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Research status and development trend of wastewater treatment technology and its low carbonization.

1. Introduction

2. conventional wastewater treatment technology, 2.1. pushed-flow activated sludge process, 2.2. completely mixed activated sludge process, 2.3. adsorption-regeneration activated sludge process, 2.4. delayed aerated activated sludge process, 2.5. pure-oxygen activated sludge process, 2.6. sequential-batch activated sludge process, 2.7. summary discussion, 3. low-carbon sewage treatment technology, 3.1. research status, 3.1.1. resource recovery carbon conversion and reuse, 3.1.2. comprehensive treatment of low carbon and carbon sequestration, 3.1.3. operation parameter optimization and process improvement, 3.2. growing trend, 4. conclusions, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Li, D.; Wang, Z.; Yang, Y.; Liu, H.; Fang, S.; Liu, S. Research Status and Development Trend of Wastewater Treatment Technology and Its Low Carbonization. Appl. Sci. 2023 , 13 , 1400. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13031400

Li D, Wang Z, Yang Y, Liu H, Fang S, Liu S. Research Status and Development Trend of Wastewater Treatment Technology and Its Low Carbonization. Applied Sciences . 2023; 13(3):1400. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13031400

Li, Demin, Zhaoyang Wang, Yixuan Yang, Hao Liu, Shuai Fang, and Shenglin Liu. 2023. "Research Status and Development Trend of Wastewater Treatment Technology and Its Low Carbonization" Applied Sciences 13, no. 3: 1400. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13031400

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• Open access
• Published: 03 February 2020

Effectiveness of wastewater treatment systems in removing microbial agents: a systematic review

• Zahra Aghalari 1 ,
• Hans-Uwe Dahms 2 , 3 , 4 ,
• Mika Sillanpää 5 ,
• Juan Eduardo Sosa-Hernandez 6 &
• Roberto Parra-Saldívar 6  

Globalization and Health volume  16 , Article number:  13 ( 2020 ) Cite this article

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Due to unrestricted entry of wastewater into the environment and the transportation of microbial contaminants to humans and organisms, environmental protection requires the use of appropriate purification systems with high removal efficiency for microbial agents are needed. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of current wastewater treatment systems in removing microbes and their contaminants.

A systematic review was conducted for all articles published in 5 Iranian environmental health journals in 11 years. The data were collected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria and by searching the relevant keywords in the articles published during the years (2008–2018), with emphasis on the efficacy of wastewater treatment systems in removing microbial agents. Qualitative data were collected using a preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyzes (PRISMA) standard checklist. After confirming the quality of the articles, information such as the name of the first author and the year of publication of the research, the type of study, the number of samples, the type of purification, the type of microbial agents and the rate of removal of microbial agents were entered into the checklist. Also the removal rates of the microbial agents mentioned in the studies were compared with united states environmental protection agency (US-EPA) standards.

In this study, 1468 articles retrieved from 118 issues of 5 environmental health journals were reviewed. After reviewing the quality of the articles in accordance with the research objectives, 14 articles were included in the study that were published between 2010 and 2018. In most studies, two main indicators Total coliforms and Fecal coliforms in wastewater were investigated. Removing fungi and viral contamination from wastewater was not found in any of the 14 studies. Different systems (activated sludge, stabilization ponds, wetlands, and low and medium pressure UV disinfection systems were used to remove microbial agents in these studies. Most articles used active sludge systems to remove Total coliforms and Fecal coliforms , which in some cases were not within the US-EPA standard. The removal of Cysts and Parasitic eggs was only reporte from stabilization pond systems (SPS) where removal efficiency was found in accordance with US-EPA standards.

Conclusions

Different types of activated sludge systems have higher efficacy to remove microbial agents and are more effective than other mentioned systems in removing the main indicators of sewage contamination including Total coliforms and Fecal coliforms . However, inappropriate operation, maintenance and inadequate handling of activated sludge can also reduce its efficiency and reduce the removal of microbial agents, which was reported in some studies. Therefore, it is recommended to conduct research on how to improve the operation, maintenance, and proper management of activated sludge systems to transfer knowledge to users of sludge systems and prevent further health issues related to microbial agents.

