A fuzzy multi-stakeholder multi-criteria methodology for water allocation and reuse in metropolitan areas

In this paper, a fuzzy decision making methodology is proposed to find a socially optimal scenario for allocating effluent of wastewater treatment plants and urban and suburban runoffs to agricultural regions and recharging aquifers. The presented methodology named modified fuzzy social choice (MFSC) considers multi-stakeholder multi-criteria problems under uncertainties inherent in a decision making process utilizing a fuzzy ranking method and the fuzzy social choice (FSC) theory. A set of water and wastewater allocation scenarios are proposed for water quantity and quality management of the study area, while six main stakeholders with conflicting utilities and different negotiation powers are involved. The proposed methodology is applied to Tehran metropolitan area, the capital city of Iran with the population of about 8 million people, to examine its applicability and effectiveness. The results shows that using fuzzy multi-stakeholder multi-criteria decision making method considering equal and different negotiation powers can lead to different outcomes. Based on the results, the MFSC method, which considers a number of decision makers having different negotiation powers, degrees of importance of decision making criteria, and some important uncertainties, performs more promising in real water resources management problems.     

Determination of micropollutants in combined sewer overflows and their removal in a wastewater treatment plant (Seoul,South Korea)

The present study investigated the occurrence of 29 selected micropollutants such as endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in surface waters and wastewaters in Seoul (South Korea) during both dry and wet weather conditions. The study area was selected based on the lack of available information regarding the suspected contamination of rivers/creeks by EDCs and PPCPs in the Seoul region and the presence of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), which serves approximately 4.1 million inhabitants and has a design capacity of 1,297?×?10³ m³/day. Many target compounds (83 %) were detected in samples collected from wastewater treatment influent/effluent, creek water, and combined sewer overflow (CSO). The total EDC/PPCP concentrations were as follows: WWTP influent (69,903 ng/L)?>?WWTP effluent (50,175 ng/L) >3 creek samples (16,035–44,446 ng/L) during dry weather, and WWTP influent (53,795 ng/L)?>?WWTP bypass (38,653 ng/L) >5 creek samples (15,260–29,113 ng/L) >2 CSO samples (11,109–11,498 ng/L) during wet weather. EDCs and PPCPs were found to be present at high daily loads (65.1 and 69.8 kg/day during dry and wet weather, respectively) in the WWTP effluent. Compound removal by the WWTP varied significantly by compound: caffeine, diclofenac, ibuprofen, naproxen, and propylparaben (>90 %), and acesulfame, DEET, iohexol, iopromide, and iopamidol (<5 %). These findings and literature information support the hypothesis that the efficiency of removal of EDCs and PPCPs is strongly dependent on both removal mechanism (e.g., biodegradation, adsorption to sludge, and oxidation by chlorine) and compound physicochemical properties (e.g., pK _a and hydrophobicity).     

新疆城市废水处理方案的探讨

新疆城市废水（５８．１％＋１５．７％）排入地表水体和地下水体，致使部分地区地表水和地下水资源遭到不同程度的污染．进行了城市废水处理方法的对比分析，结合新疆地域特点，提出中小城市废水适宜用氧化塘处理方法．经氧化塘处理后的废水达到国家《农田灌溉水质标准》，灌溉当地农田和草场．既净化了城市污水，又减少了环境污染，把城市废水变成再生水资源循环使用，这对保护水源和发展农田灌溉起着积极的作用．     

Assessing the feasibility of wastewater recycling and treatment efficiency of wastewater treatment units

Wastewater reuse can significantly reduce environmental pollution and save the water sources. The study selected Cheng-Ching Lake water treatment plant in southern Taiwan to discuss the feasibility of wastewater recycling and treatment efficiency of wastewater treatment units. The treatment units of this plant include wastewater basin, sedimentation basin, sludge thickener and sludge dewatering facility. In this study, the treatment efficiency of SS and turbidity were 48.35–99.68% and 24.15–99.36%, respectively, showing the significant removal efficiency of the wastewater process. However, the removal efficiencies of NH₃–N, total organic carbon (TOC) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) are limited by wastewater treatment processes. Because NH₃–N, TOC and COD of the mixing supernatant and raw water are regulated raw water quality standards, supernatant reuse is feasible and workable during wastewater processes at this plant. Overall, analytical results indicated that supernatant reuse is feasible.     

