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ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Future wastewater
managers will
require a mix of
technical and
managerial skills
in order to develop
and implement
a compendium
of solutions
across the various
wastewater flows.
challenges can exist in terms of implementation.
Additional research is needed to better understand
how to best combine systems in a portfolio of solutions
(sewered and unsewered) across a variety of scales,
in countries where wastewater infrastructure is only
emerging. Key research issues in this area include:
cost-effectiveness, consumer behaviour, acceptance
and incentives, business models, and institutional
arrangements. Furthermore, issues around the system
ownership, household acceptance, and financing of
these systems, especially in developing countries,
need to be considered.
Various technological options for resource recovery
from wastewater and sludge exist at different stages of
development and application, and are developing rapidly.
Technological opportunities for resource recovery
from wastewater are also creating a new niche with
profitable business models, which facilitates the
sustainability of the applied, although more research
in resource recovery markets and economically
sustainable revenue models is needed. Trends
in resource recovery move towards innovative
management approaches, most notably integrated
resource recovery, which in turn requires supportive
regulations, market demand, investment, social
acceptance, and a willingness of different stakeholders
to work together. It also requires a holistic view in
order to ensure collective thinking among future
practitioners, decision-makers, and marketers. Future
wastewater treatment plants will be expected to
deliver recovered resources and high-quality water for
reuse in different sectors, while being cost-effective
and self-sufficient in terms of energy.
CAPACITY BUILDING, PUBLIC AWARENESS,
AND COLLABORATION AMONG STAKEHOLDERS
Access to scientific knowledge, research, new
technologies, appropriate education and training on
sustainable solutions for wastewater management
is not readily available in less developed countries.
Education and capacity building are vital and can
be offered through training programmes focusing
on different aspects of wastewater management
in developing countries, both targeting water
professionals and as part of formal educational
curricula at different levels. This can directly influence
issues of social perception and acceptance, especially
in wastewater use and resource recovery.
COMBINING CENTRALISED AND DECENTRALISED
SOLUTIONS AT AN APPROPRIATE SCALE
On the trajectory from on-site to off-site sanitation
systems, recent innovations have shown that a mixed
portfolio of solutions, including the combination of
centralised and decentralised wastewater management
facilities, can also be suitable to large service areas,
while offering benefits of decentralisation such as
reduced investment, low operation and maintenance
costs, and customisability to local conditions.
A concept of ‘distributed wastewater systems’, which
refers to a highly networked and localised approach to
production, distribution, and consumption, can be seen
as an alternative based on the optimum combination
of different centralised and decentralised systems
for managing wastewater across networked cluster
systems. This option is more efficient in terms of time,
energy, and costs, and generates positive externalities
for end users and the environment. However, significant
Enabling stakeholder involvement and capacity
development as early as possible is critical for the
success of planned reuse projects. Where reuse
is based on a multi-barrier approach, behavioural
change and the acceptance of best practices are keys
to success. As stakeholders might lack the appropriate
risk awareness and/or do not directly benefit from
adopting safety measures, a better understanding of
gender-specific incentives (both positive or negative) is
needed to promote recommended practices, with the
highest potential for local adoption.
A typical centralised
wastewater treatment plant.
The social dimension should not be underestimated.
Safe water reuse, for example, requires active
stakeholder participation, based on an understanding
of benefits and risks. Public education campaigns
can raise awareness among the general public about
the ways in which water can and is being safely
reused, even for drinking purposes, with provocative
examples — like water reuse by astronauts on the
International Space Station.
June 2018 Volume 24 I Number 4
Institutional capacity building is essential. If the
entity in charge of operation and maintenance
of wastewater facilities lacks the appropriate
institutional capacity, the risk of failure will remain,
regardless of whether the utility is managing smaller,
decentralised or larger centralised plants. In this
regard, a new generation of scientists, engineers,
and professionals, addressing different aspects of
wastewater management, needs to be trained to
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