Improved Wastewater Management Research Articles

Sewage impacts coral reefs at multiple levels of ecological organization

Against a backdrop of rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification which pose global threats to coral reefs, excess nutrients and turbidity continue to be significant stressors at regional and local scales. Because interventions usually require local data on pollution impacts, we measured ecological responses to sewage discharges in Surin Marine Park, Thailand. Wastewater disposal significantly increased inorganic nutrients and turbidity levels, and this degradation in water quality resulted in substantial ecological shifts in the form of (i) increased macroalgal density and species richness, (ii) lower cover of hard corals, and (iii) significant declines in fish abundance. Thus, the effects of nutrient pollution and turbidity can cascade across several levels of ecological organization to change key properties of the benthos and fish on coral reefs. Maintenance or restoration of ecological reef health requires improved wastewater management and run-off control for reefs to deliver their valuable ecosystems services.

The challenges of wastewater irrigation in developing countries

Abstract The volume of wastewater generated by domestic, industrial and commercial sources has increased with population, urbanization, improved living conditions, and economic development. The productive use of wastewater has also increased, as millions of small-scale farmers in urban and peri-urban areas of developing countries depend on wastewater or wastewater polluted water sources to irrigate high-value edible crops for urban markets, often as they have no alternative sources of irrigation water. Undesirable constituents in wastewater can harm human health and the environment. Hence, wastewater irrigation is an issue of concern to public agencies responsible for maintaining public health and environmental quality. For diverse reasons, many developing countries are still unable to implement comprehensive wastewater treatment programs. Therefore in the near term, risk management and interim solutions are needed to prevent adverse impacts from wastewater irrigation. A combination of source control, and farm-level and post-harvest measures can be used to protect farm workers and consumers. The WHO guidelines revised in 2006 for wastewater use suggest measures beyond the traditional recommendations of producing only industrial or non-edible crops, as in many situations it is impossible to enforce a change in the current cash crop pattern, or provide alternative vegetable supply to urban markets. There are several opportunities for improving wastewater management via improved policies, institutional dialogues and financial mechanisms, which would reduce the risks in agriculture. Effluent standards combined with incentives or enforcement can motivate improvements in water management by household and industrial sectors discharging wastewater from point sources. Segregation of chemical pollutants from urban wastewater facilitates treatment and reduces risk. Strengthening institutional capacity and establishing links between water delivery and sanitation sectors through inter-institutional coordination leads to more efficient management of wastewater and risk reduction.

Wastewater Management Evaluation by Using the Opinion Survey in Galicia, Spain

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) of the European Commission considers water supply and sanitation on agricultural and forestry holdings as a part of water management policy. In this sense, this study analyses the current situation in Galicia, European Union, in terms of the management of wastes derived from dairying, and the attitudes of farmers toward this issue and government regulations. The study was carried out by conducting a field survey to 4384 farm owners. The farms were classified according to the income level (size) and the priority status of the farm, and the current situation was defined based on the results obtained from the survey. The most positive aspect revealed by the survey is the willingness of farmers to improve wastewater management, which is a meaningful data because 72% of the farmers declared to use some system for wastewater collection or treatment.

ADB loan to protect china’s water resources

An US$83 million Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan will help improve wastewater management and water resources directly for more than 1.8 million people living in Wuhan, China. This is a short news story only. Visit www.filtsep.com for the latest filtration industry news