Evaluating the Role of Polyelectrolyte in Effluent Treatment Process at Water Treatment Plants for Balancing Water resources (Case Study: Water Treatment Plants of Tehran)

Abstract

With the use of technology at water treatment plants (WTPs), it is possible to reduce the uncertainty between the supply and demand of drinking water. In this study, we propose a method for reducing effluent production at water treatment plants using effluent treatment. The effluent resulting from water treatment plants is treated with polyelectrolyte's, and a considerable amount of effluent is reused after sedimentation has taken place. As a result of changing the effluent treatment process at water treatment plants, as well as a shortage of groundwater, the aquifer balance and replacement approach was analyzed. Additionally, a hybrid ANN-WOA model was used to demonstrate that effluent treatment changes at WPTs have positive effects on groundwater resources. Therefore, three input variables were defined as groundwater resources level, aquifer recharge, and aquifer discharge in the hybrid model. In ten years, they were simulated. The model considered the water savings gained by changing the treatment process, and groundwater level changes were based on the desirability index. As a result of considering water thrift, the groundwater level increased by 23% on average. The multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach was employed due to the importance of increased effluent in water treatment plants. The results of the study found that the priority was to allocate water to industries, followed by a green space in the immediate vicinity of the plant. As a result of the study, novel technologies in effluent treatment at water treatment plants could effectively reduce the exploitation of groundwater resources and the aquifer balance. Water thrift was analyzed with respect to the aquifer balance and replacement approach as a result of altered effluent treatment processes at water treatment plants and a shortage of groundwater. Moreover, the effluent treatment change at water treatment plants was made to have positive effects on groundwater resources using a hybrid ANN-WOA model. Hence, in the hybrid model, groundwater resources level, aquifer recharge, and aquifer discharge were defined as input variables. The model considered the water savings gained by changing the treatment process, and groundwater level changes were based on the desirability index. According to the results, the groundwater level increased by 23% on average when the water thrift was taken into account. On average, groundwater levels increased by 23% when water thrift was considered. This figure can be effective in the groundwater balance. Moreover, the multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach was employed due to the importance of increased effluent in water treatment plants. Additionally, the results showed that new technologies for effluent treatment at water treatment plants could reduce the exploitation of groundwater resources and maintain aquifer balance.