Reusing wastewater to cope with water scarcity: Economic, social and environmental considerations for decision-making

Garcia, Xavier; Pargament, D.

doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.05.015

Cited by 227 publications

(109 citation statements)

References 91 publications

(113 reference statements)

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“…Further, many also lack adequate wastewater treatment infrastructure and consequently discharge a large portion of their wastewater directly into surface water-bodies impacting the health of downstream users and the environment (Ujang and Buckley 2002;Corcoran 2010). In this context, waste water treatment and its reuse within the city is an attractive solution that can simultaneously address both the above problems (Garcia and Pargament 2014;Jamwal et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decentralized Wastewater Systems in Bengaluru, India: Success or Failure?

Kuttuva

Lélé

Villalba³

2018

Water Econs. Policy

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The study recommends relaxing the infeasible 100% reuse criterion, and raising the threshold size above which DWTRU should be mandated so as to reduce the cost burden and increase enforceability. Subsidies towards capital costs and enabling resale of treated water will enable wider adoption. DWTRU is an apparently attractive solution that however, requires judicious policy-making and implementation to succeed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decentralized Wastewater Systems in Bengaluru, India: Success or Failure?

Kuttuva

Lélé

Villalba³

2018

Water Econs. Policy

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“…In a TBL assessment, environmental impacts may be assessed using an LCA model (Chhipi-Shrestha et al, 2017;Godskesen et al, 2013;Rygaard et al, 2014) or environmental criteria selected on the basis of the project and region (Rathnayaka et al, 2016). Social impacts of water management can include factors that impact the public and employees, such as public acceptance or the risk of exposure to pathogens (Garcia and Pargament, 2015;Makropoulos et al, 2008;Rygaard et al, 2014). The greater water supply resilience achieved through water reuse projects may benefit the local community by reducing the occurrence of water use restrictions during droughts (Mansur and Olmstead, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability Assessment for Indirect Potable Reuse: A Case Study from Reno, Nevada

Haak

Pagilla

2018

Water Environment Research

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A triple bottom line (TBL) approach was used to examine the trade-offs between potential reclaimed water management strategies in a closed basin. The goals of the water management strategy included minimizing water source shortages, ensuring safe and resilient future water supplies, and protecting inland ecosystems through adequate surface flows. The TBL approach consisted of quantitative and qualitative impact assessments of social, environmental, and economic criteria. This research examined how potable reuse of reclaimed water addresses water needs in a closed basin such as maintaining water quality, managing reclaimed water disposal, meeting growing water demand, balancing groundwater extraction rates with inflows, preserving inland ecosystems, and ensuring a locally controlled safe drinking water source. The TBL assessment first evaluated water stress based on water demand and supply under status quo conditions. The results were compared with the potable reuse scenario, which provides more environmental and social benefits than the status quo scenario.

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“…The WWT faces many challenges such as increasing energy costs, removal of pollutants and trace organics, depletion of resources, growing demand for water conservation as well as more stringent regulations (Reardon et al 2013;Tan et al 2014;Kalbar et al 2016). The appropriate treatment of wastewater and further its reuse can help to solve issues mentioned above and the problem of water scarcity saving valuable resources along with a reduction in the use of freshwater and the negative environmental impacts caused by improper treatment of wastewater (Garcia and Pargament 2015;Kalbar et al 2016). As a result, wastewater is now being considered more as a resource than as a waste with the recovery possibilities for clean water, energy and various resources satisfied by novel approaches and emerging technological developments (McCarty et al 2011;Zayed et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A hybrid life cycle assessment based fuzzy multi-criteria decision making approach for evaluation and selection of an appropriate municipal wastewater treatment technology

Kamble

Singh

Kharat

2017

Euro-Mediterr J Environ Integr

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Multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) has become a main area of research for dealing with complex environmental decision-making problems. In this paper, a hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) based fuzzy MCDM methodology is developed for the evaluation and selection of appropriate municipal wastewater treatment (WTT) technology based on expert opinion and questionnaires. Further, the study also aims to identify the key evaluation criteria in the process of selecting WTT from a sustainability perspective. The use of fuzzy MCDM in wastewater management has the advantage of rendering subjective and implicit decision-making more objective and analytical, with its ability to accommodate both qualitative and quantitative data. This study provides a systematic approach towards WWT technology selection, in which four-phase procedure is proposed. First, the appropriate technology evaluation and selection criteria were derived from the literature, LCA and experts' opinion. Next, in the second stage, the fuzzy Delphi method was used to evaluate and screen the critical factors for the evaluation of technology alternatives by interviewing the experts. Twelve criteria including sustainability and those derived from LCA and life cycle costing were obtained consisting of both qualitative and quantitative criteria. In the third stage, the weights of the selection criteria as the measurable indices of the WWT technologies were determined by fuzzy pairwise comparison matrices of analytic hierarchy process. Finally, the fuzzy the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution technique was used for ranking the alternatives. The six most commonly used WWT technologies, viz. sequencing batch reactors (SBR), membrane bioreactor (MBR), moving bed bio-film reactor (MBBR), soil biotechnology, facultative aerated lagoon and activated sludge process were evaluated. The present study is the first study of its kind to develop a hybrid LCA-based fuzzy MCDM methodology for the selection of best WWT alternatives. Results illustrated that advanced technologies, MBR, SBR and MBBR are the preferred options with MBR the most preferred one followed by SBR and MBBR. The developed technology assessment framework enables decision makers to understand the complete evaluation and selection process better and provide a more accurate, effective, and systematic decision support framework. The framework is superior to existing methods since it has the capability of representing vague qualitative data and presenting all possible results with different degrees of membership. The framework developed and applied in this work will help identify appropriate WWT technologies for various decision-making situations faced while managing wastewaters.

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Reusing wastewater to cope with water scarcity: Economic, social and environmental considerations for decision-making

Cited by 227 publications

References 91 publications

Decentralized Wastewater Systems in Bengaluru, India: Success or Failure?

Decentralized Wastewater Systems in Bengaluru, India: Success or Failure?

Sustainability Assessment for Indirect Potable Reuse: A Case Study from Reno, Nevada

A hybrid life cycle assessment based fuzzy multi-criteria decision making approach for evaluation and selection of an appropriate municipal wastewater treatment technology

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