Water Reuse

The objective of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is to prevent pollution. However, it is necessary to assess their sustainability in order to ensure that pollution is being removed, not displaced. In this research, the performance of 24 WWTPs has been evaluated using a streamlined Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with Eutrophication Potential (EP) and Global Warming Potential (GWP) as environmental indicators, and operational costs as economic indicators. WWTPs were further classified in six typologies by their quality requirements according to their final discharge point or water reuse. Moreover, two different functional units (FU), one based on volume (m3) and the other on eutrophication reduction (kg PO43− removed) were used to further determine sustainability. A correlation between legal requirements and technologies used to achieve them was found: Organic matter removal plants were found to be less costly both in environmental and economic terms if volume was used as the functio...

Most available water resources in the world are used for agricultural irrigation. Whilst this level of water use is expected to increase due to rising world population and land use, available water resources are expected to become limited due to climate change and uneven rainfall distribution. Recycled stormwater has the potential to be used as an alternative source of irrigation water and part of sustainable water management strategy. This paper reports on a study to investigate whether a sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS) technique, known as the pervious pavements system (PPS) has the capability to recycle water that meets irrigation water quality standard. Furthermore, the experiment provided information on the impact of hydrocarbon (which was applied to simulate oil dripping from parked vehicles onto PPS), leaching of nutrients from different layers of the PPS and effects of nutrients (applied to enhance bioremediation) on the stormwater recycling efficiency of the PPS. A ...

Identification and exploitation of non-conventional water sources is a priority for many industrial sectors, especially for the textile finishing industry. Therefore a multicriteria integrated and coherent methodology to support the implementation of sustainable water reuse is essential. The methodology conceived within the EU project TOWEF0 (TOWards EFfluent zero) is presented in this paper, together with the tools to carry out all the steps required by its application. A process data collection for technical/economical evaluation in textile companies was performed and integrated with a characterisation of the process effluents in terms of treatability and reusability. Feasibility evaluations of effluents treatment for reuse were performed and reuse tests in textile processes were carried out. These information allowed for the design of optimised water reuse schemes by Water Pinch application, whereas the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) permitted the evaluation and comparison of water ...

The current inadequate drinking water services and sanitation problems have incited the need for a better management strategy by the country's water and sanitation organizations. In this study, a logical review of the water supply and sanitation origin and management structures was done to suggest a plausible management option in Nigeria. The paper also revealed that the overall management practices of these organizations at the three tiers of governments (federal, states and local) is very poor and uncoordinated which have resulted in low level of water and sanitation coverage. Thus, in order to ameliorate these problems, the study recommends sector wide reforms with the aim of radical improvement in the management processes of these organizations. Other
proposed improvement strategies include: private sector participation, effective and reasonable tariff regime for effective cost recovery, increment in political support and leadership commitment, introduction of benchmarking amongst the utilities to encourage healthy competition, strengthening of the legislative and institutional framework- that will enhance the autonomy of these organizations, improvement in the issues of accountability, transparency and stakeholders involvement in the activities of these organizations. It is hoped that the adoption and implementation of these strategies will lead to attainment of improved and sustainable water supply and sanitation coverage that will meet current and future demands.

The paper narrates a study of a numerical model taken into consideration to explore the overall hydraulic performance of Constructed wetland located at NUST H-12 Campus, Islamabad. The governing equations of flow in wetland ponds and the transport particle were solved using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.0. In this study, the simulation of the model is done to find the dead spaces and short-circuiting in the wetland along with providing remedial measures to reduce the dead spaces. The comparison of two turbulent models i.e. K-ω and K-ε were also made to depict the velocity of wetland and the particle tracer study was also conducted to find the behavior of wetland. The model was simulated with experimental data and the results revealed that 15% to 20% area of wetland is experiencing short-circuiting. Alternative wetland designs were suggested for the same flow condition. The K-ω model was considered to be more suitable due to the limitation of K-ε model.