scholarly journals Public acceptability of indirect potable water reuse in the south-east of England

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 875-885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Aitken ◽  
Sarah Bell ◽  
Sian Hills ◽  
Lucy Rees

Public controversy over planned indirect potable reuse of wastewater has been a significant obstacle to implementing proposed schemes in the United States and Australia. Surveys of public attitudes to water reuse have generally shown lower acceptance of indirect potable reuse compared with other reuse options, such as irrigation. The south-east of England is projected to experience a shortfall in water supply by 2020 and the largest water utility in the region, Thames Water, is investigating indirect potable reuse as a potential new supply option. The indirect potable reuse feasibility studies include evaluation of the technology options and water quality as well as detailed consideration of public perception issues. As part of the work to address the latter, 2,000 Thames Water customers participated in an on-line survey of their attitudes to indirect potable reuse. The survey showed overall support for the idea of indirect potable reuse. The only demographic factor to show any significant difference from the whole sample was belief system, with Muslim respondents showing significantly less support than other groups. The survey results indicate that indirect potable reuse may be socially acceptable in the south-east of England, but that public engagement and participation in future decision making about indirect potable reuse will be important for the success of any particular proposal.

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Wade Miller

Most knowledgeable observers would agree that the greatest barrier to the use of recycled/reclaimed water for various applications around the globe is gaining the acceptance of the public. Several highly qualified researchers have conducted studies on public perception and public acceptance over the past half-dozen years. Each of these studies has advanced the state of understanding of the public's reluctance to fully accept the use of reclaimed water, especially for indirect potable reuse. It is incumbent upon the water reuse community to move beyond gaining an understanding of public concerns to a phase in which we devise practical and workable approaches to the problem of acceptance. The water reuse community must formulate a basic strategy and then implement it. While it would be naïve to believe that every local situation is the same, it is possible for the global water reuse community to begin to agree on the basic elements of the strategy needed to ensure public acceptance. This paper will focus on these needed elements, which include common terminology, positive branding, research on microconstituents, embracing stakeholders, and communicating the value of water.


1999 ◽  
Vol 40 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 293-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno B. Levine ◽  
Kapal Madireddi ◽  
Valentina Lazarova ◽  
Michael K. Stenstrom ◽  
Mel Suffet

Organic and trace organic performance data for ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) at the Lake Arrowhead water reclamation pilot plant are analyzed to determine the treatment efficiency of these processes in an indirect potable reuse design. Four organic parameters were studied: dissolved organic carbon (DOC), ultra-violet absorbance at 254 nm (UV-254), SUVA and base neutral analysis (BNA). UF and NF removed the larger compounds from the influent, but had no significant impact on the base neutral fraction with the exception of sterols. The RO process removed DOC and UV-absorbance compounds from the effluent to their respective detection limits. Base neutral compounds were significantly removed by RO, leaving at extremely low concentrations small molecular weight compounds, indicating indirect potable reuse is technically feasible.


Stroke ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Razmara ◽  
Steven Cen ◽  
Diana L Jin ◽  
Nerses Sanossian ◽  
Amytis Towfighi

Intro: Thrombosis risk is increased during pregnancy and puerperium. There are no recent data on nationwide trends in thrombotic events during the delivery period. Objective: To determine risk factors for thrombotic events in women hospitalized for deliveries. Methods: Data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2000-2010) were used to identify deliveries. Weighted proportion of pregnancy hospitalizations with comorbid thrombotic events, including TIA, ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, acute MI, and venous thromboembolism, was determined. Poisson regression was used to identify risk factors for thrombotic events. The first multivariable model adjusted for sociodemographic and hospital factors. The second model in addition adjusted for comorbid conditions. Results: There were 4,305,561 women hospitalized for delivery (21.5 million US deliveries), of which 7,242 (0.17%) had thrombotic events in the peripartum period. From 2000-2010, there was an increase in deliveries with associated thrombotic events observed from 7.46/10K to 34.8/10K. Compared to 2000, deliveries with thromboses was 8-fold more likely in 2010 (RR 7.94, 95% CI 1.98-31.93). There was no significant difference in rates from 2000 to 2010 after adjustment for sociodemographic and hospital factors. From 2000-2010, pregnant women with thrombotic events were older, more likely to be White, to smoke, to lack insurance, to be admitted to rural hospitals, and to be admitted in the South or Midwest. After multivariable adjustment for sociodemographics, hospital factors, and comorbidities, admissions in the South (RR 1.26, 95% CI 1.02-1.55) or Midwest (1.33, 95% CI 1.05-1.68), atrial fibrillation (1.28, 95% CI 1.01-1.62), pre-/eclampsia (5.78, 95% CI 4.37-7.66), dyslipidemia (1.72, 95% CI 1.42-2.09), atrial septal defect (14.38, 95% CI 6.76-30.58), and valvular heart disease (1.67, 95% CI 1.25-2.24) were independently associated with higher risk of thrombotic events. Conclusions: From 2000-2010, there was a sizeable increase in deliveries with associated thrombosis. Identification of factors associated with thrombotic events for women hospitalized for normal pregnancies will aid in targeted interventions to screen for, prevent and treat thrombosis related to pregnancy.


