This Feature examines significant challenges and opportunities to spur innovation and accelerate adoption of reliable technologies that enhance integrated resource recovery in the wastewater sector through the creation of a national testbed network. The network is a virtual entity that connects appropriate physical testing facilities, and other components needed for a testbed network, with researchers, investors, technology providers, utilities, regulators, and other stakeholders to accelerate the adoption of innovative technologies and processes that are needed for the water resource recovery facility of the future. Here we summarize and extract key issues and developments, to provide a strategy for the wastewater sector to accelerate a path forward that leads to new sustainable water infrastructures.

To limit effluent impacts on eutrophication in receiving waterbodies, a small community water resource recovery facility (WRRF) upgraded its conventional activated sludge treatment process for biological nutrient removal, and considered enhanced primary settling and anaerobic digestion (AD) with co-digestion of high strength organic waste (HSOW). The community initiated the resource recovery hub concept with the intention of converting an energy-consuming wastewater treatment plant into a facility that generates energy and nutrients and reuses water. We applied life cycle assessment and life cycle cost assessment to evaluate the net impact of the potential conversion. The upgraded WRRF reduced eutrophication impacts by 40% compared to the legacy system. Other environmental impacts such as global climate change potential (GCCP) and cumulative energy demand (CED) were strongly affected by AD and composting assumptions. The scenario analysis showed that HSOW co-digestion with energy recovery can lead to reductions in GCCP and CED of 7% and 108%, respectively, for the upgraded WRRF (high feedstock-base AD performance scenarios) relative to the legacy system. The cost analysis showed that using the full digester capacity and achieving high digester performance can reduce the life cycle cost of WRRF upgrades by 15% over a 30-year period. deteriorating water quality in water bodies due to eutrophication and pollution from point-sources such as effluents from wastewater treatment facilities. In response, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has implemented more stringent effluent quality standards [2]. In addition, much of the wastewater treatment infrastructure is in dire need of improvement due to age, wear, and tear. In 2013, the American Society of Civil Engineers' Infrastructure Report Card assigned both drinking water and wastewater infrastructures a grade of D + , indicating a considerable backlog of overdue maintenance and a pressing need for modernization [3]. With a growing population facing increased regulatory requirements, resource constraints, and financial challenges, communities are seeking more comprehensive and sustainable solutions to address multiple environmental challenges and maximize the recovery of water, energy, nutrients, and materials [1,4,5]. Municipal wastewater and other high strength organic wastes (HSOW) generated in cities are now regarded as a resource for water, energy, and nutrients [6-10].However, the environmental sustainability of wastewater systems goes beyond the treatment plants. It has been argued that many impacts occur at a larger watershed level or along upstream supply chains during energy, chemical, and material production [11,12]. These complex water issues are inherently intertwined and cannot be solved by traditional siloed water management approaches [1]. It is necessary to apply system-based tools or metrics and integrated assessment frameworks such as life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost assessment (LCCA) to measure trade-offs and develop op...

The wastewater industry is undergoing a paradigm shift from focusing solely on treatment to incorporating concepts aimed at mitigating environmental impacts such as energy and nutrient recovery and water reuse. This study uses life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis to investigate the effect of expanding anaerobic digestion (AD) capacity and adding combined heat and power on environmental and cost indicators at a mid-sized wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) in Massachusetts, USA. Since 2014, Massachusetts has banned the disposal of organic waste from commercial organizations producing more than one ton of material per week. The WWTF's additional digester capacity allows the co-digestion of municipal solids with a food-based engineered bioslurry due to this ban. Study data were compiled for several AD feedstock quantity and performance scenarios, and compared to a baseline scenario representative of historic plant operations prior to co-digestion. Reductions in environmental impact are demonstrated for six of eight environmental impacts, including global climate change potential and cumulative energy demand. Eutrophication potential increases by 10 percent and 24 percent across assessed scenarios. Water use remains relatively constant across scenarios. Facility energy production increases dramatically with co-digestion, satisfying 100 percent of the WWTF's thermal energy requirement and producing surplus electricity assuming full AD capacity utilization.

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