Nathalie Fonder

Estimating the costs of collective treatment of wastewater: the case of Walloon Region (Belgium).

This paper contributes to a better understanding of costs for collective wastewater treatment in the Walloon Region (Belgium). Based on a large set of data, unit costs to population equivalents are modelled. Considering investment as well as exploitation costs, the model includes not only wastewater treatment plants but also collector and sewage networks in an integrated approach at the technical basin level. Beyond this modelling, each type of process is analyzed independently in order to explore the structure of investment costs and their variation factors. Then, the model was used to forecast the upcoming expenses for 36 areas which are not yet equipped with collective wastewater treatment facilities. In light of these results, strategic choices for decision makers are discussed.