1994 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Ragozzine ◽  
Diana Deutsch

A previous study (Deutsch, 1991) demonstrated a striking difference in perception of the tritone paradox between subjects who had grown up in two different geographical regions. Specifically, a group of subjects who had grown up in California were compared with a group who had grown up in the South of England. When the Californian group tended to hear the pattern as ascending, the English group tended to hear it as descending, and vice versa. This raises the question of whether regional differences also exist within the United States in the way this pattern is perceived. The present study examined the percepts of subjects who had grown up in Mahoning and/or Trumbull counties in Ohio. Two groups were compared: those whose parents had also grown up in this area and those for whom this was not the case. A highly significant difference between these two groups of subjects was obtained, with those in the latter group producing a distribution of percepts similar to that found among Californians and those in the former group producing a different distribution. From this and other analyses of the data, it is concluded that regional differences in perception of the tritone paradox do indeed exist within the United States and that there is in addition an effect of familial background.


2007 ◽  
Vol 55 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 357-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.P. Jansen ◽  
M.K. Stenstrom ◽  
J. de Koning

This paper demonstrates the development of indirect potable reuse (IPR) in the United States. A legislative review and a survey of plants show that IPR is becoming an integral part of water reclamation. Public resistance is the limiting factor to its development while technology is not.


2004 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten Exall

Abstract Common water reuse applications include agricultural and landscape irrigation with treated municipal wastewater, industrial recirculation of process waters, rainwater collection, and groundwater recharge for non-potable and indirect potable reuse. As compared to other countries worldwide, water reuse is currently practised infrequently in Canada, with the focus of most of the water reuse effort within Canada on agricultural irrigation applications. Landscape irrigation and other non-potable urban uses are practised to some extent, but provide an opportunity for expanded application of reclaimed water. Similarly, while water recycling is practised to various degrees within specific industrial sectors, further industrial water reuse and recycling affords an opportunity to conserve large volumes of water. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has supported a great deal of research into treatment and reuse of domestic greywater for non-potable uses within individual buildings, as well as some work on rainwater collection and use. Groundwater recharge and potable reuse are practised to some extent in extremely dry regions of the world, but public health concerns with respect to emerging trace contaminants may limit the spread of these reuse applications. The main issues associated with each of the above applications are reviewed, and the state of Canadian water reuse and recycling is described.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-170
Author(s):  
Gerardo Gurza-Lavalle

This work analyses the diplomatic conflicts that slavery and the problem of runaway slaves provoked in relations between Mexico and the United States from 1821 to 1857. Slavery became a source of conflict after the colonization of Texas. Later, after the US-Mexico War, slaves ran away into Mexican territory, and therefore slaveholders and politicians in Texas wanted a treaty of extradition that included a stipulation for the return of fugitives. This article contests recent historiography that considers the South (as a region) and southern politicians as strongly influential in the design of foreign policy, putting into question the actual power not only of the South but also of the United States as a whole. The problem of slavery divided the United States and rendered the pursuit of a proslavery foreign policy increasingly difficult. In addition, the South never acted as a unified bloc; there were considerable differences between the upper South and the lower South. These differences are noticeable in the fact that southerners in Congress never sought with enough energy a treaty of extradition with Mexico. The article also argues that Mexico found the necessary leeway to defend its own interests, even with the stark differential of wealth and resources existing between the two countries. El presente trabajo analiza los conflictos diplomáticos entre México y Estados Unidos que fueron provocados por la esclavitud y el problema de los esclavos fugitivos entre 1821 y 1857. La esclavitud se convirtió en fuente de conflicto tras la colonización de Texas. Más tarde, después de la guerra Mexico-Estados Unidos, algunos esclavos se fugaron al territorio mexicano y por lo tanto dueños y políticos solicitaron un tratado de extradición que incluyera una estipulación para el retorno de los fugitivos. Este artículo disputa la idea de la historiografía reciente que considera al Sur (en cuanto región), así como a los políticos sureños, como grandes influencias en el diseño de la política exterior, y pone en tela de juicio el verdadero poder no sólo del Sur sino de Estados Unidos en su conjunto. El problema de la esclavitud dividió a Estados Unidos y dificultó cada vez más el impulso de una política exterior que favoreciera la esclavitud. Además, el Sur jamás operó como unidad: había diferencias marcadas entre el Alto Sur y el Bajo Sur. Estas diferencias se observan en el hecho de que los sureños en el Congreso jamás se esforzaron en buscar con suficiente energía un tratado de extradición con México. El artículo también sostiene que México halló el margen de maniobra necesario para defender sus propios intereses, pese a los fuertes contrastes de riqueza y recursos entre los dos países.