Quality of wastewater reuse in agricultural irrigation and its impact on public health

This study is planned to perform a sanitary survey of the largest sewage treatment plant in Riyadh, KSA, fortnightly for 6 months to examine its effluent quality as an example for the growing dependence on reuse of treated municipal wastewater in agricultural irrigation purposes to cope with increasing water shortage. The biological and physico-chemical parameters of 12 wastewater samples from the plant were examined using standard methods. The physico-chemical analysis indicated that the surveyed municipal wastewater treatment plant contained some of the studied parameters, such as turbidity, total suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand and residual chlorine above the maximum permissible wastewater limits set by the Saudi Standards. However, heavy metal concentrations in all samples were lower than the recommended standards. Total and faecal coliform counts were above the permissible limits indicating poor sanitation level. Fifty percent of all wastewater samples were contaminated with faecal coliforms but, surprisingly, Escherichia coli were only detected in 8.3 % of the samples. Regular monitoring and enhancement of microbial and physico-chemical parameters of the wastewater quality served by different wastewater treatment plants for reuse in agricultural irrigation is recommended to preserve the environment and public health.     

Fragmentary provisions for uncertainty disclosure and consideration in EA legislation,regulations and guidelines and the need for improvement

The consideration and disclosure of uncertainties is fundamental to a credible EA process, but little is known about the nature and type of requirements and guidance available to proponents, practitioners and decision makers about how to deal with uncertainties. This paper examines the provisions for considering and disclosing uncertainties in EA. Methods are based on a comparative review of uncertainty provisions in EA legislation, regulations and guidance documents under Canadian federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions. Results show 10 types of provisions applied at different stages of the EA process with considerable jurisdictional variability and incoherence. The most common provision was that decision makers can request that project proponents provide more information, followed by the preparation of contingency plans, and that practitioners document their assumptions about data reliability. Most of these provisions were found in guidelines, versus legislation or regulations; and most addressed impact management, with very few provisions for addressing uncertainty during EA review and decision making. Current practices of uncertainty (non)disclosure and (non)consideration in EA can be explained, in part, by the superficial nature and limited extent of the requirements and guidance made available to EA practitioners, proponents, and decision makers. The existing requirements placed on proponents and practitioners to disclose and consider uncertainties are necessary, but insufficient. Stronger, more coherent and transparent requirements for those tasked with EA review and decision making to consider uncertainty information when disclosed, and the development of practical guidance on how to do so, are needed.     

Urban Water Supply Strategies for Hyderabad, India – Future Scenarios

To keep pace with population and economic growth, the city of Hyderabad, India, will need to identify and develop new supply sources almost continually. Increasing population growth rate, declining surface water resources, overexploitation of groundwater, deterioration of ground water quality and poor sewage treatment are the major water-related issues in Hyderabad. This paper reviews the current situation facing policy makers who need to come to terms with the problem of restricted water supply and increasing demand in an urban centre such as Hyderabad, India. The City Water Balance model developed in this study can be used to analyse different scenarios that include water conservation, urban wastewater reuse and improvement of distribution and conveyance efficiency. Water conservation programs, which include a 5% conveyance efficiency improvement, reusing 90 million cubic metres (MCM) of urban runoff and adoption of water harvesting by 0.5 million households together with recycling 120 MCM of wastewater recycling wastewater would be sufficient to meet the water demand by 2031, if the population grows at a rate of 2.5%.     

Influence of drought and municipal sewage effluents on the baseflow water chemistry of an upper piedmont river

