Wastewater management in Greece: experience and lessons for developing countries

Technologies to treat wastewater are now well established and are capable o f producing almost any degree of purification. The main issue surrounding t he selection of a given process lies in deciding which is the most appropri ate and applicable technology for the particular social, political and econ omic environment. This paper concentrates on the development of the municip al wastewater treatment sector in Greece. It examines the deficiencies and problems arising from the implementation of wastewater management policies and makes a number of suggestions and recommendations. The areas considered include, among others, historical development, economic development and po llution control, key issues for wastewater treatment policies and lessons a pplicable to developing countries. It is hoped that this study will be a va luable source of information for countries embarking on nationwide sanitati on projects.