Modelo conceitual estratégico de planejamento de soluções sustentáveis de tratamento de esgoto em municípios de pequeno porte do semiárido brasileiro: aplicação ao Estado da Paraíba.

Abstract

Seventeen years after the enactment of Federal Law No. 11,445/2007, which deals with Brazilian basic sanitation, many municipalities have not yet achieved the universalization of sanitation services, especially with regard to sanitary sewage and institutionalized decision-making processes. The scope of this research is to examine the progression and trends of academic studies on sustainable Sewage Treatment Plants (ETEs) at the global level and their suitability for application in semi-arid climates. In addition, it aims to propose the formulation of a planning model based on the constitution of a regional consortium between small municipalities, located in the state of Paraíba, whose urban headquarters are close and share similar situations regarding sewage treatment, with the purpose of designing strategies for the universalization of this service. In the first phase, an integrative bibliometric review was carried out, using the Web of Science database. The VosViewer software was used to visualize and map the scientific production, identifying the main research clusters in relation to the various sewage treatment technologies and their relationship with sustainability. In addition, a systematic review was carried out in order to validate the results of the integrative review. In the second stage, the geographically close municipalities were grouped, defining the central and adjacent municipalities of each group. Subsequently, municipalities in Paraíba with a population of less than 20,000 inhabitants and that do not have 100% of their population served by sewage treatment were grouped, using as a criterion the attribute of the population without sewage treatment service. As a result, information was obtained on technological trends in sustainable sewage treatment applicable to the semi-arid climate, such as: constructed wetlands, pond system and sand filters. It was also possible to establish groups of municipalities able to consortium, elaborating four different scenarios for the implementation of the consortium, the scenario of medium coverage proved to be the most promising. For society, especially for public managers and urban planners, the results provide a solid basis for the formation of intermunicipal consortia, optimizing resources and improving efficiency in sewage treatment in small municipalities. For the academy, the methods and analyses used in the study serve as a reference for future research and for the development of new approaches in the management of basic sanitation.