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Wastewater Treatment Plants in Rapid Mass Displacement Situations

This  rapid  review report  has  identified  the  wastewater  treatment  plant  (WWTP)  options  used  in  emergency  settings,  with  decentralised  wastewater  treatment  systems  (DEWATS) and  mobile  wastewater  treatment  units  performing  most  effectively  and  with  minimal  costs.  Examples  are  taken  from  refugee  camps  and  internally  displaced  people  (IDP) settlements  due  to  the Iraq  war,  the  Israeli-Palestine  conflict,  and  the  civil  wars  in  Syria  and  Sudan.  WWTP options  used  in  Finland, Haiti,  Iraq,  Jordan,  Palestine,  Sudan  and  Turkey  are  discussed.Lessons  learned  from  China and suggestions  for  the  Rohingya  crisis are  also  included. A  lot  of available  evidence  focuses  on  water  treatment  plants,  pre-assembled  Mobile  Water  Treatment  Equipment  (MWTE),  or modular  water  treatment  kits  (to be  assembled  in  the  field)  which  are used  to  clean  water  for  drinking  in  emergency  systems,  which  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  review.  The  WWTP  findings  listed  are  based  on  peer  reviewed  journals,  global  funding  agency  reports,  as  well  as  grey  literature. Model  information  is  taken  from  global  manufacturers  specialising  in  WWTP  production,  however,  there  is  a  paucity of  information  describing  models  used  in  specific  settlements/refugee  camps in  low-income/slum  areas.  Senior  experts  consulted  for  this  review confirm  that  there  are very little  published  evaluations on  affordable  wastewater  treatment  plants  used  in  emergency  settings. Although  there  are  reports  of  systems  specifically  for  women  and  children,  most  wastewater  treatment  plants  are  in  settlements  and  sites  to  be  used  by both  genders,  therefore  the  data  included  in  this  review is  gender-blind. No  specific  data  searches  were  made  for  disabled  WWTP  users.

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