Optimizing the reuse of reclaimed water in arid urban regions: A case study in Urumqi, Northwest China

Li, Qi; Wang, Weijie; Jiang, Xiaohui; Lu, Denglong; Zhang, Yibo; Li, Jiaxu

doi:10.1016/j.scs.2019.101702

Cited by 37 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…However, desalination provides a high-quality water supply [45] and is climate-independent, although this can thereby be seen as shifting problems from one scarcity (freshwater) to another (energy), thus postponing problem-solving [46]. On the contrary, the use of reclaimed (also called recycled) water for indirect potable reuse is mainly focused on landscaping (urban wetlands to improve water quality, green areas to mitigate the urban heat island effect, and better living environments for residents) [47], although the main obstacle for landscape water replenishment is its high nutrient concentration. Furthermore, potable reuse is limited to those contexts with severe water scarcity patterns, in which water is too precious to use just once [48]; for example, in 2002, Singapore became the first country to blend reclaimed water with fresh water in a reservoir to be used as recycled drinking water, called NeWater [49].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extending Natural Limits to Address Water Scarcity? The Role of Non-Conventional Water Fluxes in Climate Change Adaptation Capacity: A Review

et al. 2021

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Water consumption continues to grow globally, and it is estimated that more than 160% of the total global water volume will be needed to satisfy the water requirements in ten years. In this context, non-conventional water resources are being considered to overcome water scarcity and reduce water conflicts between regions and sectors. A bibliometric analysis and literature review of 81 papers published between 2000 and 2020 focused on south-east Spain were conducted. The aim was to examine and re-think the benefits and concerns, and the inter-connections, of using reclaimed and desalinated water for agricultural and urban-tourist uses to address water scarcity and climate change impacts. Results highlight that: (1) water use, cost, quality, management, and perception are the main topics debated by both reclaimed and desalinated water users; (2) water governance schemes could be improved by including local stakeholders and water users in decision-making; and (3) rainwater is not recognized as a complementary option to increase water supply in semi-arid regions. Furthermore, the strengths–weaknesses–opportunities–threats (SWOT) analysis identifies complementary concerns such as acceptability and investment in reclaimed water, regulation (cost recovery principle), and environmental impacts of desalinated water.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extending Natural Limits to Address Water Scarcity? The Role of Non-Conventional Water Fluxes in Climate Change Adaptation Capacity: A Review

et al. 2021

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“…In addition, the waterbody distribution is not balanced between the city types, with Type-I and -II cities and their more abundant waterbodies losing significantly more waterbody due to urban expansion. Existing research focuses on the protection and management of mostly water-deficient regions 31 . However, serious problems currently exist regarding waterbodies, requiring more attention to waterbodies all over the world.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Waterbody loss due to urban expansion of large Chinese cities in last three decades

Xiao

Chen

Yue

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Urban waterbodies are one of the most pertinent issues involved in multiple aspects of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, waterbodies in large Chinese cities are highly vulnerable to urban-land expansion, which is mostly due to economic development, population growth, and rural–urban migration. In this work, we selected 159 Chinese cities of over one million in population to investigate the encroachment on waterbodies due to rapid urbanization from 1990 to 2018. Overall, 20.6% of natural waterbody area was lost during this period to urban expansion, and this fraction varied from city to city which was related to waterbody abundance. With the acceleration of urbanization, waterbody occupation is becoming more serious (P < 0.01). However, in all cities, this encroachment has eased since 2010, which justifies the effective implementation of national-scale policies to conserve urban waterbodies. Meanwhile, gains have occurred during urbanization, in addition to the loss of waterbodies. Especially, cities lacking waterbody placed a greater emphasis on ecological factors, whose urban waterbody areas showed an increasing trend. In the future, ecological resources, including waterbody, should be considered in urban planning to provide reasonable protection to waterbodies in the quest for urban sustainability.

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“…The reuse of water has gained prominence in modern society, as it is crucial to reduce the need for water resources (Lofrano and Brown 2010;Wilcox et al 2016;Chen et al 2016). Reused water is suitable for a wide range of applications that are usually associated with non-potable purposes, such as the irrigation of crops or urban green areas, industrial applications, environmental purposes, and cleaning of streets (Ait-Mouheb et al 2018; Deng et al 2019;Li et al 2019b). Nevertheless, nancial impediments (high-cost treatment for desired water quality and transportation costs), absence of legislation, social constraints such as lack of acceptance from the public and authorities, and knowledge and awareness of associated health risks, speci cally for the use of domestic sewage, may limit the adoption of reuse technologies (Woldetsadik et al 2017;Voulvoulis 2018;Li et al 2019a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Treated domestic effluents for non-potable reuse: microbial risk assessment and economic viability

Santos

Souza

Amoah

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Although water quality can be ensured for various pollutant removal processes, concerns regarding microbial pathogens can set very high-quality standards for treated wastewater rendering the practice financially unfeasible. In this study, we applied quantitative microbial risk assessment and net present value methodologies to evaluate the economic viability and safety of wastewater treatment to produce water for reuse. Under the evaluated conditions, even though applying tertiary treatments (such as chlorination, ozonation, or UV radiation) for non-potable reuse purposes presents higher investment costs, it could offer a faster return on investment as a result of the greater income derived from the sale of the treated wastewater, and consequently, reduce the risk of exposure to pathogens. An economic viability analysis revealed payback periods of three to over 15 years for investment in the universalisation of sanitation services in the selected municipalities, wherein the most feasible scenarios were those in which water reuse was carried out at its maximum potential. We evaluated the reuse potential of treated wastewater in terms of reduced concentrations of Escherichia coli and observed that effluents treated by six wastewater treatment plant configurations (involving secondary treatment processes) could be used for restricted crop irrigation, with disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of 9.20E03 ± 4.59E05 related to the risk of infection to the farmers. The application of additional disinfection procedures indicated that treated wastewater could be reused for unrestricted and restricted urban and agricultural uses, with corresponding DALYs of 1.35E05 ± 6.73E08 for the same group.

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Optimizing the reuse of reclaimed water in arid urban regions: A case study in Urumqi, Northwest China

Cited by 37 publications

References 37 publications

Extending Natural Limits to Address Water Scarcity? The Role of Non-Conventional Water Fluxes in Climate Change Adaptation Capacity: A Review

Extending Natural Limits to Address Water Scarcity? The Role of Non-Conventional Water Fluxes in Climate Change Adaptation Capacity: A Review

Waterbody loss due to urban expansion of large Chinese cities in last three decades

Treated domestic effluents for non-potable reuse: microbial risk assessment and economic viability

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