Water scarcity and water pollution are ongoing problems that require a rethinking of water use in the community. This calls for cooperation between the expert systems of water supply and sewerage as well as some level of public involvement. It is the interaction between the experts or providers, and the public as users or customers, that is the focus of this study on the experience of recycling water sourced from sewage effluent. This cross-national research explores the drivers behind water reuse; the way water reuse is presented to the public for consideration; the public response to water reuse; the influence of environmental and public health risk concerns; and the function of trust in the acceptance of potable water reuse and the sustainability of non potable reuse. The absence of social science published literature relating to the experience of recycled water guided a grounded theory approach to this research, using a triangulation of methods for data collection and case study analysis. The social-psychological studies of Bruvold (1972-1988), located in water industry literature, were consulted to organise an audit of secondary, survey data obtained through industry contacts and fieldwork. In this way, acceptance of potable and non potable water reuse in the USA, UK and Australia is mapped to provide background data for a set of minor case studies that explore the experience of potable reuse. Residential water reuse experience is investigated through embedded case study research. Primary data were collected at two residential sites in Adelaide and two in Florida. Recycled water is used for garden watering and toilet flushing at New Haven, and is planned for Mawson Lakes in Adelaide. Altamonte Springs and Brevard County in Florida recycle water for garden watering and outdoor uses only. Twenty residents were interviewed at each site involving semi-structured interviews: in-depth, face-to-face interviews in Adelaide and telephone interviews on site in Florida. Individual managers of the recycled water systems were also interviewed and, at New Haven, additional key stakeholders were consulted. Qualitative data analysis, employing a grounded theory approach, discovered the value of Sztompka�s (1999) framework for the �social becoming of trust�. This research illustrates that the positive historical culture of trust at the Florida sites, coupled with robust structural support for residential water reuse that encourages positive provider-customer interactions, develops trust in non potable reuse and uses involving a higher level of contact. In the Adelaide sites, weak structural support induces reliance on informal structure that increases the public health risk, jeopardising the sustainability of residential reuse. In relation to potable reuse experience that centres on the Californian experience, a social dilemma is created through a strategic, marketing approach to public consultation and the lack of public communication on current water sources. Sztompka�s (1999) framework for trust as an ongoing process is expanded to include principles of public participation that will further consolidate trust in water reuse to achieve sustainable outcomes.

Australia is one of the driest continents in the world with changing climatic conditions continuing to put a strain on potable water sources. The use of water saving technologies such as greywater systems in residential properties is an important water conservation tool in order to reduce the consumption of the finite potable water resources in Australia. To this end, Master Builders Association Victoria with the assistance of RMIT University investigated the current barriers that builders face with regard to the installation of greywater systems in residential properties. Builders like other property and construction professionals have a part to play in promoting the use of sustainable technologies. The main aims of the project were to firstly find out or identify barriers that are inhibiting builders from installing greywater systems and secondly to identify and formulate strategies to reduce or eliminate the barriers identified. The main barriers for builders are; high cost, government regulations, lack of builder awareness or knowledge, and low client demand. The potential solutions for the reduction or elimination of the barriers identified as part of the research include; economic and reliable greywater systems, creation of a website with link on greywater systems and educating the general public.

Water recycling schemes are increasingly being implemented across Australia as an effective means of converting wastewater into a valuable resource. There is currently a lack of specific guidelines for the monitoring of groundwater resources associated with these schemes. This is despite it being widely acknowledged that a monitoring system is a fundamental component of a scheme, due to the risk of altering the hydrogeological processes and resource devaluation. The aim of this research was to address this information gap, by developing guidelines that provide a platform for the continuous improvement in groundwater monitoring systems for recycling schemes. To achieve the stated aim, an action research strategy formed the methodological approach for the implementation of the objectives. Existing guidelines for monitoring systems were reviewed, consolidated and refined, in consultation with industry expertise. The developed guidelines were then verified through the implementation of a case study at the Hawkesbury Water Recycling Scheme (HWRS), with the resulting information providing for a preliminary characterisation of the resources. Designed on current best practice, and to meet statutory requirements, the guidelines addressed the identified information gap. The research recommends the integration of groundwater monitoring systems into the environmental management system for recycling schemes, to provide for continuous refinement through the interpretation of the knowledge base developed in previous cycles. Adoption of this practice will initiate improved decision making and management processes, and provide for future resource protection and enhancement. / Master of Science (Hons)

This thesis develops and applies a number of methods for systems analysis and assessment within the field of sustainable urban water. These focus on the evaluation of distributed strategies. In line with arguments made within the thesis, the methods developed assess urban water on a whole-system basis, with the system defined in terms of the services provided. Further, the thesis argues for sustainable urban water planning to take a pluralist stance; both in the conception of sustainable urban water and the strategies considered. The challenges of sustainability and sustainable development are fundamentally problems of complex systems. Planning and assessment of sustainable urban water therefore require a systems-approach. Systems-thinking is not, however, a unified body of knowledge and this thesis develops a unique perspective on systems-thinking which is used to critically review the fields of sustainable urban water and its assessment. Within these reviews, the thesis develops a framework for understanding sustainable urban water in terms of a number of varied approaches, and describes a feasible theoretical basis for assessing sustainable urban water. Many, so called, sustainable strategies are small-scale and distributed in nature. Distributed strategies include decentralised systems, embedded technologies, and local measures for conservation. Traditional systems analysis methods have failed to account for distributed strategies. To adequately include distributed strategies, this thesis argues that assessment methods will need to be based on whole-system modelling, utilise end-use models of service provision, and include - in the form of a demand forecast - a time dimension in relation to service provision. This thesis proposes new methods for microbial risk assessment on a whole-system basis and Least cost planning for (urban water) Sustainable Scenarios (LeSS). A novel evaluation framework for least cost planning for water supply, which provides an equivalent comparison of demand- and supply-side options, is also developed. These methods are illustrated through case studies. These case studies illustrate the potential of distributed strategies. When assessed on an equivalent basis, in various examples, distributed strategies are shown to be particularly cost effective. Decentralised wastewater reuse systems are also shown to impose a theoretically lower level of pathogen risk on the community than equivalent centralised reuse schemes. Despite the advances in assessment methodologies made within the thesis, further development of practical tools for assessing and planning sustainable urban water remains an urgent goal.

