Rural sanitation in Brazil: impact analysis of the septic tank digester

Brazil has more than 23 million rural people with unimproved sanitation, which corresponds to about 75% of rural population. This study aimed to measure the social, environmental and economic impacts caused by the implementation of a technological proposal for sanitation, the septic cesspool biodigester. It was observed that, per year, the implementation of this technology in rural homes with unimproved sanitation could reduce about 250 deaths and 5.5 million infections caused by diarrheal diseases; reduce pollution of waterways by about 129 thousand tons of sediment; and that every R$ 1.00 invested in the implementation of the alternative technology evaluated could cause a return to the society of R$ 1.6 in gross domestic product. Moreover, the implementation of septic cesspool biodigesters would promote the creation of 39 thousand jobs.

socioeconomic impact; diarrhea; rural population