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Cited by 67Wastewater Treatment and ReuseUrban Stormwater Management SolutionsInfrastructure Resilience and Vulnerability Analysis

Climate change impacts on urban sanitation: a systematic review and failure mode analysis

Open access
Hyde-Smith, Leonie, Zhan, Zhe, Roelich, Katy, Mdee, Anna, Evans, Barbara·2022·Environmental Science & Technology
DOI 10.1021/acs.est.1c07424PMC PMC9069703
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Abstract

Climate change will stress urban sanitation systems. Although urban sanitation uses various infrastructure types and service systems, current research appears skewed toward a small subset of cases. We conducted a systematic literature review to critically appraise the evidence for climate change impacts on all urban sanitation system types. We included road-based transport networks, an essential part of fecal sludge management systems. We combined the evidence on climate change impacts with the existing knowledge about modes of urban sanitation failures. We found a predominance of studies that assess climate impacts on centralized sewerage in high-income contexts. The implications of climate change for urban nonsewered and complex, fragmented, and (partially) decentralized sanitation systems remain under-researched. In addition, the understanding of the impacts of climate change on urban sanitation systems fails to take a comprehensive citywide perspective considering interdependencies with other sectors and combinations of climate effects. We conclude that the evidence for climate change impacts on urban sanitation systems is weak. To date, research neither adequately represents the variety of urban sanitation infrastructure and service systems nor reflects the operational and management challenges of already stressed systems.

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Authors
Hyde-Smith, L., Zhan, Z., Roelich, K., Mdee, A., & Evans, B.
Affiliations
  • University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds LS2 9JT, U.K.
  • University of Leeds (GB)
Corresponding author
Evans, Barbara
ORCID
Venue
Environmental Science & Technology
Publisher
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Published
2022-04-12
Volume
56
Issue
9
Pages
5306-5321
ISSN
  • 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
  • 1520-5851
DOI
10.1021/acs.est.1c07424
PMC
PMC9069703
OpenAlex
W4223637331
Cited by
67
References
100
Citations by year
2026: 24 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 1
FWCI
0.75
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (acceptedVersion)
Funders
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/S022066/1)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Wastewater Treatment and Reuse
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Urban Stormwater Management Solutions
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Civil and Structural Engineering › Infrastructure Resilience and Vulnerability Analysis
Keywords
climate change impacts, urban sanitation, fecal sludge management, failure mode analysis, urban infrastructure resilience
MeSH terms
Feces, Income, Sanitation, Sewage, Climate Change

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