Parsimonious cumulative process-based workflow for early sanitation infrastructure evaluation (CPESI): Case study of Riohacha, Colombia

In small and medium-sized cities from developing countries, the early selection of integrated wastewater management systems is challenging due to the lack or limitations in the availability of basic information and skilled professionals. This study presents CPESI, a cumulative processes-based parsimonious workflow for early evaluation of sanitary infrastructure. CPESI is aimed to provide a simple, objective, and systematic analysis framework at the early stages of development of sanitary systems in underdeveloped nations. CPESI was applied to evaluate sanitation system alternatives for Riohacha (Colombia) in three stages, namely, (1) an initial assessment of citizens acceptability of the alternatives and analysis of basic laboratory testing; (2) a process analysis and technical-economic evaluation of alternatives based on CAPEX and OPEX indicators; and (3) engineering judgment to select the most viable alternative through multi-criteria evaluation. Our results suggest that CPESI could be highly replicable in developing countries and that it has the potential to expedite the alternatives assessment process when compared to data-intensive methods and expert requirements. Several researchers have highlighted the need to develop tools suitable to evaluate SDG 6 in developing nations. We believe that CPESI has the potential to contribute to that end.