The Challenge of Septage Management
Across South and South East Asia, onsite sanitation, especially septic tanks, provides basic wastewater infrastructure for millions of people. In peri-urban and urban settings, they are the predominant form of primary waste treatment. When properly maintained and regularly emptied, septic tanks separate solid from liquid waste, so that discharged liquid effluent, which flows into open drains, combined sewers and surface waters, contain lower levels of pollutants. However, despite the prevalence of onsite sanitation, many national and local governments are not aware of the importance of regular desludging and are unable to provide regulations, policies, or funds in support of domestic sludge management. As a result, onsite systems in these countries are rarely emptied and, when they are, the sludge is usually disposed of in water bodies and open land. Both the highly contaminated liquid effluent and the untreated sludge enter waterways and groundwater, exposing people to disease-causing pathogens and polluting the environment.

Workshop and Training Overview
To better understand the current policies and practices in Asia, USAID, in collaboration with Eawag/Sandec, has conducted a 7-country assessment. This study forms the basis of this regional workshop and training on developing comprehensive septage management programs in Southeast Asia. Indah Water Konsortium (IWK), Malaysia’s national sewerage services provided, has conducted scheduled desludging nationwide for over a decade and has developed significant expertise in this area. Over the course of the four-day training, IWK will train participants on the major components necessary to a comprehensive onsite sanitation management program, share the lessons it has learned, and guide participants in their program development. As Southeast Asian countries have much to learn from each other, the training also asks participants to showcase and discuss model practices that have been developed in their cities and countries. Dr. Doulaye Koné from Sandec/Eawag, a major contributor to the WaterLinks study, will also lead sessions comparing countries’ relative weaknesses and strengths, and opportunities for collaboration.

The training asks participants to evaluate current gaps in their management programs and develop strategies to improvement them. Participants will present their proposals on the final day of the training and obtain feedback from the rest of the team. The training will close with a session discussing opportunities for twinning partnerships between participants, and opportunities and mechanisms for continued exchange.

Objectives

• Build the awareness and capacity of participating cities and governments to provide comprehensive septage management programs
• Help participants develop action plans to improve management in their jurisdictions
• Identify opportunities for regional partnership and exchange to strengthen ongoing initiatives

Focus Areas

• Importance of proper management
• Types of national and local policies and management frameworks
• Promotion of public awareness and acceptance
• Financing and private sector engagement
• Physical infrastructure and practices in sludge collection, transport, treatment, disposal and recordkeeping (presentations and field visits) 
• Presentation of best practices from participating countries
• Discussion of local and national barriers, needs, and strategies
• Partnership development