A considerable ratio of the total population in Balkan and Mediterranean (BalkanMed) countries is dispersed in rural areas and organized in small communities that are often spaced apart, and therefore the management of their wastes and wastewaters in a centralized system is not feasible. Indeed, wastewater treatment via typical biological wastewater treatment plants might not be the most appropriate in the case of small communities since it has high manufacturing and maintenance costs and its presence within the community limits, is not acceptable by the residence for fear of odors and safety. 
On the other hand, Constructed Wetlands (CW) constitute a cost efficient and highly effective practice for the treatment of domestic/household wastewaters in rural areas since they do not require complex mechanical and expensive equipment and their maintenance and operation costs are minimal. Moreover, CWs do not contribute to natural environment degradation; on the contrary they can be aesthetically pleasing and they also provide habitat for wildlife and human enjoyment, and thus can be easily accepted by the residence. The idea for the proposed project emerged from the common need of the BalkanMed countries for the effective, economical and environmentally friendly management of domestic wastewaters at a decentralized level. Based on recent population census of Greece (http://www.statistics.gr/en/2011-census-pop-hous), Cyprus, (http://www.cystat.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/index_gr/index_gr?OpenDocument) and Albania (http://www.instat.gov.al/en/census/census-2011.aspx) a considerable ratio of the total population in these countries is dispersed in rural areas and organized in small communities that are often spaced apart, and therefore the management of their wastes and wastewaters in a centralized system is not feasible. The DOMUS_CW project, in the frame of which the present study is realized, based on the criteria of affordability and appropriateness proposes the adoption of a simple, cost efficient and highly effective practice for the treatment of domestic/household wastewaters in rural areas of BalkanMed countries, i.e the use of CWs. The ultimate goal of the study is to create a generic assessment tool, a new model platform, via which the feasibility of CW technology application in different rural areas could be evaluated based on minimal initial data. Moreover via the study it is also shown that the management of domestic wastewaters can be successfully combined with remarkable nutrients and water recovery in a cost-and eco-efficient manner.
