Technical Feasibility of decentralised Greywater Treatment Units to improve Sanitation in peri-urban Areas of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Diploma Thesis

Following the global development of large cities, Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia, is currently facing the challenges that evolve from urbanisation. Informal settlements (‘ger areas’) are rapidly established outside the city centre. Ger area households are not connected to piped water supply or sewage systems and local residents are depending on drinking water from public water kiosks. After usage, the water is discharged into the soil, in an uncontrolled manner in form of greywater. Due to the fact that water is used several times and traditional diet contains high amounts of fat, local greywater is heavily polluted (COD up to 12,144 mg/l, E.coli up to 2.1*106 CFU/100ml). The lack of sewage systems is leading to high rates of water borne diseases, such as diarrhea or Hepatitis A. To face these challenges, two different greywater pilot systems are developed and constructed in the context of this research work. Their set-up and operation are specifically based upon high pollution levels of the greywater and extreme local climate conditions (temperatures drop below -40°C). The low-tech small-scale treatment units consist of multiple purification steps and are designed to achieve effluent values meeting irrigation standards. First laboratory analyses indicate satisfying and steady results and therefore demonstrate the technical feasibility of greywater treatment units in the research field.

Diploma Thesis written in cooperation with
University of Science and Technology
Centre for Sustainable Environmental Sanitation
Beijing / China

Table of Content

Table of Content

1. Introduction
2. Mongolia - geography, population, climate and water situation
3. ACF – Action Contre La Faim
4. Characteristics of greywater with focus on ulaanbaatar’s ger area
5. Reuse and discharge aspects of greywater
6. Treatment technologies applied at the greywater treatment units in the ger area
7. Greywater treatment units from 2010 – description and evaluation
8. Greywater treatment units from 2013 – greenhouse treatment unit and ice block unit
9. Operation, maintenance and monitoring guidelines of the greywater treatment units
10. Discussion
11. Conclusion

Keywords
Mongolia; O&M; climate; Ulaanbaatar; greywater; decentralisation; peri-urban