The Reedy River in South Carolina is affected by the urban area of Greenville, the third most populous city in the state, and by the effluents from two large-scale municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located on the river. Riverine water chemistry was characterized using grab samples collected annually under spring season baseflow conditions. During the 4-year time period associated with this study, climatic variations included two severe drought spring seasons (2001 and 2002), one above-normal precipitation spring season (2003), and one below-normal precipitation spring season (2004). The influence of drought and human activities on the baseflow chemistry of the river was evaluated by comparing concentrations of dissolved anions, total metals, and other important water chemistry parameters for these different years. Concentrations of copper and zinc, common non-point source contaminants related to urban activities, were not substantially elevated in the river within the urban area under baseflow conditions when compared with headwater and tributary samples. In contrast, nitrate concentrations increased from 1.2–1.6 mg/l up to 2.6–2.9 mg/l through the urban stream reach. Concentrations of other major anions (e.g., sulfate, nitrate) also increased along the reach, suggesting that the river receives continuous inputs of these species from within the urban area. The highest concentrations of major cations and anions typically were observed immediately downstream from the two WWTP effluent discharge locations. Attenuation of nitrate downstream from the WWTPs did not always track chloride changes, suggesting that nitrate concentrations were being controlled by biochemical processes in addition to physical processes. The relative trends in decreasing nitrate concentrations with downstream distance appeared to depend on drought versus non-drought conditions, with biological processes presumably serving as a more important control during non-drought spring seasons.     

工业园区水污染源精细化管控系统的应用

针对工业园区污水排放监管问题,以北京某园区为例,提出了水污染源精细化管控方案。按照多级防控的思路,在企业级、管网级、园区级建成在线监测系统和精细化管控平台,实现园区水环境监管的全覆盖,有效监控企业排污动态,实时掌握园区污水排放状况,为企业、园区管理部门和环保管理部门提供决策支持。     

Disparate perceptions about uncertainty consideration and disclosure practices in environmental assessment and opportunities for improvement

The need to better address uncertainties in environmental assessment (EA) is well known, but less known is how those involved in, or affected by, EA processes understand and perceive uncertainties and how uncertainties are considered and disclosed. Based on a survey of 77 Canadian EA practitioners, regulators, and interest groups, this paper explores uncertainties in the EA process, uncertainty consideration and disclosure in EA practice and decision-making, and opportunities for improved disclosure. Nearly 80% of participants indicated that all EAs contain uncertainty; however, uncertainty disclosure was described as poor. Only 15% indicated that uncertainties are sufficiently acknowledged in practice and, when disclosed, considered by decision makers. Perceptions about uncertainty differed significantly between those who conducted EAs compared to those potentially affected by development, suggesting that either communication about uncertainty is poor, or participants' understandings about what is considered ‘good’ practice are very different. Almost half of the participants believe that there is overconfidence in impact predictions and mitigation measures, and the majority indicated that if uncertainties were more openly reported then EA would be a better tool for informing decisions. Most participants did not believe that EAs that openly disclose uncertainties lack credibility; and contrary to proponents' tendencies to limit disclosure, participants perceived limited risk of disclosure in terms of project approval. The majority of participants did not believe that there was sufficient guidance available on how to report uncertainties, or on how to use that information in decision-making. Results indicate a substantial need to better understand how uncertainties are viewed and dealt with in EA; the importance of uncertainty disclosure and consideration in EA; and the risks and benefits of uncertainty disclosure to proponents, decision makers, and the public. We identify several opportunities for improving the practice of uncertainty consideration and disclosure.     

污水处理厂污水和污泥中PAHs的残留及风险研究进展

多环芳烃(PAHs)是一类极其复杂的有机污染物,衍生物种类较多,1976年美国环保局因其致癌、致畸、致突变将其中的16种列为优先控制污染物。城市污水处理厂作为一个地区污染物迁移和转化的重要媒介,在控制和截断PAHs进入天然水体的过程中扮演着重要的角色。因此,研究污水处理厂中PAHs的浓度水平对于了解和控制PAHs进入天然水体和通过污泥进入到土壤中进而通过食物链危害人类健康具有重要的意义。文章综述了污水处理厂污水和污泥中PAHs的前处理技术、分析方法、浓度水平、生态风险以及国内外污水处理厂污泥土地利用现状。     

An Inexact Fuzzy-robust Two-stage Programming Model for Managing Sulfur Dioxide Abatement Under Uncertainty

In this study, an inexact fuzzy-robust two-stage programming (IFRTSP) method is developed for tackling multiple forms of uncertainties that can be expressed as discrete intervals, probabilistic distributions and/or fuzzy membership functions. The model can reflect economic penalties of corrective measures against any infeasibilities arising due to a particular realization of system uncertainties. Moreover, the fuzzy decision space can be delimited into a more robust one with the uncertainties being specified through dimensional enlargement of the original fuzzy constraints. A management problem in terms of regional air pollution control has been studied to illustrate the applicability of the proposed approach. Results indicate that useful solutions for planning the air quality management practices have been generated. They can help decision makers identify desired pollution-abatement strategy with minimized system cost and maximized environmental efficiency.     

