Introducing the Decentralized Approach to Waste Water Treatment in Vietnams Urban Areas

Dipl.-Ing. Frank Pogade*, GFA Consulting Group GmbH

* Ministry of Construction, 37, Le Dai Hanh, Hanoi, Vietnam (E-mail: frank.pogade@wwm-gfa.org)

Abstract Stakeholders in Vietnams water sector are increasingly aware of the potential advantages of the decentralised approach to waste water treatment. Although a number of institutional and legal framework regulations with regard to waste water treatment do exist in Vietnams sanitation sector, the basis for implementing DWWT projects on a large scale is still relatively weak. There is a need to improve / amend existing regulations, plus to add a number of additional ones in order to create a sound basis for the development of this approach. Demonstration projects should be used to serve this objective, and will need a long-term focus on operation and maintenance as well as community participation.

Keywords: Vietnam; Framework Conditions; Decentralised Waste Water Treatment; Sanitation; Standards

INTRODUCTION The Wastewater and Solid Waste Management in Provincial Centers of Vietnam (WWM Project) is an ODA program sponsored by the German Government. The objective of the program is to address the rapid deterioration of the environmental situation, particularly of surface waters, and the enhancement of wastewater management and related services in six provincial urban cities. Further it aims to contribute to better environmental conditions, the reduction of seasonal inundations, and the improvement of water quality in the adjacent drainage channels and rivers. Among other activities, the program provides capacity building services to local governments and public wastewater operators (WWC) in six provincial urban centers in Vietnam, including the cities of Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, Vinh, Can Tho, Soc Trang and Tra Vinh. The capacity building activities focus on the re-organization of the wastewater operators and the creation of favorable institutional framework conditions at local government level for fostering effective and efficient wastewater management.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) together with the Ministry of Construction (MoC) and GFA Consulting Group GmbH is currently developing an approach towards small-scale, decentralized waste water treatment (DWWT) in Vietnams urban areas, in order to take advantage of the specific advantages of decentralised waste water treatment and to complement large-scale centralised systems that do not reach out into the suburbs and new residential areas. MoC and GIZ consider DWWT a crucial component of Vietnams future waste water management, given the limited financial capacities of the sector, difficult topography and technical constraints in the country. By means of capacity building and demonstration plants MoC and GIZ strive to set the framework for sustainable waste water treatment through a combination of centralized and decentralized solutions in the future. This process has only recently been kicked off. However, a number of initial findings have been gathered already and shall be discussed in this article.

BASIC CONSIDERATIONS Framework conditions A first analysis of framework conditions has resulted in a list of institutional and legal issues that have to be developed, changed or adapted in order to get DWWT started. Table 1.1 Framework conditions to be adjusted or newly developed
Document, topic, etc. Vietnam Building Code Regional & Urban Planning and Rural Residential Planning Design standards (Draft available) National Technical Regulation on Domestic Wastewater Quality (effluent standards); Adaptation of QCNV14:2008 To be changed / adjusted X X To be newly developed

X X

Sector strategy for decentralised waste water treatment (MoC / MonRE) Guidelines for approval procedures Certification system for manufacturers (quality & performance requirements) Classification of DWWT plants Standards and regulations for the reuse of treated waste water Guideline on sludge management Local Wastewater Regulation incl. Waste water Monitoring X

X X

X X

X X

The Waste Water Management Program has started working on some of the issues as mentioned above. Options for Future Management of DWWT Plants A proper management system for decentralised waste water treatment will be requiring the following components: A clear distribution of responsibilities and tasks between all stakeholders (owners, authorities, operators, communities), with a suitable agency in the lead. An approved and agreed local / regional strategy on waste water treatment, priorities of actions, and realistic effluent standards A clear assignment for O&M, preferably through O&M contracts and including agreed annual O&M plans. O&M shall be carried out only by professional entities (either private or state-owned) Cost recovery through waste water tariffs and introduction of the polluter pays principle

Community participation and IEC activities to ensure long-term sustainability Comprehensive and mandatory planning and design standards as a basis for approval processes A local waste water regulation based on Decree 88 and Circular 09, in order to specify and localise respective regulations A comprehensive monitoring of performances and effluent values from DWWT plants, carried out by competent state institutions and based on nation-wide standards.

From the list above, only rudimentary regulations if any are in place today, indicating the huge demand for intervention and development. Furthermore, there are no agreed or approved schemes on O&M and management of DWWT plants in place that may facilitate and ensure proper performances of small-scale treatment systems. Among several options, the WWM project strongly supports the following approach for the future: Decentralized treatment centralized management It seems advisable to put local waste water companies in charge of operation and maintenance of the DWWT plants in urban areas (= centralised O&M approach). They should have the relevant basic expertise and are usually able to detach the required man-power and working equipment. Even more important, they exist already and there is no need for the development of related institutional and organisational structures from the scratch. They may however need further assistance in order to develop more skilled capacities and working procedures as well as better theoretical knowledge of treatment processes. Both private and public owners of DWWT plants should be required to sign a service contract with a suitable operator. The role of demonstration projects Probably hundreds of DWWT plants have been constructed all over Vietnam so far. However, information and experiences have rarely been published, the potential of learning from these lessons has rarely been tapped. Many experts believe that the vast majority of the plants is not operational any more, or has never been. The WWM project is currently developing a number of demonstration projects in order to channel results and lessons learned directly into capacity building activities and institutional and legal consultancy. The demonstration projects in

Bac Ninh, Can Tho and Vinh are hence important means of capacity development and institutional strengthening. The demonstration plants do not focus on technologies, but on long-term operation and stability, and hence the required resources, capacities and framework conditions. Through the demonstration projects and subsequent seminars, conferences etc., decision makers will be informed about the advantages and challenges of DWWT. Bottlenecks and weaknesses of the existing regulatory and legal framework will become more apparent, and will be sparking the improvement of framework conditions. This process is ongoing and will be requiring further financial resources.

