Prospects of Wastewater Reclamation and Reuse for Water Scarcity Mitigation and Environmental Pollution Control in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

This paper discusses wastewater and proven techniques for wastewater remediation and reuses from the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) perspective. Water scarcity and polluted water sources contribute to the death of a large population of people daily; most of whom are living in SSA. The vast availability of non-recycled wastewater and poor waste management infrastructures in SSA is the major contributing factor to environmental degradation and water pollution. In this paper, the challenges confronting wastewater treatment and reuse towards improving water resource management in SSA are discussed. One major issue identified in this work is the socio-cultural perception of people in SSA to the emerging trend of wastewater reuse for water resource conservation and management. One recognized approach by which wastewater reuse can be encouraged in SSA is by validating the quality of the reclaimed water through public sensitization. Another method is by introducing incentives that will motivate public acceptability of recycled water from wastewater treatment.