Introduction

Due to hazardous impacts of municipal, industrial and hospital wastewater on water, soil, air and agricultural products, wastewater treatment and the proper disposal of the sludge produced are indispensable from an environmental safety point of view [ 1 , 2 ]. Economically, effective wastewater treatment has important effects on saving water, and preventing unnecessary water losses [ 3 ]. In arid and semiarid countries such as Iran, the water demand has increased and annual rainfall is low also in regions of North Africa, Southern Europe, and in large countries such as Australia and the United States. Consequently, reuse of sewage is the most sustainable and long-term solution to the problem of water scarcity [ 4 , 5 ]. In the next 30 years, the world’s population will increase by more than double. Due to population growth, the amount of water available in 1960 was reduced to 3300 cubic meters and in 1995 it was reduced to 1250 cubic meters. This trend is projected to decrease to 650 cubic meters worldwide by 2025 [ 6 ]. Due to this water shortage crisis, water from wastewater treatment need to be reused increasingly in the near future [ 6 ]. Wastewater reuse requires treatment and application of appropriate wastewater treatment systems [ 7 ]. In recent years, increased research has been done on wastewater treatment using simple, low-cost, easy-to-use methods in developing countries [ 8 , 9 ]. Systems and processes such as activated sludge, aerated lagoons, stabilization ponds, natural and synthetic wetlands, trickling filters, rotating biological contactors (RBCs) have been used for wastewater treatment and removal of physical, chemical and biological contaminants [ 10 , 11 ]. Among different contaminants of wastewater, microbial agents becoming increasingly important and their removal efficiency should be reported in different wastewater treatment systems [ 12 , 13 ]. Biological contaminants in wastewater are different types of bacteria ( Fecal coliforms and Escherichia coli , Salmonella , Shigella , Vibrio cholerae ), diverse Parasite cysts and eggs , viruses and fungi. All of them can be hazardous to environmental and human health depending on the type and amount [ 14 , 15 ]. For example, bacteria in wastewater cause cholera, typhoid fever, and tuberculosis, viruses can cause hepatitis, and protozoa can cause dysentery [ 16 , 17 ]. Many microbial agents attached to suspended solids in wastewater if inadequately treated and wastewater discharge into the environment, such as river water, green space, and crops, put humans and aquatic organisms at risk [ 18 , 19 ]. Therefore, utilization of appropriate wastewater treatment systems tailored to a variety of microbial agents is essential to achieve as complete as possible elimination of biological agents. For example, in the study of Sharafi et al., (2015) with the aim of determining the removal efficiency of parasites from wastewater using a wetland system, the removal rates of protozoan cysts and Parasite eggs were 99.7 and 100%, respectively [ 20 ]. Okoh, et.al. (2010) reported that activated sludge processes, oxidation pools, activated carbon filtration, lime and chlorination coagulation eliminated removed 50–90% of wastewater viruses [ 21 ]. Wastewater from wastewater treatment plants, is used in Iran without restrictions and controls like in many other countries. Therefore, it is necessary to employ proper sewage treatment systems, before water can be publicly used such as for irrigation. This study is focusing on the efficacy of different wastewater treatment systems in removing microbial agents.

Study protocol

This systematic review study was carried out to determine the efficacy of wastewater treatment systems in the removal of microbial agents (bacteria, parasites, viruses, and fungi) by searching all articles published in 5 Iranian Journals of Environmental Health. The data were collected by referring to the specialized site of each journal, from the beginning of 2008 to the latest issue of 2018. Reviewed journals included; Iranian Journal of Health and Environment (IJHE), Journal of Environmental Health Engineering (JEHE), Journal of Research in Environmental Health (JREH), and two English-language journals, Environmental Health Engineering and Management Journal (EHEMJ), Journal of Environmental Health Science and Engineering (JEHSE).

Search strategy

Inquired information was collected by searching for keywords on the sites of Iranian specialty health journal. Key words included; ‘waste water’ OR ‘waste-water’ OR ‘wastewater treatment’ OR ‘effluent’ OR ‘sewage’ OR ‘sewage treatment’ OR ‘sewage disposal’ OR ‘wastewater disposal’ AND ‘treat’ OR ‘remove’ AND ‘microb’ AND ‘pathogen’ AND ‘bacteria’ AND ‘virus’ AND ‘parasite’ AND ‘FCs’ OR ‘Fecal coliforms ’ AND ‘Iran’.

A manual search was performed by checking all published articles. This way, the abstracts of all published articles were reviewed over the period of 11 years between 2008 and 2018.

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria for this study included the year of publication, type of wastewater samples (municipal wastewater, domestic wastewater, hospital wastewater), number of samples (more than 5 wastewater samples), treatment procedures (different types), state the required and mention the type of purification (type of treatment, type of microbial agents, amount or percentage of microbial agents removed).

