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Clear Concepts. Clean Environment.

DWA Set of Rules

Standard DWA-A 272E
Principles for the Planning and Implementation of New Alternative
Sanitation Systems (NASS)

June 2014

Grundsätze für die Planung und Implementierung

Neuartiger Sanitärsysteme (NASS)
Juni 2014
en.dwa.de

Clear Concepts. Clean Environment.

DWA Set of Rules

Standard DWA-A 272E
Principles for the Planning and Implementation of New Alternative
Sanitation Systems (NASS)

June 2014

Grundsätze für die Planung und Implementierung

Neuartiger Sanitärsysteme (NASS)
Juni 2014
DWA-A 272E

The German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste (DWA) is strongly committed to the
development of secure and sustainable water and waste management. As a politically and
economically independent organisation it is professionally active in the field of water management,
wastewater, waste and soil protection.

In Europe DWA is the association with the largest number of members within this field. Therefore it
takes on a unique position in connection with professional competence regarding standardisation, pro-
fessional training and information. The approximately 14,000 members represent specialists and ex-
ecutives from municipalities, universities, engineering offices, authorities and companies.

Imprint
German Association for Translation:
Water, Wastewater and Waste (DWA) Bauhaus Universität Weimar
Theodor-Heuss-Allee 17 Print:
53773 Hennef, Germany Bonner-Universitäts-Buchdruckerei
Tel.: +49 2242 872-333
Fax: +49 2242 872-100 ISBN:
E-Mail: info@dwa.de 78-3-88721-645-0 (Print)
Internet: www.dwa.de 978-3-88721-646-7 (E-Book)
Printed on 100 % recycled paper
© Deutsche Vereinigung für Wasserwirtschaft, Abwasser und Abfall e.V. (DWA), 1. edition, Hennef, 2019

All rights, in particular those of translation into other languages, are reserved. No part of this Advisory Guideline may be
reproduced in any form – by photocopy, digitalisation or any other process – or transferred into a language usable in
machines, in particular data processing machines, without the written approval of the publisher.

2 DWA Set of Rules June 2014

 DWA-A 272E

Foreword
In recent years, numerous national and international research and demonstration projects have been
carried out in the field of new urban water infrastructure systems. This has led to new insights and
new technical concepts. The background to this work is, in particular, emerging changes with regard
to important boundary conditions for the water infrastructure, which include long-term ecological re-
quirements for resource recovery and recycling. These developments were taken up by the DWA and
documented in the 2008 DWA-Topics "New Alternative Sanitation Systems". The overall objective of
New Alternative Sanitation Systems (NASS) is the recycling of recyclable materials as well as a com-
prehensive closure of material and water cycles. NASS are therefore based on the separate collection
of domestic material flows directly at the point of origin.

For a further practical implementation of these findings, it is necessary that the relevant aspects are
summarized in a form that is easily accessible and compact for the main groups of actors (planners,
manufacturers, authorities, utilities and waste disposal companies).

An essential concern of this Standard is the systematization of the planning approach and the com-
parative assessment of different concepts involving NASS.

Previous issues
No predecessor document

June 2014 DWA Set of Rules 3

DWA-A 272E

Authors
This Standard was elaborated by the DWA working group KA-1.4 “Systemintegration” (System Inte-
gration) within the DWA sub-committee KA-1 “Neuartige Sanitärsysteme” (New Alternative Sanitation
Systems), which consists of the following members:

DOCKHORN, Thomas Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil., Braunschweig

FELMEDEN, Jörg Dr.-Ing., Kassel
HILLENBRAND, Thomas Dr.-Ing., Karlsruhe (spokesperson)
KAUFMANN Alves, Inka Prof. Dr.-Ing., Mainz
KIRSCHBAUM, Bernd Dipl.-Geol., Dessau
LANGERGRABER, Günter Priv.-Doz. Dipl.-Ing. Dr., Vienna
LAUTENSCHLÄGER, Sabine Dipl.-Ing., Leipzig
MAURER, Max Prof. Dr. sc. techn., Dübendorf
NEUHAUSEN, Silke Dipl.-Ing., Essen
SIGGLOW, Julia Dr.-Ing., Dortmund
STEINMETZ, Heidrun Prof. Dr.-Ing., Kaiserslautern

Responsible in the DWA Head Office:

WILHELM, Christian Dr.-Ing., Hennef
Department of Water and Waste Management

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 DWA-A 272E

Content
Foreword .................................................................................................................................... 3 

Authors .................................................................................................................................... 4 

Content .................................................................................................................................... 5 

List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. 6 

List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ 6 

User Notes ................................................................................................................................... 7 

1 Scope .......................................................................................................................... 7 

2  The objective of New Alternative Sanitation Systems (NASS) ................................. 7 

3  Terms .......................................................................................................................... 8 

4  Overview of basic principles and system design of new alternative

sanitation systems ..................................................................................................... 9 
4.1 Basic principles of NASS ........................................................................................... 9
4.2 System design ............................................................................................................. 10
4.3 Technical design ......................................................................................................... 11

