Wastewater Management Techniques: A Review of Advancement on the Appropriate Wastewater Treatment Principles for Sustainability

Oscar Omondi Donde

doi:10.5296/emsd.v6i1.10137

Abstract

Water is an essential resource that is required to sustain life. Its availability has to be adequate, safe and easily accessible. Current trends in climate change and rise in human population has compromised water adequacy, availability and safety. Wastewater managers around the world have the responsibility to ensure that the effluent that is eventually released into the environment does not degrade the quality of the recipient water bodies. Attaining sustainability in wastewater management is top in the of Sustainable Development Goals’ Agenda. All in all, the realization of a more sustainable wastewater management will require a highly holistic and balanced approach in evaluating a particular management strategy's overall sustainability. Promoting the use of safe, affordable and adequately available wastewater treatment techniques is a step towards wastewater management for sustainability. This review paper therefore discusses some of the currently known and emerging wastewater management techniques that are considered essential in attaining sustainability in water resource management.

Highlights

Water is an essential resource that is required to sustain life, it has to be availed in an adequate, safe and accessible manner
To achieve sustainability in wastewater management, new concepts need to be developed in view of the fact that the previously known biological wastewater treatment systems are
More cost-effective and sustainability compliant treatment technologies should be preferred as a first step

Summary

Introduction

Water is an essential resource that is required to sustain life, it has to be availed in an adequate, safe and accessible manner. Increase in human population coupled with climate change phenomena have lead to rise in pressures applied to wastewater handling facilities (Rop et al 2016), and as a consequence, the existing freshwater resources are increasingly becoming polluted and unavailable. The crucial issues regarding the quality of water is the presence of several environmental contaminants, including endocrine disrupters compounds, pharmaceuticals and personal care products and other pathogenic organisms and dangerous substances, all of which have been identified in most waste water handling facilities. Wastewater managers should employ an holistic and comprehensive risk assessment techniques and risk management approach in dealing with water pollution issues to ensure the safety and sustainability of all aquatic systems (WHO, 2011 a, b; Harikishore and Lee, 2012)

Sustainability in Wastewater Management

Wastewater Management Principles

Advancement in Wastewater Treatment for Environmental Sustainability

Findings

Conclusion