Evaluation of Water Quality Management Alternatives to Control Dissolved Oxygen and Un-ionized Ammonia for Ravi River in Pakistan

Different water quality management alternatives, including conventional wastewater treatment, transportation of wastewater, flow augmentation, low-cost treatment with reuse, and wetlands, are evaluated by using a verified dissolved oxygen (DO) model for the Ravi River. Biokinetic rate coefficients of the Ravi River for both the carbonaceous and nitrogenous oxygen-demanding wastes are adjusted, keeping in view the type and level of wastewater treatment. The conventional activated sludge process with nitrification comes out to be the most expansive alternative to meet the DO standard of 4 mg/L. Additional treatment cost is required to maintain un-ionized ammonia levels <0.02 mg/L, which corresponds to achieving treatment levels of 5 mg/L of DO in the river. Under critical low-flow conditions (i.e., minimum average seven consecutive days) of 9.2 m³/s, a flow augmentation of 10 m³/s can reduce 30 % of the cost with conventional wastewater treatment. Transportation of wastewater from the city of Lahore is a cost-effective alternative with 2.5 times less cost than the conventional process. Waste stabilization ponds (WSP) technology is a low-cost solution with 3.5 times less cost as compared to the conventional process. Further reduction in pollution loads to the Ravi River can be achieved by reusing WSP effluents for irrigation in the near proximity of Lahore along the Ravi River. The study results show that, for highly polluted rivers with such extreme flow variations as in case of the Ravi River, meeting un-ionized ammonia standards can reduce the efforts required to develop carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand-based waste load allocations.     

Assessment of groundwater quality in Puri City, India: an impact of anthropogenic activities

Puri City is situated on the east coast of India and receives water supply only from the groundwater sources demarcated as water fields. The objective of this paper is to assess and evaluate the groundwater quality due to impact of anthropogenic activities in the city. Groundwater samples were collected from the water fields, hand pumps, open wells, and open water bodies during post-monsoon 2006 and summer 2007. Groundwater quality was evaluated with drinking water standards as prescribed by Bureau of Indian Standards and Environmental Protection Agency to assess the suitability. The study indicated seasonal variation of water-quality parameters within the water fields and city area. Groundwater in the water fields was found to be suitable for drinking after disinfection. While in city area, groundwater quality was impacted by onsite sanitary conditions. The study revealed that groundwater quality was deteriorated due to the discharge of effluent from septic tanks, soak pits, pit latrines, discharges of domestic wastewater in leaky drains, and leachate from solid waste dumpsite. Based on observed groundwater quality, various mitigation measures were suggested to protect the water fields and further groundwater contamination in the city.     

Impact of wastewater treatment plant discharge of lidocaine, tramadol, venlafaxine and their metabolites on the quality of surface waters and groundwater

The presence of the anesthetic lidocaine (LDC), the analgesic tramadol (TRA), the antidepressant venlafaxine (VEN) and the metabolites O-desmethyltramadol (ODT) and O-desmethylvenlafaxine (ODV) was investigated in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents, in surface waters and in groundwater. The analytes were detected in all effluent samples and in only 64% of the surface water samples. The mean concentrations of the analytes in effluent samples from WWTPs with wastewater from only households and hospitals were 107 (LDC), 757 (TRA), 122 (ODT), 160 (VEN) and 637 ng L(-1) (ODV), while the mean concentrations in effluents from WWTPs treating additionally wastewater from pharmaceutical industries as indirect dischargers were for some pharmaceuticals clearly higher. WWTP effluents were identified as important sources of the analyzed pharmaceuticals and their metabolites in surface waters. The concentrations of the compounds found in surface waters ranged from 相似文献   

Disinfection by-product formation potentials in wastewater effluents and their reductions in a wastewater treatment plant