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria for this study were: lack of access to the full article, inappropriate subject matter, inadequacy of the method of treatment and purification, lack of expression of the type of microbial agents removed, review studies, and letters to the editor.

Quality assessment articles

This study is based on standard checklist PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyzes). The US-based National Institute of Health Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies [ 22 ] for qualitative studies was used. This checklist is made based on the following criteria: Yes, No, cannot determine, Not applicable, and Not reported. It has eliminated the scoring problems. The checklist included 14 questions that were used for research purposes, samples, inclusion and exclusion criteria, findings, results and publication period of each of the 14 articles (Table  1 ).

Extract information from articles

In order to extract information, all articles were evaluated independently by two reviewers based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Both reviewers eventually summarized the information and in cases where the information was inconsistent a third reviewer’s comments was used. The information extracted from the articles was included in the researcher’s checklist for qualitative approval and used in other prior author studies of this paper [ 23 , 24 , 25 ]. The checklist included the name of the first author, the year of publication of the research, the type of study, the number of samples, the type of purification, the type of microbial agents and the rate of microbial removal. Additionally, the removal rates of the microbial agents mentioned in the studies were compared with US-EPA standards [ 26 , 27 ] (Table  2 ).

Search results

In this study, 1468 articles related to 118 issues of 5 environmental health journals were reviewed. In the first phase of the search process, 216 articles on wastewater treatment were identified. Then, 196 inappropriate and irrelevant articles were excluded for the purpose of the study. Finally, after reviewing the information and quality of the articles, 14 articles were eligible for systematic review (Fig.  1 ).

Flowchart describing the study design

Descriptive results of articles

Of the 14 articles reviewed, the largest number of articles (9 articles; 64.2%) were published between 2014 and 2018. Most of the experiments were carried out on wastewater samples in Tehran (28.58%). In total, studies were conducted in 10 cities of Iran (Fig.  2 ).

Cities selected for wastewater sampling in 14 articles

Concerning the type of microbial agents, it was found that a total of 14 articles have eliminated types of bacteria and parasites from municipal, hospital and industrial wastewater (Fig.  3 ). In 11 articles, two main microbial indices ( Total coliforms and Fecal coliforms ) were used as bioindicators to evaluate the efficacy of the wastewater treatment systems (Fig. 3 ).

Types of microbial agents removed in wastewater based on the articles

Quality assessment of articles

The qualitative results of the articles showed that most of the studies were of good quality but in many articles the method of determination of sample size (Q5) was not specified. In the articles, participation rate of eligible persons, inclusion and exclusion criteria, exposure (s) were evaluated more than once, and blinding of participant exposure status was not relevant and not applicable (Q10, Q4, Q3 and Q12) (Table  3 ).

Article features

Articles on the efficacy of a variety of purification systems for the removal of microbial agents were published between 2010 and 2018. All studies don in the laboratory. The largest sample size was related to Derayat et al., 2011 [ 30 ] in Kermanshah with 120 wastewater samples. Wastewater studies were carried out in different cities of North, East, West and Central Iran. Most studies have investigated bacterial factors in wastewater and the efficacy of removing fungi and viral contamination in wastewater was not found in any study (Table  4 ). In most articles, the type of sewage treatment system was activated sludge. For example were the removal rates of microbial agents in wastewater investigated in the study by Derayat et al., 2011 [ 30 ], Baghapour et al., 2013 [ 31 ] and Nahavandi et al., 2015 [ 37 ] on Conventional Activated Sludge, Ghoreishi et al., 2016 [ 38 ] on extended aeration activated sludge (Table 4 ).

Evaluation of the removal of microbial agents in accordance with US-EPA standards showed that in some articles the removal of Total coliforms and Fecal coliforms was not within acceptable ranges. For example, in the study of Ghoreishi et al., 2016 [ 38 ], although several different systems were used to remove Total coliforms, eimination efficiency never reached US-EPA standards. Moreover, the activated sludge process did not have the efficiency to remove Parasitic eggs as reported in the study by Nahavandi et al., 2015 [ 37 ] (Table 4 ).