5 Application recommendations for NASS .................................................................. 15

5.1 NASS as a planning alternative .................................................................................. 15 
5.2 Special aspects in the application of NASS ............................................................... 18

6  Notes for the design ................................................................................................... 20 

6.1 General information.................................................................................................... 20 
6.2  Loads and flows .......................................................................................................... 20 

7  Basic principles of evaluation and decision support ................................................ 22 

7.1  General information.................................................................................................... 22 
7.2 Relevant evaluation criteria ........................................................................................ 22 
7.3 Further aspects .......................................................................................................... 24 

8 Legal framework........................................................................................................ 26 

9 Consideration of NASS in the Planning Process of Wastewater Disposal .............. 28 

9.1 Planning Process ........................................................................................................ 28 
9.2  Planning considerations for relevant stakeholder groups ........................................ 31 
9.2.1 General planning information .................................................................................... 31 
9.2.2 Urban and open space planning ................................................................................. 32 
9.2.3 Architecture ................................................................................................................ 32
9.2.4 Water Supply ............................................................................................................... 32
9.2.5 Waste and resource management ............................................................................. 33
9.2.6 Agriculture .................................................................................................................. 33
9.2.7 Energy supply ............................................................................................................. 33

10  Conclusion and recommendations ............................................................................ 34 

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DWA-A 272E

List of Figures
Figure 1: Possibilities for collection of separated wastewater flows in
the context of NASS .................................................................................................... 10
Figure 2: Recommendations for NASS in the planning process of wastewater disposal ......... 29
Figure 3: Iterative process of decision making (variant selection)............................................ 31

List of Tables
Table 1: Subdivision of wastewater infrastructure systems into system groups .................... 11
Table 2: Main products obtainable from NASS and relevant feedstock flows ........................ 12
Table 3: Selected treatment options for different material flows and treatment
objective according to the DWA-Topics "New Alternative Sanitation Systems" ........ 14
Table 4: Promoting and aggravating conditions for the integration of NASS ......................... 15
Table 5: Comparison of population-specific volume flows and loads .................................... 21
Table 6: Criteria list for the assessment of sanitation systems .............................................. 23
Table A.1: Overview of rules and standards regarding sewer and drainage networks
outside of buildings..................................................................................................... 35
Table A.2: Overview of rules and standards regarding sewer and drainage networks
outside of buildings..................................................................................................... 35

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 DWA-A 272E

User Notes
This Standard has been produced by a group of technical, scientific and economic experts, working in
an honorary capacity and applying the rules and procedures of the DWA and the Standard DWA-A 400.
Based on judicial precedent, there exists an actual presumption that this document is textually and
technically correct and also generally recognised.

Any party is free to make use of this Standard. However, the application of its contents may also be
made an obligation under the terms of legal or administrative regulations, or of a contract, or for some
other legal reason.

This Standard is an important, but not the sole, source of information for solutions to technical prob-
lems. Applying information given here does not relieve the user of responsibility for his own actions or
for correctly applying this information in specific cases. This holds true in particular when it comes to
respecting the margins laid down in this Standard.

1 Scope
This Standard describes the basic principles of New Alternative Sanitation Systems (NASS)1) and pro-
vides an overview of the current state of the art. It illustrates the boundary conditions, under which the
use of NASS can be particularly advantageous and the basic procedure for conceptualization and plan-
ning. The main focus is on the special features of innovative sanitation systems, in comparison with
conventional systems with regard to conception, planning, construction and operation. A comparative
assessment of different concepts must take full account of the implications of all essential protection
goals and criteria. The most important aspects are therefore described below.

The Standard does not provide detailed design guidelines for each of the technical components of new
alternative concepts - due to the variety of possible approaches and the very dynamically evolving
techniques, this would go beyond the scope of a Standard 2).

The target group of this Standard are stakeholders such as planners, manufacturers and builders,
who are directly responsible for the implementation of water infrastructure systems, as well as envi-
ronmental management companies, public authorities and urban planners, in whose areas of respon-
sibility chances could arise for the implementation of NASS.

2 The objective of New Alternative Sanitation Systems

(NASS)
Urban water management has to face new challenges which are caused by a significant change of
boundary conditions as well as new requirements arising from sustainability aspects. Examples in-
clude the impact of demographic change on pipeline-bound infrastructures, changes in precipitation
patterns due to climate change, and demands for improving resource efficiency. New approaches,

1) The DWA introduced the term “new alternative sanitation systems (NASS)”. Other common terms are alternative
water systems (AWS), sustainable sanitation (SuSan), decentralised sanitation and reuse (DeSa/R), ecological sani-
tation (ecosan), innovative sanitation concepts.
2) These developments will continue to be monitored by the DWA Technical Committee KA-1 and documented in sup-
plementary documents.

June 2014 DWA Set of Rules 7