Decentralised Wastewater Treatment

Article

mdpi.com

Urban water systems face multiple challenges related to future uncertainty and pressures to provide more sustainable and resilient modes of service delivery. Transitioning away from fully centralized water systems is seen as a primary solution to addressing these urban challenges and pressures. We first review the literature on advantages, potential risks, and impediments to change associated with decentralized water system. Our review suggests that adopting decentralized solutions may advance conditions of sustainability and resilience in urban water management. We then explore the potential to incorporate decentralized water systems into broader urban land use patterns that include underserved residential neighborhoods, mixed-use developments, and industrial districts.

Article

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Unlike in urban areas where intensive water reclamation systems are available, development of decentralized technologies and systems is required for water use to be sustainable in agricultural areas. To overcome various water quality issues in those areas, a research project entitled 'Development of an innovative water management system with decentralized water reclamation and cascading material-cycle for agricultural areas under the consideration of climate change' was launched in 2009. This paper introduces the concept of this research and provides detailed information on each of its research areas: (1) development of a diffuse agricultural pollution control technology using catch crops; (2) development of a decentralized differentiable treatment system for livestock and human excreta; and (3) development of a cascading material-cycle system for water pollution control and value-added production. The author also emphasizes that the innovative water management system for agricultural areas should incorporate a strategy for the voluntary collection of bio-resources.

Article

mdpi.com

In rapidly growing urban areas, such as Tijuana, Mexico, the presence of urban green spaces (UGSs) can help stem soil erosion, improve infiltration, slow runoff, decrease flooding, reduce air pollution, and mitigate climate change. In many water-scarce parts of the world, where centralized wastewater treatment is not accessible or practical, decentralized wastewater treatment systems (DEWATSs) have the potential to supply the water needed for irrigating UGSs. Here, we first review UGS systems supported by DEWATSs and the water quality guidelines and challenges associated with implementing DEWATSs for urban greening in different countries, including Mexico. We also critically examine the linkages between the lack of UGSs in Tijuana, Mexico, extensive soil erosion, and failing sanitation infrastructure that has led to the infamously poor water quality in the Tijuana River. Tijuana’s Ecoparque Wastewater Treatment Facility, a low-energy, aerobic DEWATS, which collects, treats, and discharges residential sewage for localized landscape irrigation, demonstrates how DEWATSs can meet the water demands for urban greening in rapidly urbanizing cities. The aerobic decentralized treatment using a gravity-fed trickling biofilter resulted in a >85% removal of chemical oxygen demand and dissolved organic carbon. Prior to treatment facility upgrades, there was a ~2 log reduction in total coliform and Escherichia coli and a <20% decrease in ammonia from the influent to final effluent. After the addition of a maturation pond in 2020, the effluent met Mexico standards for irrigation reuse, with a ~4 log reduction in fecal coliforms from the influent to final effluent. Case study results demonstrated the potential for decentralized wastewater treatment to meet effluent standards for landscape irrigation, provide water for urban greening, and prevent pollution in the Tijuana River and other urban waterways.

Article

mdpi.com

In order to assess the impact of the Sanitation by Communities (SANIMAS) program for community-led sanitation in Indonesia (established in 2002), this research work was conducted with the aim of characterizing the current performance of anaerobic baffled reactors (ABRs), which were deployed in high numbers for the provision of domestic wastewater treatment in densely populated urban areas in Malang (Indonesia). Small and decentralized sewage treatment facilities serve ≈3% of the total population in Malang, including 89 ABR treatment plants. Our findings reveal that only 14% of the 89 ABRs in Malang have an acceptable performance with regard to pollutant removal and integrity of their building structure, but the majority of them produce a treated effluent of poor quality, according to discharge consents set by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia (Regulation No. P.68/2016). Clearly the lack of consistent operation and maintenance practices have had a detrimental effect on these decentralized sewage treatment systems, despite their robustness and buffer capacity to cope with changes in organic and hydraulic loading rates. Urbanization will continue to exert pressure on the provision of sanitation services in lower and middle economies, and the role of decentralized sewage management systems is expected to be prominent in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals era (2015–2030); however, sustainable service delivery must be conceived beyond the provision of sanitation infrastructure.

Article

techxplore.com

Out of sight, out of mind: we've been flushing away human waste ever since sewers were invented, using copious amounts of fresh water to expel it from our homes and cities as fast as the pipes can carry it. Modern urban water systems are widely regarded as one of the greatest achievements of the past century. They provide us with clean drinking water, channel our wastewater to treatment plants and divert rainwater away from built-up areas.

Article

india.mongabay.com

The decentralised wastewater treatment systems (DEWATS) approach is considered a cost-effective method of wastewater treatment in rural and semi-urban India. DEWATS in India face challenges over a time, as they are unable to meet the effluent standards. The lack of community participation and the delay in adoption of technology-specific regulations for maintenance are some of the challenges. The decentralised wastewater treatment and reuse system may gain traction with the proper combination of higher water tariffs, stronger enforcement and rewards for early adopters, write the authors of this commentary. The views in the commentary are that of the authors.

Article

clearford.com

Article

veolia.com

https://www.veolia.com/en/newsroom/news/drinking-water-recycling-wastewater-windhoek-namibia

Article

sciencedirect.com

“Lead-markets”, “environmental innovations”, and “low-carbon technologies” are some of the modern buzz-words surrounding environmental regulation. But how can governments set the stage for industrial innovation, new and improved products, and the implementation of new, cleaner processes, products and services? The article explores this question with reference to sustainable water technologies, specifically the purchase of decentralized rainwater facilities. It is more ecologically sustainable to process rainwater locally than expanding drainage into the centralized system. However, the market for decentralized water technologies is still a niche one compared to centralized infrastructure. The article therefore evaluates regulative instruments in “smart” support of decentralized technologies.

Article

sciencedirect.com

• Water independent housing is evaluated as a transformational urban water solution. • Experiments from Tucson, Arizona show technical feasibility in hot arid climates. • City-scale take-up has significant physical, financial, and cultural limitations. • Improvements are possible and offer substantial city water savings. • Cost is competitive with local centralized supply augmentation proposals.

Article

markets.businessinsider.com

Adopting technologies in solid waste and wastewater treatment will improve the quality of compost and treated effluents, finds Frost & Sullivan's TechVision team

Article

fluencecorp.com

A decentralized water and wastewater treatment strategy can provide the efficiency and flexibility needed to deal with water challenges around the globe

Article

sciencedirect.com

• Adoption of potable water reuse in US and Australia analysed using Process Tracing. • Collaborative and transparent regulation contributes to public acceptance of reuse. • Multi-level risk-based regulation would support wider uptake of reuse technology.

Article

innovate.ieee.org

Rural communities are often built on agriculture and livestock. That means they’re also dependent upon a strong irrigation system – a potential weakness as the global water crisis grows. To more efficiently manage and coordinate the use of a scarce water supply in agricultural communities, a team from the Polytechnic University of Madrid proposed a blockchain-based automatic water control system.

Article

wateronline.com

In 1943, Thomas Watson, president of International Business Machines (IBM) said, “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." At the time, a single computer was the size of a large room.