Examination of microbial removal rates in the study of Ghoreishi et al., 2016 [ 38 ] that none of the Total Coliforms removal was US-EPA standard although both extended aeration activated sludge and conventional activated sludge systems were used to remove Total coliforms . The US-EPA standard for Total coliforms removal is 1000 MPN/100 mL, and wastewater showing this amount of Total coliforms is capable of being discharged into the receiving waters [ 26 , 27 ]. A study by Paiva et al., 2015 on domestic wastewater in tropical Brazil also showed that removal of Total coliforms through the use of activated sludge was not a desirable remediation method [ 42 ]. The reason for the poor performance of activated sludge to remove Total coliforms can be attributed to factors such as management problems and operation of the activated sludge system, which results in the production of bulk waste and sludge. This problem is one of the most important disadvantages of activated sludge systems and should be addressed once a month by experienced staff and monitoring experts to correct it. Overall, different activated sludge systems are the best choice for this type of wastewater due to the amount of municipal wastewater pollutants because of high purification efficiency to reduce biochemical oxygen demand (BOD 5 ) [ 43 , 44 ].

Removal of Cysts and Parasitic eggs in the study of Derayat et al., (2011), which used stabilization pond systems, was reported as being in accordance with US-EPA standards [ 30 ]. A study by Amahmid et al. (2002) aimed at the treatment of municipal wastewater with a stabilized pond system in Morocco showing that Cyst and Parasitic egg removal efficiency was 100% and that the pond system showed a proper performance [ 45 ]. A large number of stabilized pond systems were been constructed and used in countries such as the United States, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Jordan and Thailand [ 3 ]. In Iran, a number of these systems were constructed for the treatment of wastewater in Arak, Gilan West and Isfahan [ 46 ]. Stabilization ponds have a high acceptability due to their simplicity of operation, and lack of mechanical and electrical equipment compared to other sewage treatment systems, their high efficiency in removing pathogenic organisms [ 47 ]. A major drawback for stabilization ponds is the need for extensive land, the low quality of effluents due to the presence of algae, and odor production that limits the use of this type of treatment system near habitated areas. To improve the quality of resulting effluents, chemical compounds need to be consolidated, such as by coagulation and the application of microstrainers, stabilization ponds and rock filters [ 47 , 48 ].

As for wetlands by Karimi et al. (2014) on Fecal coliforms , Escherichia coli and Fecal streptococci show that wetlands did not perform well to remove microbial agents (removal rate for Fecal coliforms 1.13 × 1014 MPN/100 mL and Escherichia coli 5.03 × 1012 MPN/100 mL) [ 34 ]. In a study by Decamp et al. (2000), the mean removal of Escherichia coli through the wetland was 41 to 72% at the in situ scale and 96.6 to 98.9% at the experimental scale [ 49 ]. In the study of Evanson et al. (2006), Fecal coliforms removal rate was 82.7 to 95.99% [ 50 ]. Removal of Total coliforms and Fecal coliforms in the wetlands is done by various biological factors such as nematodes, protozoa, bacterial activity, bacteriophage production, chemical factors, oxidation reactions, bacterial uptake and toxicity [ 51 ] and the interference in each of these (microbial communities) will affect the rate of removal of Total coliforms and other microbial agents. Removal of pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Cryptosporidium was also performed in wetlands but is often not in compliance with environmental standards [ 52 ]. In addition, although wetlands are economical and widely used in wastewater treatment systems because of easy to operate, maintain, and operate at a low price [ 53 , 54 , 55 ], but they don’t seem to be a good option for removing all of the microbial agents.

In a study by Hashemi, et.al. (2010) on UV disinfection system included low pressure (LP) and UV disinfection system including medium pressure (MP) to remove Total coliforms , Fecal coliforms and Fecal streptococci. All investigated microbial agents were completely eliminated [ 28 ]. However, it was reported that the direct disinfection of secondary effluents with LP and MP systems and even their integration due to high concentrations of suspended solids was not possible. Therefore, disinfection of wastewater with UV irradiation requires higher effluent quality through improved system utilization or application of an advanced treatment plant prior to disinfection [ 28 ]. In 1988, about 300 and in 2004 about 4300 sewage treatment plants in the United States, (that are more than 20% of filtration plants) used a UV system for wastewater disinfection. The number of wastewater treatment plants having UV systems has increased in the US, Europe and East Asia. This trend is expected to expand further in the coming decades. Although the use of UV radiation for wastewater disinfection has many potential advantages, it also has disadvantages in terms of cost, lamp deposition, and the possible reactivation of targeted pathogenic microorganisms after treatment [ 56 ]. Wastewater treatment professionals should therefore be aware of new replacement processes and perform pilot scale assessments prior to changing treatment processes.

