Surveying for Septage Management Planning, 2019

One of the fundamental vulnerabilities in the urban sanitation value chain is the lack of reliable and accurate data on which to base policy, financing and operational decisions. In the case of fecal sludge (referred to as “septage”), the uncertainty is greater that in centralized wastewater systems because of the disaggregation and disparity of on-site facilities and user perceptions and habits.

With this in mind, the CDTA project team carried out a detailed survey of more than 40,000 households (i.e. approximately one-third of the total population of the city) in Jambi, Indonesia. The objective was to collect sufficient data to form the basis for the city’s Septage Management Plan.

The survey was one of the first of its kind at this scale in Indonesia. The purpose of this document is to provide a model for future surveys in Jambi and other Indonesian cities to support the strategies and decision-making in integrated urban wastewater management.