OPTIMAL LOCATION OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS CONSIDERING MULTIPLE FACTORS: A CASE STUDY OF PHNOM PENH

Abstract. Urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) as an important engineering facility for urban water pollution prevention and control, the appropriate location selection for the WWTPs is the most important stage in the process of wastewater treatment. Improper site selection can lead to degradation of the water environment. Phnom Penh is located in the delta between the Mekong River and Tonle Sap River, with dense population, and most residents are religious. There are no sufficient and proper WWTPs available in many areas resulting in the environmental degradation and human health issues, so it is used as the study area. In the article, we proposed a new indicator system to select the location for WWTPs. The indicator system is established from RS/GIS data, which integrates social-cultural and multiple others factors, and more comprehensively analyzes the spatial distribution of suitable and demand areas for WWTPs. Finally, the minimize facilities and maximize coverage model are further used for spatial location selection of WWTPs, which can supply scientific plan and technological support for location selection of the WWTPs.