5 Sustainable Practices in Wastewater Management — What You Should Know
Water is the most essential resource for sustaining life. As such, adopting sustainable practices for wastewater treatment is critical in preserving water for future generations. However, sustainable wastewater management isn’t just a municipal responsibility. You must also do your part to ensure clean water resources at home.
Understanding Sustainable Wastewater Management and Its Environmental Impact
Wastewater comprises domestic blackwater — urine and human feces — greywater from kitchens and bathrooms, water from commercial and industrial spaces, stormwater, as well as agriculture and urban runoff. It often contains chemical, biological and physical contaminants, from organic and inorganic solids to pathogens, plastics, metals and pharmaceuticals. These pollutants can have dire consequences for your health and the environment, such as the following:
- Contaminating your drinking water
- Harming aquatic life, including fish and shellfish
- Forming toxic algal blooms
- Bioaccumulating in different species and ending up in food
- Destabilizing vital ecosystems, like coral reefs and seagrass beds
- Depleting oxygen levels in lakes
- Causing ocean acidification, making it difficult for marine species to survive
Sustainable wastewater management is the practice of treating contaminated water and protecting resources. Treatment facilities remove effluents and ensure the water can reenter the cycle without causing ecological harm. In many instances, adequate treatment enables its reuse in non-potable ways. However, according to the United Nations Environment Programme and GRID-Adrenal, only 11% of residential and commercial wastewater is being reused worldwide.
Clean water is critical for survival. Sadly, 2.2 billion people cannot access safe drinking water, with one-third at risk of waterborne diseases. Water is already an increasingly scarce resource. Therefore, sustainable treatment and widespread reuse are necessary for industry, agriculture and daily life.
5 Things to Know About Sustainable Wastewater Management
Whereas conventional wastewater management concentrates on immediate disposal with little regard for the environment or water protection, sustainable management considers the long-term effects. This includes how it impacts humanity, ecosystems and resource recovery. Here are five ways facilities are treating contaminated water sustainably:
1. Implementing Biological Treatment
You wouldn’t want to use water laced with human excrement or household chemicals, would you? Treating biological wastewater before reuse is crucial. Biological treatments are sustainable since they use natural processes to biodegrade organic matter. This also produces lower emissions than traditional methods by decreasing the need for facility-based energy consumption.
Anaerobic digestion, in particular, significantly minimizes sludge and waste. According to one study, this holistic approach proved 78% effective in treating wastewater from the sugarcane industry.
2. Constructing Wetlands
Constructed wetlands replicate nature and are a sustainable approach to water management. They provide a basin, using vegetation, soil and microorganisms to purify runoff through filtration, adsorption and decomposition of harmful microbes.
These constructed ecosystems also boost local biodiversity by creating habitats for plants and animals. Many can treat distinct contaminants found in wastewater, as well.
3. Integrating Reverse Osmosis
Have you noticed mineral deposits in your faucet? Perhaps your skin feels dry after showering. About 85% of Americans have hard water at home, which could cause psoriasis, susceptibility to infection and, in severe cases, kidney stones from calcium buildup.
Reverse osmosis technology continuously evolves as researchers gain new knowledge about how the process works. It’s a treatment method using a semipermeable membrane to eliminate contaminants for clean water, including dissolved calcium and magnesium. You can even install a reverse osmosis system in your home to further purify tap water.
Although reverse osmosis consumes energy, the technique is highly efficient in recovering water resources and filtering harsher pollutants for safe reuse. In turn, it helps reduce strains on wastewater treatment plants and prevent the overuse of freshwater.
4. Encouraging Wastewater Reuse
Wastewater management companies should encourage communities to conserve and reuse water whenever possible. By limiting consumption, you create less wastewater and alleviate pressure on treatment facilities.
Habits like repairing leaky fixtures, opting for water-conserving toilets and faucets, and installing cutting-edge water technologies are crucial. These simple changes preserve water quality and resources for generations to come.
Installing an eco-conscious graywater system is especially conducive to recycling water. Graywater represents 50%-80% of daily household water use — anything but the toilet. Effluent pumps recycle water from sinks, showers and washing machines, transporting the water to treatment filtration systems. The recycled water can then be used for non-potable purposes like landscape irrigation, flushing and laundry.
5. Investing in Modern Infrastructure
Wastewater management companies must invest in modern infrastructure to adhere to sustainable practices. The most advanced technologies improve treatment efficacy — including anaerobic digestion, nutrient removal and membrane filtering — reduce energy, lower emissions and boost the recovery of water resources.
Modern systems decrease the need for broad sewer networks, resulting in a lower ecological impact. Smart monitoring technology will also help wastewater management facilities account for future climate change and long-term resilience.
Challenges and Implementation of Sustainable Wastewater Management
Effective implementation of sustainable wastewater management practices requires overcoming significant challenges. For example, upgraded infrastructure is a costly investment. Without widespread awareness of the importance of these technologies, it isn’t always easy to convince the public and officials of their needs. Likewise, several regulations may block these upgrades.
Unlike developed countries, like the United States and Canada, developing nations typically lack the economic stability to adopt sustainable wastewater management. Their infrastructure is often unable to adequately treat wastewater, causing more pollution and an increased public health crisis.
Of course, future climate change impacts — like more frequent, intense storms — could further burden existing systems with excess flooding and environmental damage.
Governments, corporations and citizens should cooperate to develop sustainable solutions for wastewater issues. Public education can teach people how to conserve water at home, while new guidelines will ensure compliance with clean water policies. Partnering with organizations and knowledge-sharing networks can also aid the adoption of sustainable wastewater management.
However, the most significant impact begins with you. Your commitment to water conservation and sustainable home use — such as eco-friendly cleaning products — makes a substantial difference for public health and the environment.
Protect Clean Water With Sustainable Management Practices
Wastewater management plants are among the most essential municipal facilities for public health and well-being. However, modern water consumption and varying weather patterns demand changes in treatment and individual behaviors for long-term environmental protection.