1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-304
Author(s):  
Willem A. M. Botes ◽  
J. F. Kapp

Field dilution studies were conducted on three “deep” water marine outfalls located along the South African coast to establish the comparibility of actual achievable initial dilutions against the theoretical predicted values and, where appropriate, to make recommendations regarding the applicability of the different prediction techniques in the design of future outfalls. The physical processes along the 3000 km long coastline of South Africa are diverse, ranging from dynamic sub-tropical waters on the east coast to cold, stratified stagnant conditions on the west coast. Fourteen existing offshore marine outfalls serve medium to large industries and various local authorities (domestic effluent). For this investigation three outfalls were selected to represent the range of outfall types as well as the diversity of the physical conditions of the South African coastline. The predicted dilutions, using various approaches, compared well with the measured dilutions. It was found that the application of more “simple” prediction techniques (using average current velocities and ambient densities) may be more practical, ensuring a conservative approach, in pre-feasibility studies, compared to the more detailed prediction models, which uses accurate field data (stratification and current profiles), when extensive field data is not readily available.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 379-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brad Blitz

The global reaction to US President Donald Trump's executive order, “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States” of January 27, 2017,1 revealed great public sympathy for the fate of refugees and the principle of refugee protection. In the case of Europe, such sympathy has, however, been dismissed by politicians who have read concerns regarding security and integration as reason for introducing restrictive policies on asylum and humanitarian assistance. These policies are at odds with public sentiment. Drawing upon public opinion surveys conducted by Amnesty International, the European Social Survey (ESS), and Pew Global Attitudes Survey across the European Union and neighboring states, this article records a marked divide between public attitudes towards the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers and official policies regarding asylum and humanitarian assistance, and seeks to understand why this is the case. The article suggests that post-9/11 there has been a reconfiguration of refugee policy and a reconnecting of humanitarian and security interests which has enabled a discourse antithetical to the universal right to asylum. It offers five possible explanations for this trend: i) fears over cultural antagonism in host countries; ii) the conflation of refugees and immigrants, both those deemed economically advantageous as well as those labelled as “illegal”; iii) dominance of human capital thinking; iv) foreign policy justification; and v) the normalization of border controls. The main conclusion is that in a post-post-Cold War era characterized in part by the reconnecting of security and humanitarian policy, European governments have developed restrictive policies despite public sympathy. Support for the admission of refugees is not, however, unqualified, and most states and European populations prefer skilled populations that can be easily assimilated. In order to achieve greater protection and more open policies, this article recommends human rights actors work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners to challenge the above discourse through media campaigns and grassroots messaging. Further recommendations include: • Challenging efforts to normalize and drawing attention to the extreme and unprecedented activities of illegal and inhumane practices, e.g., detention, offshore processing, and the separation of families through the courts as part of a coordinated information campaign to present a counter moral argument. • Identifying how restrictive asylum policies fail to advance foreign policy interests and are contrary to international law. • Evidencing persecution by sharing information with the press and government agencies on the nature of claims by those currently considered ineligible for refugee protection as part of a wider campaign of information and inclusion. • Engaging with minority, and in particular Muslim, communities to redress public concerns regarding the possibility of cultural integration in the host country. • Clarifying the rights of refugees and migrants in line with the UNHCR and International Organization for Migration (IOM) guidelines and European and national law in order to hold governments to account and to ensure that all — irrespective of their skills, status, nationality or religion — are given the opportunity to seek asylum. • Identifying and promoting leadership among states and regional bodies to advance the rights of refugees.


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