circumstance that traditional water management concepts in many ways contradict the criteria for sustainability.
The results shown are based on a written questionnaire-survey from research groups, institutions, and pilot project managers.
DESAR (Decentralised Sanitation and Reuse), also called EcoSan (Ecological Sanitation) is regarded as a promising project for future water resources in development areas. It is based on treatment of material close to the source of origin flows and water re-use.
Its characteristics are
- Lowering the consumption of drinking water,
- A mixing ban on household material flows,
- Closing material and water circulations,
- Avoiding food-rest burdens in surface water,
- Lowering energy costs (transport, treatment).
The DESAR-Concept can be used
- in rural sparsely populated areas,
- in mobile deployment as on ships and trains,
- in arid development areas,
- in suburban areas which should remain close to nature,
- in mega-cities in South America and Asia, where large-scale canalisation cannot be realised.
Build-Operate-Transfer-Models are suitable operating models for DESAR technologies.
