Traditional wastewater treatment is expensive. Operations and maintenance is even more expensive. Many national and local governments in developing countries don't have the fiscal capacity to provide WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) services to those who need it the most. UN-Water reports indicate that three times the current levels of investment are required to achieve SDG 6.

Rapidly growing and changing urban areas have dynamic needs and produce great amounts of untreated wastewater, presenting huge challenges to public planning, urban construction, and installing proper sewer/drainage pipe networks and sanitation systems.

Traditional wastewater treatment is complex. Installment, operations, and maintenance requires extensive technical know-how. Many developing countries do not have the governance, capacity, and engineers necessary for traditional wastewater treatment plants.

Different geographies, urban environments, and even climates present a diverse range of challenges for traditional wastewater treatments. Further flexibility and adaptability is needed to penetrate into areas without access to public sanitation.