One of the strengths of this study is addressing the efficacy of wastewater treatment systems by comparing the removal efficiency of various microbial agents that have received little attention as yet. In most studies, only one type of system for removing different physical, chemical and microbial contaminants in a single type of wastewater was investigated and it was not possible to compare the removal efficiency of microbial agents. One of the limitations of this study was the lack of reviewing published articles on wastewater treatment systems in other than the 5 Iranian journals. This limitation, however, might be negligible because the research on wastewater treatment was done by environmental health professionals. Therefore, most studies in this area are published in specialized environmental health journals.

Different types of activated sludge systems have better efficacy to remove microbial agents and are more effective than other systems in removing the main indicators of sewage contamination including Total coliforms and Fecal coliforms . However, inappropriate operation, maintenance and inadequate handling of activated sludge can also reduce the efficiency of microbial agent removal, which has been reported in some studies. Therefore, it is recommended to conduct research on how to increase the operation, maintenance and proper management of activated sludge systems and provide the results to utility personnel responsible to work with this system in order to correct the system quality output in a timely manner. In future research, it is recommended that employed treatment methods integrate two or more purification systems, which then could more effectively remove microbial agents. Additionally, the reports of removal efficiency should include each of the indicated microbes so that health and environmental professionals can make better decisions about using the systems or prevent future eventualities.

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable.

Abbreviations

Anaerobic baffled reactor

Biochemical Oxygen Demand

Environmental Health Engineering and Management Journal

Fluidized Bed Reactor

Iranian Journal of Health and Environment

Journal of Environmental Health Engineering

Journal of Environmental Health Science and Engineering

Journal of Research in Environmental Health

Low pressure

Medium pressure

Most Probable Number

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyzes

Rotating Biological Contactors

Stabilization Pond Systems

United States Environmental Protection Agency

Ultraviolet

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Acknowledgements

Since this research is part of a research project approved at Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, it is hereby sponsored by Gonabad University of Medical Sciences Research and Technology, which supported the research (Project No. T/4/95) and the Code of Ethics. (IR.GMU.REC.1396.110), is appreciated.

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This research was funded by the Deputy of Research and Technology of Gonabad University of Medical Sciences. The funders did not have any role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript.

A grant from MOST to Tan Han Shih (Hans-Uwe Dahms) is gratefully acknowledged (MOST 107–2621-M-037-001 and MOST 108–2621-M-037-001 to T.H. Shih). A NSYSU/KMU collaboration is acknowledged (108-PO25).

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Zahra Aghalari

Department of Biomedical Science and Environmental Biology, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, 80708, Taiwan, Republic of China

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Research Center for Environmental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, 80708, Taiwan, Republic of China

Department of Marine Biotechnology and Resources, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, 80424, Taiwan, Republic of China

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

Mika Sillanpää

Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Campus Monterrey, Ave. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501, CP 64849, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico

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Aghalari, Z., Dahms, HU., Sillanpää, M. et al. Effectiveness of wastewater treatment systems in removing microbial agents: a systematic review. Global Health 16 , 13 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-020-0546-y

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The challenge of supporting and monitoring safe wastewater use in agriculture in LMIC

• Pay Drechsel   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2592-8812 1 ,
• James Bartram   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6542-6315 2 , 3 ,
• Manzoor Qadir 4 , 5 &
• Kate O. Medlicott 6  

npj Clean Water volume  7 , Article number:  67 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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• Environmental monitoring
• Psychology and behaviour

Unsafe water reuse in the informal irrigation sector dominates in the Global South and requires more attention to protect food safety and public health. Promoting formal wastewater use in conjunction with (usually constrained) investment in treatment capacities is not sufficient in LMIC. New approaches and indicators are needed across the formal and informal reuse sectors to increase food safety and monitor progress on safe reuse. Current reuse guidelines need to be updated with greater attention to policy, regulations, investments, and behavior change for a higher implementation potential.

Wastewater management is an important global challenge with 45% of domestic wastewater being, collected or uncollected, released untreated into the environment 1 . Of the treated wastewater share, 22% is intentionally used in various sectors, mostly (52%) in high-income countries, with 37% from upper-middle-income countries, in line with the availability of treatment capacities and supporting regulations 2 .

