Managing risks in advanced wastewater treatment plants

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Hauser ◽  
K. Sathrugnan ◽  
F. Roedler
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Stakeholder Involvement ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Wastewater Management ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
Definition Of

Water scarcity, water pollution control measures and protection of the aquatic environment are major driving forces to develop effective and efficient wastewater management strategies. Today, our objectives in wastewater management are far away from just treatment, but rather to integrate water reclamation, energy and material recovery. Only the integration of water, energy and material allows truly sustainable solutions. Though the concepts and technologies are principally available, these integrated solutions are still not deployed on a large scale. One major inhibitor of realizing such holistic solutions with their increased complexity is the uncertainty of the related risks, which can be technical, economic, financial and/or socio-cultural. This paper presents a risk management framework to identify, quantify and ultimately manage the implied risks in complex wastewater treatment plants. The key components of this framework are stakeholder involvement, scientific knowledge, data analysis, technology management and definition of performance goals.

Bottlenecks in the Implementation of On-Site Wastewater Treatment Plants on a Large Scale in The Netherlands

1990 ◽  
Vol 22 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 291-298
Author(s):  
Frits A. Fastenau ◽  
Jaap H. J. M. van der Graaf ◽  
Gerard Martijnse
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Housing Stock ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Domestic Wastewater ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Definition Of

More than 95 % of the total housing stock in the Netherlands is connected to central sewerage systems and in most cases the wastewater is treated biologically. As connection to central sewerage systems has reached its economic limits, interest in on-site treatment of the domestic wastewater of the remaining premises is increasing. A large scale research programme into on-site wastewater treatment up to population equivalents of 200 persons has therefore been initiated by the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment. Intensive field-research work did establish that the technological features of most on-site biological treatment systems were satisfactory. A large scale implementation of these systems is however obstructed in different extents by problems of an organisational, financial and/or juridical nature and management difficulties. At present research is carried out to identify these bottlenecks and to analyse possible solutions. Some preliminary results are given which involve the following ‘bottlenecks':-legislation: absence of co-ordination and absence of a definition of ‘surface water';-absence of subsidies;-ownership: divisions in task-setting of Municipalities and Waterboards; divisions involved with cost-sharing;-inspection; operational control and maintenance; organisation of management;-discharge permits;-pollution levy;-sludge disposal. Final decisions and practical elaboration of policies towards on-site treatment will have to be formulated in a broad discussion with all the authorities and interest groups involved.

Status and future trends of ICA in wastewater treatment – a European perspective

2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 485-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Jeppsson ◽  
J. Alex ◽  
M.N. Pons ◽  
H. Spanjers ◽  
P.A. Vanrolleghem
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Future Trends ◽  
Real Time Control ◽  
Individual Country ◽  
Time Control ◽  
The Status ◽  
On Line

The status of instrumentation, control and automation (ICA) within the European wastewater community is reviewed and some major incentives and bottlenecks are defined. Future trends of ICA are also discussed. The information is based on a COST 624 workshop and a non-exhaustive survey with regard to ICA carried out in 13 European countries during March 2001. The level of instrumentation (type of sensors, usage frequency, etc.) and how these instruments are used for on-line control purposes are presented for each individual country (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland). The most common types of applied real-time control in wastewater treatment plants are given. One conclusion of the paper is that sensors no longer represent the main bottleneck for on-line control, rather the lack of plant flexibility is more troublesome. Moreover, the current transitional phase of the wastewater industry in Europe represents a unique opportunity to apply ICA on a large scale. The driving forces are simply too strong to ignore.

scholarly journals Challenges and Resolutions for Sustainable Domestic Wastewater Management in Kabul City, Afghanistan

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1394-1401
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Drainage System ◽  
Domestic Wastewater ◽  
Wastewater Management ◽  
Residential Areas ◽  
Management Framework ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
Improved Sanitation ◽  
Treatment Facilities

There is an extreme lack of statistics about Kabul city wastewater management. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to investigate and address the current circumstances and key challenges of domestic wastewater management in residential areas. In addition, to recommend sustainable solutions. The methodology adopted includes the use of questionnaires, field observation and review relevant documents from related stakeholders. The result indicated that more than 50% of households do not have improved toilets. There are no proper wastewater treatment plants except Macroyans’ wastewater treatment facilities that are not worked properly. Furthermore, there is no proper drainage system. Approximately 100 % of domestic wastewater is discharged to the environment without appropriate treatment that creates severe health and environmental problems such as groundwater pollution, bad odors, and effects on biodiversity. The major diseases are diarrhea, malaria, cholera, and typhoid. The key challenges of domestic wastewater management include; absence of improved sanitation facilities, lack of proper wastewater treatment plants and drainages system, poor government responsibilities, deficiency of public participation and unsolid of sustainable wastewater management framework. According to the current circumstances and challenges of domestic wastewater management: decentralized wastewater treatment technologies, enforcement of legislation, decentralization of planning and budgeting to local institutions, involving public, planners and policy-makers at all level and forming of a sustainable wastewater management framework are the main elements which can contribute with wastewater management sustainability in Kabul city

scholarly journals Urban Wastewater Treatment in African Countries: Evidence from the Hydroaid Initiative

