Resource recovery from and management of wastewater in rural South Africa: Possibilities and practices

Abstract

The continuous reduction in water resource availability is one of the major global societal challenges. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) play an important role in this, as they can provide water recovery. Furthermore, effective sanitation services lead to a significant reduction of health risks and protect the environment. However, WWTPs consume large amounts of energy to comply with discharge standards. At the same time, wastewater contains resources, which can be recovered for secondary uses, if treated properly. This is particularly useful for rural South Africa where challenges associated with water-based pollution, declining nutrients and water shortage, require a paradigm shift. This involves the transition of wastewater treatment plants into water, sanitation and resource (nutrients and energy) recovery facilities, leading further to social, economic and environmental sustainability. This process will involve the implementation of engineering tools for predictive modelling of the waste resource recovery systems. This review identifies the conceptual need for such a systematic shift from wastewater treatment to waste recovery facilities in rural South Africa. The targeted impact is to promote and help the uptake of the conversion of wastewater treatment systems into low cost and environmentally sustainable water and resource recovery facilities. Overall, the outlook is positive for the future use of these systems in South-Africa.