An Integrated Approach to Wastewater Management

Wastewater management focused, for many years, on the treatment of wastewater to protect the environment and safeguard the public health. An integrated approach to wastewater management is more extensive and includes the control of generation, collection and transport, treatment, disposal and reuse of wastewater in a manner that is in accord with the best principles of public health, economics, technology, conservation, aesthetics, and other environmental considerations. Regarding the seriousness of the environmental problems society now faces, the role of public policy is increasing to establish goals for wastewater management. Implementation of these goals is achieved by the adoption of standards and the development of criteria, regulations, and guidelines that constitute an integral part of the wastewater management. This paper outlines a systemic approach to be followed in wastewater management. The paper also examines the interrelationships between the functional elements in a wastewater management system and presents current trends in the generation, collection, treatment, disposal, and reuse of wastewater in the Arab region in order to derive a simplified management framework. The effluent quality to be attained by each system is defined by standards issued by the responsible regulatory agency. The fundamental rationale is based on correcting deficiencies in water quality to meet the criteria for water reuse or marine disposal.