Advances in Sustainable Strategies for Water Pollution Control: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Various technologies, strategies, and policies have been implemented to improve water quality worldwide. This systematic review comprehensively appraises technologies, strategies, and water pollution control policies enacted worldwide between 2000 and 2021. Five databases, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Library of Congress, were used for the search. After screening, 89 eligible articles were selected from 2119 documents for further analysis. Selected articles were included: (1) 31 articles covered policies and strategies enacted for controlling water pollution, (2) 47 articles focused on sustainable technologies to control water pollution in different countries, and (3) 11 articles were Nature-based solutions related. Sustainable technologies identified were: aquatic vegetation restoration technology, eco-remediation bio-manipulation technology, wetlands rehabilitation technology, floating aquatic-plant bed systems, and adsorption technology. Most of these methods are geared toward reducing pollutant levels in industrial and agricultural wastewater. Also, most policies are geared toward the manufacturing and farming industries, respectively. Nature-based solutions identified were horizontal-flow treatment wetlands (HFTWs) and constructed wetlands. Furthermore, the current one is atomic layer deposition (ALD).