Abstract
Abstract Treated wastewater is expected to constitute an essential part of the urban water cycle as an additional water resource in water-scarce or densely populated regions in the future. As decisions on the implementation of water recycling measures should always consider local conditions, the project ‘MULTI-ReUse: Modular treatment and monitoring for wastewater reuse’ has developed a comprehensive sustainability assessment tool, designed to support decision-makers in examining the technical feasibility, economic viability, ecological compatibility and social acceptance of alternative service water supply solutions at local level. This article describes the structure of this sustainability assessment tool and its underlying multi-criteria assessment approach based on 23 evaluation criteria. Already in the development phase, the tool was tested in a German and a Namibian case study. Both case studies are presented with a special focus on the technologies used and the results of the analysis with the sustainability assessment tool. Case study testing proved that the tool is applicable in various environmental and societal settings with widely differing climatic conditions, limited resource availability, for varying feed water qualities and water quality requirements. The comprehensive, straightforward assessment approach enabled the local users to identify the most sustainable supply system or strategy for their decision case.
Highlights
In many countries, the effluent of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is discharged into receiving waters without further use
In order to select a scientifically sound and practicable assessment methodology for the multi-criteria decision support tool, widely used multi-criteria analysis (MCA) approaches and procedures for the inclusion of quantitative and qualitative data were examined for their applicability and suitability for the comparative assessment of different water reuse solutions in national and international contexts
It is intended to be used by water treatment plant (WTP) and WWTP managers, municipal decisionmakers, operators of industrial plants and consulting engineers in an initial phase of the planning process
Summary
The effluent of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is discharged into receiving waters without further use. It is expected that treated wastewater will, as an additional water resource in waterscarce or densely populated regions, constitute an essential part of the urban water cycle, in Germany. Widespread use of water reuse technologies is currently hampered by insufficient public acceptance or regulatory obstacles, analyses and forecasts generally attest Germany – just as many other European countries – a high water reuse potential across all sectors of about 144 million m3 per year that could be reached by as early as 2025 (Wintgens et al ). The need for irrigation is the highest in water-scarce regions. To meet the urgent need for additional irrigation water in countries of the European Union (EU), the European Commission adopted new rules to stimulate and facilitate water reuse in the EU for agricultural irrigation in May 2020 (European Commission ). Facing a series of dry years and a predicted increase of dry seasons in the decades due to climate change, there is increasing pressure on these water resources
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