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AIWW subtheme 2: Water reuse, recycle and recover

Water is central to life itself. With the expansions in urban living, urban waste like household waste, pharmaceutical waste, agricultural waste, chemical waste, bacteriological pollution, virus transmission and solid waste has been the major sources of pollution.

Sustainable Development Goals 3 (Good health and well-being), 6 (Clean water and Sanitation), 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), 12 (Responsible consumption and production), and 15 (Life on land) consider the challenges and consequences of wastewater treatment related issues. United Nations’ World Water Development Report 2017 was focussed on establishing wastewater as a valuable resource. African renewal magazine considered wastewater as the ‘new black gold’.

Abovementioned developments helped us shaping the second AIWW subtheme: Water reuse, recycle and recover.

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From waste to worth: how can the sludge from wastewater become valuable?

Professor Mark van Loosdrecht is chair professor in Environmental Biotechnology at the Delft University of Technology, in The Netherlands. In brief, his research focuses on wastewater treatment using bacteria. Also, he is one of the panel experts at our webinar Water Solutions #2: Reuse, Recycle & Recover (April 30, 15:00-16:15 CET, register here.

As an academic expert in resource recovery from municipal wastewater he will share his perspective on our webinar’s main topic. This interview with the amicable professor is a taster of what you can expect April 30th.

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Nature: A great example to follow in water management

Blog by Rasha Hassan

The fresh water is 3% of the earth’s water with a limited amount (around 0.5%) available to be used for our livelihood. On the other hand, water is not only the source of our life but also the centre of any economic development. These facts with increasing population put increasing pressures on water resources worldwide, and challenge the water sector to manage, preserve and sustain these resources as well.

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Investors are obsessed with value — except when it comes to water

While speculation in water rights by private finance does raise many questions, the often outraged reaction clouds a wider and more important discussion that we need to have. In a world rife with water scarcity, pollution, and flooding, which will only worsen under climate change, we no longer have the luxury of simply maintaining the status quo: we have to start thinking about how to innovate and challenge to make things better. In particular, we need a new investment paradigm — one that overcomes the existing impediments to engaging private capital to advance positive changes in the water sector.

Please read this contribution by Stuart Orr, WWF Global Freshwater Lead & Brian Richter, President of Sustainable Waters.

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Wastewater-based epidemiology: Wastewater as a reflection on society

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) uses sewage as a source of information about citizens’ health and lifestyle. Analysis of sewage can provide information about the use of drugs and medications, the consumption of foodstuffs and other products and about exposure to, for example, pesticides in the catchment area of a sewage treatment plant.

The monitoring of pathogens is also possible. Research into such ‘biomarkers’ was first carried out in 2005 for illegal drugs, but then quickly expanded. Wastewater appears to reflect society. Standardising the data for the population allows for comparison between different regions. Such information can help public authorities to test and improve policies.

This article was previously published in H2O’s Water matters

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Timeline of important water events

As water professionals we need to stay current by regularly updating and enhancing our skills, knowledge and know-how, by joining events and conferences worldwide. Here’s an overview of events we would recommend participating. Please let us know if there are events missing and what’s on your radar.
Contact AIWW conference secretariat
Koningskade 40 - 2596 AA the Hague - The Netherlands
info@amsterdamiww.com 
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