WaterLinks partners also undertake research that support the activities of water operators in the region. The following report is the first regional report developed under WaterLinks; this site will provide information on additional reports as they are developed.    

A Rapid Assessment of Septage Management in Asia
Policies and Practices in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam

USAID and EAWAG  |  January 2010

Across South and Southeast Asia, onsite sanitation, especially septic tanks, provides basic wastewater infrastructure for millions of people. In India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam, an estimated 60 to 90 percent of urban households with improved sanitation rely on these systems. Until recently, however, few governments, cities, and wastewater utilities addressed the issue of what to do with septage, or the sludge that accumulates inside septic tanks, once the systems were built.  Rather, most implementers have focused on toilet installations on the one hand and sewerage development on the other in the belief that onsite sanitation is an informal, temporary form of infrastructure. 

To address this gap in sanitation policy, Environmental Cooperation-Asia (ECO-Asia), a program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), undertook this report on the state of septage management in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, India and Sri Lanka.  The Department of Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries (Sandec) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) also collaborated with ECO-Asia in the assessment. This report aims to document the physical capacity of these countries to manage septage, analyze the common challenges that prevent better service provision, and identify examples of best practices that can be shared with others in the region.  In particular, it focuses on the necessary enabling policies, institutional arrangements, and funding mechanisms that allow cities and countries to scale-up septage management and provide sustainable programs.