Paradoxically, the direct or indirect reuse of the untreated wastewater share is accelerating, especially in informal (farmer-led) agriculture in and downstream of urban areas. This acceleration is driven by water scarcity, limited regulatory capacities, and declining uncontaminated water sources, covering about 29 million hectares (M ha) 3 , roughly the size of Italy, where raw or (partially) treated wastewater is used in irrigated farming, representing about 10% of the irrigated area globally 4 . Most of this wastewater is diluted, i.e., mixed with surface water from rivers and lakes. However, as data from across low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) show 5 , 6 , this dilution reduces insufficiently the risk of infectious disease and about 95% of the area under wastewater use has to be considered unsafe. This informal sector is increasing around growing urban centers with low wastewater treatment capacities, especially where irrigated (peri)urban farming has a strong market advantage for easily perishable vegetables, like in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, which are still missing refrigerated lorries to transport these crops in a fresh state over long distance. However, given the informal nature of the (peri)urban irrigation sector, country data on actual water quality and extent of the praxis are missing, undermining monitoring and risk management 3 , 5 .

So far, SDG 6.3 has focused on increasing treatment capacities in support of the safe reuse of wastewater, which covers an estimated 1.5 M ha of farmland (Qadir et al., unpublished) that can be attributed to planned (formal) reuse with ‘treated’ wastewater whatever the level. However, if the original intent of SDG 6.3 was to safeguard public health, we argue that it is much more crucial to address the existing reuse, which is likely producing unsafe food for about 885 million urban residents 3 , than to focus only on new treatment plants and related ‘safe reuse’ schemes which will even beyond 2030 only benefit a significantly smaller number of consumers. Investing in the transition of those 29 M ha of farmland and their related food chains from unsafe to safe practices could provide a more cost-effective 7 pathway to progress on “safe reuse” till 2030 than waiting for wastewater treatment capacities to materialize. Of course, wastewater treatment is the best solution to safeguard water quality—and, as such, was the pillar of WHO’s 1989 water reuse guidelines 8 . However, it is not sufficient to guarantee food safety as long as treatment coverage and quality remain limited and farms still receive untreated wastewater from other tributaries. Moreover, treatment plant failures are likely to become more common even in previously well-functioning systems where stressors like climate change and population growth are not met by re-investments in infrastructure and strong regulatory oversight.

WHO’s updated 2006 guidelines were adapted to the reality of limited wastewater treatment capacities in LMIC and widespread poor-quality water 9 . The guidelines, therefore, de-emphasized improvements in water quality as a short-term target. Instead, they recognize that a noteworthy risk reduction can also be achieved through combinations of actions along the toilet to farm-to-fork contamination pathway to achieve health-based targets safeguarding the consumer. This multi-barrier approach 10 is based on the understanding that no single barrier might achieve the desired pathogenic risk reduction, however a suitable combination of barriers (or action) can provide significant protection. Such approaches are well recognized: in the hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) concept for food safety; Water Safety Plans as applied to drinking water; and are unified in WHO’s overall approach to water-related safety norms 10 , 11 .

While some pathogen barriers or risk reduction practices, like drip irrigation and cessation of irrigation, were already included in the 1989 edition of the WHO guidelines, the 2006 guidelines and the related WHO information kits and Sanitation Safety Planning manual offered a wider spectrum of possibilities to reduce pathogen loads on farm, in markets, and kitchens 8 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 .

Nearly 20 years later, where are we?

Data on wastewater generation by country and population are adequate and increasing, however, data on wastewater use remain sparse and inadequate 2 , especially as mentioned from the vast informal sector; similarly, explicit and coherent risk management strategies are limited to very few countries 14 .

On reflection, we can now see that the concept of health-based targets and suggested methodologies like quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) 9 were challenging especially when compared to the simplistic water quality thresholds which they superseded 8 . As much as the multi-barrier approach makes sense, the mechanisms to make it work in the majority of LMIC where its benefits are arguably greatest are challenging 15 . Even in Ghana, where over many years, different pathogen barriers were tested, no promotion, adoption, and consequentially no impact on food safety appears visible 16 , 17 . This contrasts unfavorably with the widespread adoption of Water Safety Plans for drinking water. The challenges are exacerbated because farmer field schools (FFS) shifted their focus e.g., to antimicrobial resistance, and codex alimentarius expert committees prefer discussing ever-more sophisticated technologies such as washing lettuce leaves in ozonated water, cold plasma treatment, or gamma-ray irradiation 18 , with doubtful applicability for (both, informal and formal) vegetable value chains in sub-Saharan Africa. So, are we giving up on increasing food safety in the informal irrigation sector of LMIC, where the use of poorly or untreated wastewater is most common?