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 12828
Author(s):  
Marco Ravina ◽  
Sergio Galletta ◽  
Augustin Dagbetin ◽  
Omama Ahmed Hussein Kamaleldin ◽  
Madalitso Mng’ombe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Wastewater Management ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Training Project ◽  
Planning Strategy ◽  
The Status ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Urban Wastewater Treatment

This study is based on the evidence collected during the “Technical e-Learning Course on Wastewater Treatment”, an international training project developed in 2020 in Italy by the Hydroaid Association, in collaboration with Turin Polytechnic. This work intended to address the sustainability of urban sanitation in various African countries, which the world of international cooperation has been looking at in recent years with growing interest. A comparative analysis of the current strategies and technological solutions was conducted. Data and information reported by the project participants were elaborated and verified. Four African countries—Benin, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Malawi—were considered and two relevant case studies among those proposed by the participants were presented. Starting from this analysis, significant elements about the status and coverage of wastewater management were extracted and reported. The analysis of existing wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) allowed evaluating their design features and current status of operation. Considerations about the environmental, economic, social, and technical sustainability of wastewater treatment and management were finally reported. Conducting such an analysis provided support in identifying the best practices and the most recurrent problems linked to the various African contexts, which need to be considered for a complete definition of the planning strategy for accessible, efficient, and sustainable sanitation infrastructures.

Microplastics from the Sources to Sinks: Assessment of Microplastics in the River Freshwater Environments and Wastewater Treatment Plants

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A H M Enamul Kabir ◽  
Masahiko Sekine ◽  
Tsuyoshi Imai ◽  
Koichi Yamamoto ◽  
Ariyo Kanno ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Point Source ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Source To Sink ◽  
Comprehensive Knowledge ◽  
Marine Realm

<p>Freshwater microplastics pollution has been a recent focus. River freshwater microplastics pollution are vital towards freshwater ecosystems as well as have been the prominent source-to-sink conduits to export MPs into the marine realm. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been identified as one of the major point-sources. To date, sources-to-sinks comprehensive knowledge are highly limited. This study explored sources-to-sinks microplastics pollution i.e., WWTPs-to-river-to-marine comprehensively. The two rivers i.e., Koya River (KR) and Nishiki River (NR) which are flowing to the Seto Inland Sea (SIS) and the WWTPs effluent samples were collected from selected (n=37) stations in the Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan. Filtration, wet peroxidation, and density separation methods were employed to extract microplastics particles. Polymers were identified via attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The average microplastics abundances were found KR—82.25±67.84 n/L and NR—38.73±24.13 n/L for the river water, and KRWWTPs—79.5±3.5 n/L and NRWWTPs—72.25±23.64 n/L for WWTPs effluents, respectively. The KR were found to be more polluted than the NR. WWTPs effluents were found posing higher abundances than rivers. Significantly higher microplastics concentration were found in the WWTPs downstream stations than other river stations. Characterization revealed that small MPs (<1000 µm) in size, fibers in shape, polymers— polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, vinylon were major in both of the WWTPs effluents and rivers. WWTPs influenced river environments by means both of the abundances and microplastics characteristics (shapes-size-polymers). The estimated source-to-sink emission demonstrated a substantial number of MPs discharge into the rivers by the WWTPs (0.007—0.086 billion/day) and rivers-to-SIS marine environments (1.15—7.951 billion/day). The emission represented that the WWTPs were the prominent point-source to cause river microplastics pollution. Rivers were the initial sinks of the Japan land-sourced microplastics and prominent pathways to emit microplastics to the ultimate marine sink i.e., SIS. Large amounts of MPs are being generated on land sources before the plastics wastes degrade into MPs secondarily. The pollution characteristics (shapes-sizes-polymers) indicated ecotoxicological threats to these rivers and the downstream environments. Overall, this study provided an insight of sources-to-sinks pollution, fulfilled the preliminary knowledge gaps of pollution occurring land-sources, fate and loadings. We recommended microplastics pollution control at source. This study will aid in developing microplastics pollution control and management strategies for environmental protection and sustainability in the regional Japan as well as global context upon “thinking globally and acting locally”.</p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong>Abundance, Point-source, Source-to-sink, Riverine microplastics pollution, Wastewater treatment plants</p>

Clustering of towns and villages for centralized wastewater treatment

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (11) ◽  
pp. 85-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassaan A. Abd El Gawad ◽  
J. H. C. Butter
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Wastewater Management ◽  
Specific Situation ◽  
Master Plan ◽  
Operation Costs ◽  
Treatment Technologies ◽  
Centralized Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Number Of Treatment