Disinfection by-product formation potentials (DBPFPs) in wastewater effluents from eight wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were investigated. In addition, a WWTP with one primary effluent and two different biological treatment processes was selected for a comparative study. Formation potential tests were carried out to determine the levels of DBP precursors in wastewater. WWTPs that achieved better organic matter removal and nitrification tended to result in lower DBPFPs in effluents. For the WWTP with two processes, haloacetic acid, trihalomethane, and chloral hydrate precursors were predominant DBP precursors in the primary and secondary effluents. The percent reductions of haloacetonitrile and haloketone formation potentials averaged at 96% which was high in comparison to the reductions of other classes of DBPFPs. In addition, biological treatment changed the DBPFP speciation profile by lowering the HAAFP/THMFP ratio. The eight plant survey and the comparative analysis of the WWTP with two processes implied that besides nitrification, there may be other confounding factors impacting DBPFPs. Oxic and anoxic conditions, formation and degradation of soluble microbial products had impacts on the DBPFP reductions. This information can be used by water and wastewater professionals to better control wastewater-derived DBPs in downstream potable water supplies.     

Effects of Organic Material and Distribution of Fecal Coliforms in Chetumal Bay, Quintana Roo, México

Most wastewater from the city of Chetumal is discharged into the adjoining bay without treatment through a pluvial sewer system. The bay also receives a high volume of vegetal organic material from the River Río Hondo. The average of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) was 32.26 mg l-1, it was low compared with other reports and should be indicative of self-depuration processes in Chetumal Bay. In the area most used by the public for recreational and fishing activities, concentrations of fecal coliforms above the limit established by Mexican Legislation were shown. The border between Mexico and Belize is Chetumal Bay, which recently was declared a protected area for manatees.     

The mini mobile environmental monitoring unit: a novel bio-assessment tool

This paper introduces a new bio-assessment tool, the mini-mobile environmental monitoring unit (MMU). The MMU is a portable, lightweight, energy-efficient, miniaturized laboratory that provides a low-flow system for on-site exposure of aquatic animals to local receiving waters in a protected, controllable environment. Prototypes of the MMU were tested twice in week-long studies conducted during the summers of 2008 and 2009, and in a 12-day study in 2010. In 2008, fathead minnows and polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) were deployed downstream from the Hastings, Nebraska wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), a waterway known to contain estrogenic contaminants in biologically active concentrations. In 2009, minnows and POCIS were deployed downstream, upstream and within the Grand Island, Nebraska WWTP, a site where the estrogenic contaminants had been detected, but were found at levels below those necessary to directly impact fish. In 2010, an advanced prototype was tested at the Sauk Center, Minnesota WWTP to compare its performance with that of traditional fish exposure methods including caged fish and static-renewal laboratory testing of effluent. Results from the prototype illustrate the capabilities of the MMU and offer an inexpensive monitoring tool to integrate the effects of pollutant sources with temporally varying composition and concentration.     

Remote sensing in environmental police investigations: aerial platforms and an innovative application of thermography to detect several illegal activities

Being able to identify the environmental crimes and the guilty parties is central to police investigations, and new technologies enable the authorities to do this faster and more accurately than ever before. In recent years, our research team has introduced the use of a range of aerial platforms and an innovative application of thermography to detect several illegal activities; for example, illegal sanitary sewer and storm-drain connections, illicit wastewater discharges, and other “anomalies” on surface waters can be easily identified using their thermal infrared signatures. It can also be used to detect illegal solid/liquid waste dumps or illicit air discharges. This paper introduces first results of a Thermal Pattern and Thermal Tracking approach that can be used to identify different phenomena and several pollutants. The aims of this paper were to introduce a fingerprint paradigm for environmental police investigations, defining several specific signatures (patterns) that permit the identification of an illicit/anomalous activity, and establish a procedure to use this information to find the correlation (tracking) between the crime and the culprit or the source and the target.     

废水中石油类总量控制监测的采样技术

污染物总量控制监测的关键是废水采样的时间和空间代表性问题。采用废水连续自动等比例采样器实现时间代表性,用优化点位解决空间代表性,结果表明以石油类为主要污染物的采样断面应选择在水跃区。