The multi-barrier approach works apparently best where (i) the value chain is highly regulated and monitored, (ii) barriers are ideally a combination of technologies, and (iii) stakeholders along the food chain are aware of pathogenic risks (as it is more frequent with drinking-water). However, our knowledge is very limited on how to support behavior change for health risk reduction where (i) risk awareness is low and also not a stakeholder priority, (ii) risk mitigation might increase costs to producers and consumers, and (iii) the health benefits are distant and less certainly associated with their origin, means where an actor, like a farmer, supposed to ascertain food safety might never meet the beneficiary consumers, who might in turn never learn what made them sick to complain 19 ? On the other hand, where consumers are aware, they can induce change by objecting to certain traders or their practices 20 .

How to progress

Solutions will likely be context-specific and require significant (social science) research to understand and facilitate behavior change where technical barriers are no option 21 like in the informal food sector, which plays a key role in safeguarding public health in LMIC 14 . While behavior triggers and incentives might be location-specific, we can and should identify more generic alternative indicators of progress toward the safety intent of SDG 6.3, recognizing stepwise improvements rather than condemning imperfection. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are increasingly applied in wastewater management, but more comprehensive models incorporating social and economic factors are needed 22 . Far preferable to counting water volumes or irrigated areas, which also requires details on what counts as safe for each reuse type, could be, for example, an indicator like the percentage of farmers using safe irrigation practices or, under consideration of post-harvest contamination, the percentage of households disinfecting salad greens eaten raw. Regulatory oversight along the food chain is critical and could be a compliance indicator, but it requires enhancing institutional capacities, [AI/ML] data systems, and improved skills at national, regional, and international level 23 . This approach would shift the emphasis from water treatment to safe reuse and consumption in line with WHO’s shift from water quality thresholds to health-based targets for safe wastewater use 9 , 10 . A stronger focus on the safety of irrigated food could offer SDG 6.3 also an opportunity to make its monitoring independent from the formal vs. informal sector challenge and progress faster on its target of ‘ substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally’ .

Only a few LMICs have their own policies or guidelines for safe water reuse. Those that reference WHO guidelines mostly refer to the water quality thresholds of the WHO 1989 edition, not [the extended multi-barrier approach of] WHO’s 2006 edition. Yet, due to the lack of adequate human and financial resources to implement national guidelines 24 , most might remain “paper tigers”, as Amponsah et al. 16 stated for Ghana. Thus, while the WHO 9 guidelines point countries in the right direction, they urgently need to be updated by taking on board the lessons from their limited adoption in LMIC and related research, with greater attention to policy, regulations, investments, incentive systems, and behavior change, instead of microbiology or sophisticated treatment technologies.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express gratitude to the CGIAR Research initiative on Resilient Cities for its support, as well as to the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada for their generous assistance to UNU-INWEH. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views, decisions, or policies of the WHO or the mentioned institutions.

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Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, 225 East Beaver Creek Road, Richmond Hill, ON, L4B 3P4, Canada

Manzoor Qadir

School of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University, Hamilton, L8S 4L8, ON, Canada

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P.D., J.B., M.Q. and K.M. contributed jointly to the writing of the Comment.

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Drechsel, P., Bartram, J., Qadir, M. et al. The challenge of supporting and monitoring safe wastewater use in agriculture in LMIC. npj Clean Water 7 , 67 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-024-00364-z

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Integrated environmental management and GPS-X modelling for current and future sustainable wastewater treatment: A case study from the Middle East

• Odeibat, Ayat Sami
• Mohammad, Reham
• Abu-Zreig, Majed

In the context of today's rapidly changing environmental challenges, accurately predicting the performance and efficiency of environmental management strategies is crucial. Particularly in the Middle East, where research on wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is notably lacking, addressing this need is imperative. This study investigates the treatment efficiency of a wastewater treatment plant and proposes various techniques to enhance its performance. Employing a case study method, we utilise the GPS-X model to forecast the plant's performance under diverse scenarios, offering solutions for future challenges. The results reveal that the current plant layout operates efficiently, with removal efficiencies for Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) at 98.3 %, 95.1 %, and 96.1 %, respectively. The outlet Dissolved Oxygen (DO) of 1.9 mg/L meets local wastewater reuse standards. Furthermore, the GPS-X model forecasts the plant's performance under different scenarios, suggesting the feasibility of a new layout within 20–25 years and the need for additional units after 40 years. As inflow approaches maximum design capacity, simulation results underscore the importance of utilising the full plant design and expanding it for optimal operation over 60 years. This research provides critical insights for improving WWTP performance and emphasizes the significance of strategic planning in addressing long-term environmental management challenges. Moreover, this study represents a pioneering effort in addressing critical water scarcity challenges in Jordan by exploring the potential of treated wastewater (TWW) as a sustainable solution, thus contributing to the advancement of environmental management practices in the region.

