The Efficiency of Natural Decentralized Greywater Treatment Systems in Resolving the Wastewater Problems in the Rural Areas of Developing Countries

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the performance and treatment efficiency of the natural decentralized wastewater treatment systems in resolving wastewaters problems in the rural areas of developing countries. Three Horizontal Sub-Surface Flow Constructed Wetland treatment systems (HFCW), three Vertical Flow Constructed Wetland treatment systems (VFCW), and three granular filtration (GF) systems were constructed and monitored for approximately 12 months. Each treatment system served a single rural Jordanian home by treating their greywater and recycling it for home garden irrigation. Different media types and orientations were used as filtration media in the systems. The results show that the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD₅), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and Total Suspended Solid (TSS) of the effluent were significantly lower as compared to the influent and demonstrated a removal efficiency of 84%, 89%, and 88%, respectively, when using HFCW. The removal efficiency was 90%, 90%, and 92%, respectively, when using VFCW. The removal efficiency was 61%, 58%, and 81%, respectively, when using GF. The study suggests that the studied natural treatment systems adequately treated greywater under arid conditions; however, the GF system was less efficient than the wetland systems.