Water recycling schemes are increasingly being implemented across Australia as an effective means of converting wastewater into a valuable resource. There is currently a lack of specific guidelines for the monitoring of groundwater resources associated with these schemes. This is despite it being widely acknowledged that a monitoring system is a fundamental component of a scheme, due to the risk of altering the hydrogeological processes and resource devaluation. The aim of this research was to address this information gap, by developing guidelines that provide a platform for the continuous improvement in groundwater monitoring systems for recycling schemes. To achieve the stated aim, an action research strategy formed the methodological approach for the implementation of the objectives. Existing guidelines for monitoring systems were reviewed, consolidated and refined, in consultation with industry expertise. The developed guidelines were then verified through the implementation of a case study at the Hawkesbury Water Recycling Scheme (HWRS), with the resulting information providing for a preliminary characterisation of the resources. Designed on current best practice, and to meet statutory requirements, the guidelines addressed the identified information gap. The research recommends the integration of groundwater monitoring systems into the environmental management system for recycling schemes, to provide for continuous refinement through the interpretation of the knowledge base developed in previous cycles. Adoption of this practice will initiate improved decision making and management processes, and provide for future resource protection and enhancement. / Master of Science (Hons)

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2006. / Title from title page screen (viewed on Jan. 31, 2007). Thesis advisor: Paul R. Bienkowski. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2001. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 95 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-70).

Extreme hunger, malnutrition, and the lack of access to sanitation are among the most pressing development challenges, but the world is not on track to meet the targets that have been established by the Millennium Development Goals. The integration of wastewater treatment and food production systems allows for the recovery of resources from wastewater, and can provide an important solution to meet the sanitation needs of growing urban populations and provide periurban farmers with a consistent supply of water and nutrients. Stabilization ponds have been long considered to be an appropriate technology for wastewater reuse systems in developing countries, but advanced anaerobic treatment technologies, such as upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors, are also becoming common. The objective of this study is to evaluate the reuse potential of wastewater for irrigation from two community-managed treatment systems in Bolivia: one consisting of three stabilization ponds in series (three-pond system) and the other consisting of a UASB reactor and two stabilization ponds in series (UASB-pond system). Specifically, the removal of helminth eggs and thermotolerant coliform bacteria is measured in both systems and evaluated with respect to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for the safe use of wastewater in agriculture, which are based on health targets. Results indicate that both systems provide good removal of conventional water quality parameters but poor removal of nutrients, discharging effluents with 37 to 54 mg/L of total nitrogen and 5.7 to 9.4 mg/L of total phosphorus. The three-pond system provided >92% removal of helminth eggs and 3.4-log removal of thermotolerant coliforms, and no geohelminth eggs were detected in the system effluents. However, Ascaris eggs were detected in the effluents of the UASB-pond system and the overall removal of thermotolerant coliforms was only 2.3 log units. Viability estimates based on the use of a vital stain indicate that eggs detected in pond effluents are less likely to be viable than eggs detected in the raw wastewater, in the sludge, or in the effluent of the UASB reactor. Sludge samples from the facultative pond in the three-pond system had higher concentrations of helminth eggs than sludge samples from the UASB reactor. Based on these results, the effluents from the three-pond system can be reused for irrigating any crop with the exception of root crops and low-growing crops that can be consumed raw (i.e. onions and strawberries). Effluents from the three-pond system may be used to irrigate salad crops or high-growing crops that are consumed raw, but additional public health interventions must be implemented throughout the food production process to meet WHO recommendations for protecting the health of farmers and consumers. The effluents from the UASB-pond system should not be reused unless improvements to the system increase its pathogen removal efficiency. The results from this study indicate that a system consisting of stabilization ponds in series may produce a higher quality effluent that is more suitable for wastewater irrigation than a system with a UASB reactor.

M. Tech. Chemical Engineering / Environmental pollution due to heavy metals is a global crisis. Contamination as a result of heavy metals from industries such as mining operations, electroplating facilities, etc. pose serious threats to the aquatic ecosystem, people and the environment. Lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg) and nickel (Ni) are common examples of heavy metal ions often detected in most effluents. They are characterised by their non-biodegradability, toxicity and tendency to accumulate in living organisms, and thereafter, cause various diseases and disorders. In this study, two nano-structured composite bio-sorbents were prepared to determine their metal binding capacity, effect of solution pH, contact time and elution in a magnetically assisted adsorption system. Consequently, this study aims to develop magnetically assisted adsorption process for industrial wastewater treatment for re-use.

Position paper.