Sustainable water cycle design for urban areas

Maher, Michael D.; Lustig, TL

doi:10.2166/wst.2003.0667

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…There is broad agreement that decentralization is good practice (e.g. Bahri, 1999;Coombes and Kuczera, 2003;Maher, 2003). Argentina and Chile have had qualified successes by delegating some operations and management to user associations and the private sector.…”

Section: Decentralization Of Wastewater Service Provisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenging Conventional Approaches to Managing Wastewater Use in Agriculture

Huibers¹,

Redwood²,

Raschid-Sally³

2009

Wastewater Irrigation and Health

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In developing countries urban wastewater management often fails to cope with increasing wastewater generation. Financial, technical and institutional limitations force authorities to discharge substantial amounts of untreated or partially treated wastewater into surface waters. Consequently, uncontrolled use of polluted water is increasingly common in the downstream peri-urban areas. Although wastewater use bears a significant risk on human health, such use is also productive and an asset for many. Agricultural use of wastewater is a strong manifestation of the urbanrural connection and transfers a waterborne risk from the wastewater disposal system to the food chain, requiring a paradigm shift in the approaches applied to risk minimization. Conventional models for urban wastewater treatment and management are based on top-down, technically driven approaches that do not, or do not sufficiently, consider the links between the social, economic and health aspects. This situation is understandable from historical and technological points of view, but does not provide innovative solutions to current problems in developingcountry cities. A different approach is required, one that rethinks conventional wastewater system design and management. By adopting a systems approach to analysing both the water and food chains, one discovers the interactions of different stakeholders that treat and use (or abuse) water, the impacts on overall productivity and the risks. Governance systems to manage wastewater use in agriculture must 288 WASTEWATER GOVERNANCE AND ADOPTION OF RISK-REDUCTION OPTIONS incorporate decentralization to accommodate thinking at the bottom layer, encourage stakeholder engagement and provide coordination and policy cohesion for managing risks jointly from both the water and food chains.

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Section: Decentralization Of Wastewater Service Provisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenging Conventional Approaches to Managing Wastewater Use in Agriculture

Huibers¹,

Redwood²,

Raschid-Sally³

2009

Wastewater Irrigation and Health

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“…The energy invested to produce drinking water for use in a flush toilet for wet sanitation is not a sustainable activity; there is a requirement for alternative sanitation options to be trialled and eventually put in place [1]. Although the use of greywater (water waste from all household activities except sewage) [2] and rainwater is one option currently being used to save precious drinkable water, this option is still linked to a central wet sanitation system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Dry Sanitation Systems

et al. 2020

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Dry sanitation systems (waterless or composting toilets) have been used since the 1970s. Their use has received acceptance in rural regions of Europe and the United States. Some of the advantages of dry sanitation systems include their waterless nature, their low energy requirement and the creation of fertilizer as an added value product. Moreover, the use of such a system is a sustainable sanitation approach that may reduce the burden on infrastructure and provide sanitation to the 2.5 billion people worldwide who do not currently have access to it. The critical factors when choosing a dry sanitation system and their optimum parameters include aeration, moisture content (50%–60%), temperature (40–65 °C), carbon to nitrogen ratio (25–35), pH (5.5–8.0) and porosity (35%–50%). The temperature–time criterion approach is the most common method used to evaluate the stability and safety of the compost as a fertilizer. The risks of handling the waste after 12 months of composting have been calculated as low. Here, we have reviewed and assessed the features of dry sanitation systems currently available, focusing on those designed for and operated in remote areas such as national parks and tourist destinations and, more importantly, in rural areas in developing countries or refugee shelters where water/sanitation may be scarce.

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“…1. The integrated urban water cycle system can reduce consumption of water resources, decrease discharge of treated wastewater into waters, and recover nutrients in wastewater (Otterpohl et al, 1997;Terpstra, 1999;Maher and Lustig, 2003;Wilderer, 2004;Rosemarin, 2005;Speers et al, 2005;Wilderer, 2005;Brown et al, 2006;Wan Alwi et al, 2008). These previous studies have been performed by heuristically identifying opportunities for water system integration and wastewater recycling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%