Dear Dariusz,

I think we should categorize the water according to the purpose. For drinking purposes it will need more concern about the quality of water but for the agriculture or some industrial activities no need more purified water. If industries can re-use water what they release to the treatment plants, the usage of water for the production can reduce.

Bio-remediation and phytoremediation techniques are the most economical and environmental friendly methods for wastewater purification. For the drinking the usage of activated carbon for the removal of heavy metals and some toxins in water is recommended.

Yohan Mahagamage

Distillation technique by using solar energy may be economical

Fresh water utilization from the input side as rainwater is a neglected in many areas and especially in urban environments from my point of view. There may be many synergies in reach through innovative water infrastructures that combine various water uses and services (not only quick drainage) e.g. for flood prevention, water substitution, green belt development in cities, groundwater recharge, ecological services, cooling of buildings and various options of water use such as for cleaning (streets, public places, cars), industrial and agricultural uses, hold back basins/tanks for fire fighting etc. Increased rainwater utilization may lead to safer and more livelable cities in many regions of the planet (moderate, sub-tropical and tropical climates). In tropical countries the fresh water from rainfall provides 1-3 tons/m2 freshwater that is clean before hitting the surface. However, instead of being utilized, rainwater is mostly (quickly) drained and contributes to flooding and negatively impacts surface waters whereas flood risks and stormwater quantities increase with steadlily growing surface sealing in cities.

Dear Dariusz,

Great and big question.

Actually, We have to talk the issue under topic " pollution and treatment"

Ok. what technology is the the best, and to be developed ？

Actually, It is depend on the nature of reuse. So. we have to select suitable treatment technology to achieve the requierd quality for that particular reuse.

Therefore, different technology shoud simultaneously be developed.

However, membrane technology is one of technologies rapidly developing new technology recently for the wastewater treatment.

But, electro-chemical technology should also being developed for the industrial water treatment.

Energy is the barrier for all application. However, As mentiond by Mushtaq Ahmad, If we can use solar energy for the treatment, It is very important.

Piyal Aravinna

Dear Dariusz,

I think we should categorize the water according to the purpose. For drinking purposes it will need more concern about the quality of water but for the agriculture or some industrial activities no need more purified water. If industries can re-use water what they release to the treatment plants, the usage of water for the production can reduce.

Bio-remediation and phytoremediation techniques are the most economical and environmental friendly methods for wastewater purification. For the drinking the usage of activated carbon for the removal of heavy metals and some toxins in water is recommended.

Yohan Mahagamage

the most important is that this thecnology work with alternative thecnology

I think it's important not to neglect the potential of ecosystem based initiatives such as willow trees or wetlands.; More research is required to refine these methods but they could have real potential. Also better partnership working between government bodies who currently manage distinct water management issues e.g. flooding, water quality. These problems are often interlinked and should be managed accordingly.

Phytoremediation technique is one of the most environmental friendly methods for waste water purification. With the increase in scarcity of fresh water i think rain sensors should be used more in the agricultural sector to put hold on stored water for irrigation.

Industries should be fully involved in re using water by purifying it.

For drinking carbon usage is adequate for removing heavy metals and other impurities.

Okoboshi Anthony

Check also the work of John and Nancy Todd of OceanArc Inc. in Burlington, Vermont. They developed a system (Living machine) which is effective in recycling greywater. Their approach is framed within an ecological design theory and it has been very effective to resolve water purification and water use issues in various countries.

Currently, the wastewater treatment technologies are plenty used and developed for large scale industries and urban development. Why we still have water pollution? I think there is a lack of linking between innovation and applied outside the often research sponsors, who are academia and industry. In order to do so, the challenge now is how to create green and affordable processes and knowledge for cleaning water locally. As noted above by many, phytoremediation is the most ecofriendly remediation technique, but has also its limitations such as concentration level. Nevertheless, it is a technique that can use local resources and make remediation cheap, I guess partnership with locals, government and industry should be reinforced globally to act locally.

It was posted that using water for agriculture does not have to be pure. I agree but with the most recent outbreak of E.coli that is presumably coming from irrigation trenches, I think its time to start testing the water used for irrigation. It does not have to be pure but it needs to be at a level without infectious disease. Next, we need to stop treating rainwater as stormwater. This is a resource that is needed and will help with areas of low precipitation. It could also help to offset domestic water use Furthermore, we need to rethink development. We need to think about Smart Growth and, we also need to think about water conservation. In the US Northeast, the average person consumes 100 gallon per day! Our behavior is one of the problems. Next, gray-water recycling has been around for a long time. Why is it taking this long to implement gray- water recycling? Also, here in the US we use millions of gallons of water for hydrofracking aka "fracking" With all the technologies we have why are we wasting water by the millions? Another area is water leaks. The US EPA estimate that as a nation we lose 1 trillion gallons of water annually from leaks. We need to start address water efficiency and water conservation...this is the technology of today.