• Wastewater treatment plant efficiency;
• Environmental sustainability;
• Water resource management;
• Modelling and simulation;
• Technological innovations

Effect of precipitation on received water at a sewage treatment plant

• Original Paper
• Published: 29 May 2021
• Volume 19 , pages 3889–3896, ( 2022 )

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• T. Yoda   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5952-5192 1 , 2 , 3  

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In this study, the precipitation effects because of the weather variations and receiving water volumes collected by the sewage treatment plants were examined to obtain the knowledge required for improving the construction of the ideal sewage plants located in cool climates. The weather and water quantity data were acquired from the Meteorological Society of Japan and the Mombetsu Aqua Center, respectively. The results showed a positive correlation between the amount of water reaching the plant and the precipitation between May and November. The correlations of the data obtained from January to April were not considerable. Because the sewage system in the Mombestu Aqua Centre was combined, the release of rainwater to rivers or sea was considered necessary for protecting the city area from flooding, and maintaining the water treatment and storage facilities in response to a potential influx from rain during cool months was prioritized. Further, the relation trends were analyzed to obtain an improved picture of the long-term weather forecasts at the sewage treatment plant. Therefore, these results are important for maintaining sewage plants in cold regions, especially in places with a high degree of snowfall during winter.

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Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Mr. Yasushi Sato and Mr. Kentaro Okutsu for their helpful comments. The author would also like to thank Springer English Language Editing services for the English language review and ENAGO for their assistance with English manuscript editing and their kind suggestions.

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Yoda, T. Effect of precipitation on received water at a sewage treatment plant. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 19 , 3889–3896 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03409-9

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03409-9

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A little about Auger

We are an independent specialist with an impeccable reputation who work on behalf of major UK insurers. We provide a national service for drainage, water mains and subsidence claims across the UK.

We achieve this through our exceptional people, who consistently exceed the expectations of our clients and customers alike. We pride ourselves on our “Auger Family” environment, creating an engaged and inclusive workforce where the importance of the individual's needs are always our priority. To be successful in any role with us we believe you need the tools, support and environment in which to flourish and we take this really seriously. We truly believe in our core values: doing 'whatever it takes' for our customers, colleagues and communities.

As a Project Engineer you will be independently completing Septic Tank and Sewage Treatment Plant installations in the region. These projects can be complex, and numerous complications can arise, it is therefore essential that you have great problem-solving skills to overcome unforeseen challenges. You'll be responsible for caring for our customer on-site, so excellent customer care is vital - you'll need to confidently talk the customer through the works to leave them with reassurance and peace of mind. Our dedicated in-house Technical Support Team will be there at all times to help with any issues you may face whilst on the job, from technical problems to vehicle and kit requirements.

Preferred experience

• Strong knowledge of existing Septic Tank and Sewage Treatment Plant systems
• Good understanding of existing General Binding Rules
• Proven track record of completed ST/STP installations, ideally with a portfolio of evidence.
• Use of underground CCTV camera.
• Use of CAT scanner in order to identify buried services and to trace/locate the drainage system by use of sonde
• Reinstatement of various different domestic surface types including; paving slabs, block paving, cold lay tarmac, concrete, etc.
• Ability to manage other suppliers on site such as electricians, building control and  tankering contractors.

We'd love to hear from you if

• You are great at caring for customers whilst completing on-site works
• You are confident in finding solutions and overcoming unforeseen challenges
• You take pride in the high standard of your work
• You are eager to understand and adhere to the 'Auger Way'
• You are enthusiastic, self-motivated and like to take ownership
• You are ready to kick start your Auger career - we want our working relationship to be a longstanding one!

Prerequisite

• A clear basic DBS check
• Driving license check
• Job competency and relevant experience

Our interview process 

• Successful applicants will be contacted to schedule a telephone interview.
• Final stage interview will be scheduled via Teams

For further information please visit our Indeed profile;

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