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Good practice Imported

Household-Scale Constructed Wetland for Greywater Reuse — Noungou, Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso · Koubri · See the Burkina Faso profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 89% 27/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

A vetiver-planted constructed wetland piloted for one Sahelian household in Noungou, Burkina Faso removed over 90% of organic matter and met WHO pathogen limits for irrigation reuse — a low-cost rural model, though evidence so far covers one household over four weeks.

>90 %
Organic matter removal (June-July 2022)
73 %
Orthophosphate reduction (June-July 2022)
60 %
Ammonium reduction (June-July 2022)
3.4-4.2 log10 units
Pathogen indicator reduction (faecal coliforms & enterococci) (June-July 2022)
Household-Scale Constructed Wetland for Greywater Reuse — Noungou, Burkina Faso

Details

Maturity
Pilot
Promoter
Institut International d'Ingénierie de l'Eau et de l'Environnement (2iE)
Period
2022
Keywords
greywater reuse, rural sanitation, applied research

Context

Researchers from the Institut International d'Ingénierie de l'Eau et de l'Environnement (2iE) in Ouagadougou built and monitored a full-scale, subsurface horizontal-flow constructed wetland for a rural household in Noungou, in the Koubri area south of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in an arid Sahelian setting where water is scarce.

Activities

The system — a shower room feeding a receiving basin, a simple pre-treatment filter and a wetland cell planted with vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides) built from local materials — treats mixed household greywater from laundry, dishwashing and bathing for reuse, mainly in irrigation. The design uses only local materials and gravity flow.

Results

Over a four-week monitoring period in June–July 2022, the system removed more than 90% of organic matter and reduced orthophosphate and ammonium by 73% and 60% respectively; pathogen indicators (faecal coliforms and enterococci) were reduced by 3.4–4.2 log10 units, meeting World Health Organization guidance for water reused under restricted irrigation.

Conclusions

This is a plausible low-cost model for other rural Sahelian households facing similar water stress, but the evidence base is still narrow: this is a single-household, four-week pilot run by a research institute rather than a scaled or government-run programme, so results on long-term performance, maintenance burden and replication beyond the pilot site are not yet available.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k) — Described as a low-cost model using only local materials and gravity flow; no specific budget figure published.
Time to results
Short (< 1 year) — Built and monitored over a four-week period in June–July 2022.
Staffing & skills
Institut International d'Ingénierie de l'Eau et de l'Environnement (2iE), Ouagadougou — research institute design/build/monitoring team

Conditions for success

  • Use of only local materials and gravity flow (no pumps/electricity needed)
  • Vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides) planted in a subsurface horizontal-flow wetland cell
  • Simple pre-treatment filter ahead of the wetland cell
  • Suitability for rural households with minimal infrastructure

Common failure modes

  • Single-household, four-week pilot only — long-term performance and maintenance burden untested
  • Run by a research institute rather than a scaled or government programme, so replication beyond the pilot site is unproven

Where it fits

Governance type
research-institute-led household pilot
Scale
single household
Income level
low-income (Burkina Faso, rural Sahel)

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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