Dear Mark, I very much agree with you. We have to consider much more that 'receiving fresh water' mainly relates to managing rainfall (and other precipitations). In Germany we can expect an annual rainfall of up to 900 liter/m2/year, in the tropical countries this may be up to 3000 liter/m2/year. This means that in average a person in Germany (or US) depends on fresh water renewal from +500 m2 (in theory for 100 liter fresh water consumption per day). However, it is not possible to harvest all rain from surfaces due to evaporation, hold back and system losses. If this is translated to the generation rates for freshwater renewal in surface and groundwater reservoirs the respective area need per person increases significantly, depending on geographic postion, local climate, morphology, landuse, geological conditions that control recharge etc. It is somehow surprising that we as human beings make every effort to drain water away at the places (we live) where we need it most - in the densely populated cities! Instead of managaging rainfall we generate huge amounts of run off (due to increasing constructions, infrastructures, roads, area sealing, buildings) but instead of utilizing the fresh water from the constructed surfaces through collection advises we channel it quickly into drainage systems and let it flow away. At the latest when it arrives in drainage channels we would need to treat it (costly) to regain water quality that allows use for agriculture, cleaning etc. This is everything but not what you mention as "smart cities". I am now working +30 years on the topic and realize that storm water management as still practiced in most countries is the reason for huge fresh water losses and increasing flooding in cities as well. On the other hand, drainage systems deteriorate due to increasing input of contaminants (from roads, e.g. dust, microparticles from tire abrasion, solid waste washed in from roads etc). From my perspective we need to rethink the approaches at the fresh water input side (rainwater management) instead of trying to spent more many on the drainage side. This would need substantially changes of water and urban legislation in many countries first. Nevertheless, to come up with enhanced grey water management will be very supportive to reduce the fresh water demand and to minimize discharge of nutrients (loss of phosphates) and contaminants into surface water systems.  

Addressing our treated waste water...most of treated waste water is dump into a large body of water after its been treated to a level that is permissible. However, this waste water can be used for , depending on the degree and level of purification, irrigation such as landscaping, golf courses, residential gardens and lawns, agriculture crops, groundwater recharge. It can also be used for recreational purposes such as; lakes and ponds, smowmaking, marsh enhancement. What about non-potable use; fire protection, air conditioning, and of course toilet flushing . In the industrial sector it can be used for cooling and process water, and it could be used for thermal-electrical generation.

Instead of throwing waste water away we need to find uses for it. Yes, the infrastructure is limited but looking at the average age of the existing infrastructure if we don't address this soon our problems are only going to get worst. We need to design with all of the above measures in mind in order to protect this valuable resource.

You are right Mark, we cannot afford to throw more 'used water' away, not only that we loose fresh water, but we also continue to pollute fresh water bodies by uncontrolled discharge of waste water. Related to this, drainage systems emerge (especially in cities) as new 'Waste collector systems' and add to the problem. I would like to make a link to the latest arrivial of anthropogenic pollutants - macro- and micro plastics. The new challenge will be how to clean waste water and road drainage systems from microplastic components. This problem may be also addressed by enhanced rainwater management which would mean less (or better controlled) fresh water input into drainage systems and lessen the need for waste water treatment from my point of view.

Dear Friends and Colleagues of RG

The resources of clean water are shrinking in many countries and the exploitation of water is growing rapidly due to the development of industry and urbanization.

Due to the progress of civilization development, the development of the industry consuming large amounts of water and also in connection with the progressive global warming, accelerating the global warming process, more and more frequent disasters and climatic anomalies, such as increasingly droughts, the resources of available, clean water are decreasing.

Do you agree with me on the above matter?

Please reply

I invite you to the discussion

Best wishes

As part of the protection of natural resources, the techniques of effective and economical management of water resources should be improved. The industry should be developing a technology for cleaning and reusing water. In addition, techniques for purification and re-use of water in households and in agriculture should be improved. As part of the cleaning of the natural environment, sewage treatment plants should be built in each city so as to reduce the pouring of wastewater containing harmful toxins to organisms to reduce the flow of sewage to rivers, lakes, seas and oceans, which are increasingly polluted.

Do you agree with me on the above matter?

Please reply

I invite you to the discussion

Best wishes

In the context of the above considerations, the following question is also current:

Are there any problems in your country related to declining resources of clean water?

In the future, due to the progressive global warming, the surface resources of clean water will be decreasing.

In addition, clean water resources have been decreasing for many years due to the ongoing environmental pollution.

Global warming in many places around the Earth globe will cause weather anomalies, including droughts where up to now there was no such negative weather phenomenon.

Water resources will therefore decrease in these areas.

How are the irrigation systems for arable fields developed in your countries in situations of ever-increasing drought?

In view of the above, I would like to ask you: Are there any problems in your country related to declining resources of clean water?

Please, answer, comments.

I invite you to the discussion.

Thank you very much

Best wishes

In the context of the progressive warming of the Earth's climate, the following question is of particular importance:

How should you improve the economical sustainable environmentally friendly clean water economy?

By 2040, a deficit of clear water will appear in most countries in the world.

On the one hand, the use of water in the production industry of various technical and automotive goods is growing, but also in some areas of food production.

For example, 1650 liters of water absorbs, for example, the production of 1 hamburger, because the production of meat absorbs very large amounts of water.

In addition, a progressive global warming process and more and more frequent droughts appearing in various places around the earth, mainly in the subtropics and in some places of the temperate climate.

In connection with the above, the question becomes more and more relevant:

How should you improve the economical sustainable environmentally friendly clean water economy?

How to improve the processes of purification of used, contaminated water?

How to obtain water develop technologies for desalination of sea water or condensation of water in areas subject to periodic drought?

How to improve the extraction of pure Oligocene water contained in the Earth's crust in desert areas?

Please reply

Thank you very much

Best wishes

Dear Dariusz,

In my personal opinion, de-centralized technologies to treat domestic wastewater should be developed. Also, low environmental ecotechniques for treating agricultural purposes could be used to treat wastewater and improve circular economy. Additionally, I would say that aquifer recharge should also be pursuit.

Thanks for the invitation to discuss.