DWWT Plant under Construction: Bac Ninh, March 2011

Conference on Decentralized Waste Treatment in Hanoi, December 2010

Water

National Technical Regulation on Domestic Wastewater Quality (Effluent Standards); Adaptation of QCNV14:2008 One of the major concerns is the development of reasonable effluent standards for DWWT plants. The WWM project aims at encouraging authorities to approve and apply suitable effluent standards which are technically achievable at reasonable costs. Standards presently in place have been developed for large scale centralized treatment plants, but appear extremely strict since they were not designed for the specific requirements of small-scale waste water treatment. They rather discourage than support the idea of DWWT. Many countries have realized the different possibilities and have introduced scaled standards, reflecting the technical possibilities achievable with smaller plants. It is proposed to apply the following performance standards to all small-scale treatment plant with a maximum capacity of say - 200 m3 / day: BOD5: COD: 50 mg/l in effluent OR 70% reduction of BOD5 150 mg/l in effluent OR 60% reduction of COD

Settleable Solids: 1 ml/l

If properly enforced and monitored, this would result in a huge improvement of environmental conditions at reasonable costs! Furthermore, mentioned parameters are fully sufficient to assess the treatment performance and functioning of a DWWT plant. In the course of the development of the DWWT sector, stricter or additional parameters (nutrients, hygiene parameters) may be introduced (time frame: 10 years). Replacement of COD and BOD by TOC would be another option for the future, in order to avoid handling and disposing hazardous chemicals and thus contributing to further environmental pollution. The role of provincial DONREs In theory, the provincial Departments of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE) play a crucial role in the monitoring of waste water effluents. They are supposed to monitor waste water discharges into water bodies, including effluents from waste water treatment facilities. In practice, however, there is a remarkable gap between the recent capacities of mentioned institutions (including laboratory performances), and the tasks they are supposed to perform. The WWM project has been assessing and supporting DONREs in 6 provinces, and will be supporting them over the next years, with a focus on DWWT plants. The approval of new treatment plants falls under the responsibility of (oder rests with) the local Departments of Construction (DoC). Performance and Effluent Monitoring Performance and effluent monitoring is crucial to verify and justify investments into waste water treatment. Presently, DONREs in charge only sample and analyze treatment plants on a random basis or after commissioning. Sampling strategies or monitoring schemes for DWWT plants obviously do not exist. For the time being, the measurement capabilities of Vietnamese water laboratories are difficult to assess, since results of official, external evaluations are not published or non-existing. The WWM project has been experiencing doubtful and inaccurate test results from WWTP effluents. On the other hand, a first nation-wide interlaboratory test on the determination of heavy metals in water, carried out by the Centre for Environmental Monitoring in Hanoi, indicated satisfactory results for the majority of the laboratories. However, the low number of results reported for some elements e.g., arsenic suggested that a number of laboratories were not able to measure this element. Hence, further capacity building and training will be needed to achieve stable and reliable testing results (LEPOM 2011).

Policy dialogues between the provincial and national Governments and the wastewater operators. On provincial level, some wastewater operators are already putting pressure on public decision makers in order to get the decentralised waste water sector going. A number of WWC have even created subsidiaries for the manufacturing of components for DWWT, and have proved relatively successful already. WWC are increasing the pressure on local Peoples Committees for funding of decentralised treatment projects. Nevertheless, a systematic and moderated dialogue between operators and governments does not happen yet. Associations like the Vietnam Water Supply and Sewerage Association may play an important rule here in the future. Certification system requirements) for manufacturers (quality & performance

The implementation of DWWT technologies on a large scale and nation-wide requires strict regulations on performances and technical features, such as effluent quality, tightness of tanks and pipes, load bearing capacity for subsoil installations, lifespan of the system and its components, etc. An obligatory certification system will ease approval procedures and enable local water authorities do decide and evaluate treatment systems proposed by suppliers and manufacturers in a standardized way. This is supposed to avoid uncertainty on the plants performances and will provide for legal security for all parties involved. A national body will be required for standardization and certification. This body could be linked to MoC or its affiliated organisations. And much more to be done The bullet points above are by far not sufficiently covering all aspects of required capacity building in order to get DWWT off the ground. Here is more food for thought about potential topics to be addressed in the near future: Unambiguous definition of Decentralized Waste Water Treatment Classification of DWWT plants Standards and regulations for the reuse of treated waste water Sludge management (treatment and disposal) DWWT and climate change

etc.

OUTLOOK Aforementioned required interventions as identified by the WWM Project indicate the severe need for improvement of framework conditions for decentralised waste water treatment in Vietnam. All this can most likely not be done by a single institution, but will need a high level of coordination between all stakeholders in the sanitation sector, including donors and national ministries. A ten-year horizon seems realistic for creating the required legal and institutional environment.

References Lepom, Peter (2011): Expert in Environmental Analysis and Laboratory Management. Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources, Centre for Environmental Monitoring. Interview in March 2011.