In 1993 the Governorate of Fayoum completed its master plan for wastewater management. The master plan presents a staged implementation schedule for the development of wastewater facilities for the Governorate, covering needs up to the year 2020. The targets are ambitious: in order to meet sanitary health standards, nearly two million people (or 60% of the total population) living in 70 towns and villages would need to be served with sewerage systems. Providing all these areas with separate wastewater treatment plants would be impractical. The centralization of treatment at a limited number of treatment plants for clusters of towns and villages has advantages in terms of manageability, cost and environmental protection. In the master plan the configuration of these clusters is presented. For that purpose a stepped approach has been developed: an approach in which aspects such as construction and operation costs of the facilities, existing infrastructure, the geography of the governorate, environmental impact, alternative treatment technologies and phasing of implementation have been considered. An important element of the stepped approach is an analytical model with which - from financial point of view - the optimum size of a cluster can be estimated. Variables of the model are sizes of towns and villages, distances and treatment technologies. The output of the model is a set of general design criteria which has been applied to the specific situation in the governorate. The model has contributed to the establishment of the Master Plan for Wastewater: a plan now used by the Fayoum Sanitation Department as a framework to initiate new projects and to direct the activities of other agencies working in the sanitation sector in the governorate.

scholarly journals Cost of Urban Wastewater Treatment and Ecotaxes: Evidence from Municipalities in Southern Europe

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Encarnación Moral Pajares ◽  
Leticia Gallego Valero ◽  
Isabel Román Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Wastewater Management ◽  
Management Service ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Urban Wastewater ◽  
Urban Wastewater Treatment

The principle of cost recovery established by the Water Framework Directive underlines the need for tax rates, which can raise enough revenue to finance the cost of treatments applied to wastewater. The objective of this research is to gain an understanding the different types of charges related to urban wastewater treatment that can be levied by the authorities responsible for this service. This paper also aims to determine whether these taxes contribute to guaranteeing the economic feasibility of the wastewater treatment plants. The proposed methodological approach is applied to 18 municipalities of a province in southern Europe in 2017. The results confirm that in most of these cases, the taxes levied do not guarantee adequate tax revenues to cover the running, maintenance and investment costs of municipal wastewater treatment plants. This situation leads to a lack of financial self-sufficiency in the wastewater management service, meaning that the imbalance between income and expenditure has to be covered by government subsidies. The results of this study will help guide authorities around the world that are in charge of managing urban wastewater treatment services.

scholarly journals Antibiotic resistance in European wastewater treatment plants mirrors the pattern of clinical antibiotic resistance prevalence

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. eaau9124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katariina M. M. Pärnänen ◽  
Carlos Narciso-da-Rocha ◽  
David Kneis ◽  
Thomas U. Berendonk ◽  
Damiano Cacace ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽  
Antibiotic Use ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
World Health ◽  
Global Action ◽  
Health Organization

Integrated antibiotic resistance (AR) surveillance is one of the objectives of the World Health Organization global action plan on antimicrobial resistance. Urban wastewater treatment plants (UWTPs) are among the most important receptors and sources of environmental AR. On the basis of the consistent observation of an increasing north-to-south clinical AR prevalence in Europe, this study compared the influent and final effluent of 12 UWTPs located in seven countries (Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Cyprus, Germany, Finland, and Norway). Using highly parallel quantitative polymerase chain reaction, we analyzed 229 resistance genes and 25 mobile genetic elements. This first trans-Europe surveillance showed that UWTP AR profiles mirror the AR gradient observed in clinics. Antibiotic use, environmental temperature, and UWTP size were important factors related with resistance persistence and spread in the environment. These results highlight the need to implement regular surveillance and control measures, which may need to be appropriate for the geographic regions.

Dynamic phosphorus mass balance modeling of large watersheds: long-term implications of management strategies

2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 153-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. A. Cassell ◽  
R. L. Kort ◽  
D. W. Meals ◽  
S. G. Aschmann ◽  
J. M. Dorioz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Urban Growth ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Nutrient Dynamics ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Wastewater Management ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Modeling Process

The principles of mass balance, compartment-flux diagramming, and dynamic simulation modeling are integrated to create computer models that estimate phosphorus (P) export from large-scale watersheds over long-term futures. These Watershed Ecosystem Nutrient Dynamics (WEND) models are applied to a 275,000 ha dairy-documented watershed and a 77,000 ha poultry-dominated watershed in northeastern USA. Model predictions of present-day P export loads are consistent with monitoring data and estimates made using P export coefficients. For both watersheds P import exceeds P export and P is accumulating in the agricultural soils. Agricultural and urban activities are major contributors to P export from both watersheds. Continued urban growth will increase P export over time unless wastewater management is substantially enhanced and/or rates of urban growth are controlled. Agriculture cannot rely solely on the implementation of increasingly stringent conservation practices to reduce long-term P export but mustconsider options that promote P input/output balance. The WEND modeling process is a powerful tool to integrate the diversity of activities in watersheds into a holistic framework. Model outputs are suited to assist managers to explore long-term effects of overall watershed management strategies on P export in comparison to environmental and economic goals.

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