Collection of wastewater is considered one of the major environmental problems in Egypt. More than 50% of Egypt villages have no facilities of wastewater collection. Small bore sewer system is a good alternative for wastewater collection system especially in rural areas because the construction cost of small bore sewer system is cheaper than that of conventional sewer system. However, detailed analysis is required to determine the optimum conditions at which small bore sewer system will be a better choice. This paper aims to provide an estimation of total costs for both small bore sewer systems and conventional sewer systems using data of eight different villages in rural areas in Egypt. The villages were chosen in Menofyia and Assuit governorates. Two equations were obtained that can be used to obtain the total costs of both small bore sewer systems and conventional sewer systems for rural areas of similar characteristics to those studied. The optimum population values, at which the small bore sewer system will be the best alternative, were obtained
Keywords: Collection systems, Conventional sewer system, Cost; Rural areas, Small bore sewer system
