The choice of an alternative technology for effluent treatment as well as the location for deployment must be preceded by a study of environmental sustainability. A method for assessing the sustainability of wastewater treatment plants, based on environmental, social and economic-financial characteristics was proposed. The method was applied to three wastewater treatment plants using stabilization ponds, located in the municipalities of Cajati, Jacupiranga and Pariquera-Açu, all belonging to the Lower Ribeira de Iguape River basin, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The lack of values for some parameters considered in the formulation of indicators undermined the achievement of more realistic values. The proposed method proved to be easy to visualize the condition of sustainability of wastewater treatment stations using stabilization ponds.
sustainability indicators; stabilization ponds; environmental sustainability
