Emerging issues in drinking water treatments
Table of Contents
Emerging contaminants in drinking water 2
The main type of contaminants of emerging concerns in drinking water 3
Key issues of drinking water in the present time. 3
Emerging challenges for the drinking water industry. 5
USEPA model for emerging issues of drinking water 6
Way to solve emerging issues in water 6
Introduction
The emerging issues such as contamination of drinking water are a significant threat to public health with affecting in various ways such as causing diseases, developmental and growth problems. This chapter aims to deal with the emerging issues in drinking water treatments and explore the literature and key concepts regarding the topic. The classification of the emerging contaminants is going to describe and identify the key issues of drinking water treatments in the present time. Moreover, emerging challenges and their impacts will be discussed to help the water industry in the future. The effective strategy and way will be explained to mitigate these emerging issues by preventing and reducing waterway pollution in the future.
Emerging contaminants in drinking water
The emerging contaminants refer to the chemicals or minerals in the water and several sources of drinking water at relatively low concentrations. As per the viewpoint of Gomes et al. (2020), the threats of emerging contaminants are the main concerns for human health and the environment that are far from being understood. In addition, emerging contaminants in drinking water increase the global human population in high-density areas that impact bioaccumulation and bio-magnification in the environment. On the other hand, Sharma et al. (2019) have illustrated that the occurrence of these contaminants in drinking water may pose health concerns and a water management challenge are particularly sensitive to emerging contaminants. In addition, the developing countries faced issues of drinking water monitoring of contaminants of emerging concern with high cost and needs of the in-place capacity of providing drinking water in the areas. Moreover, Water resources protection of available resources from pollution is crucial throughout building resilience in safe drinking water supply throughout a piece of baseline information in the density areas.
Based on the opinion of Hartmann et al. (2018), emerging issues in drinking water are mainly emerging microbial and emerging chemical risks. In addition, several countries such as Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands use policy approaches over multifunctional rivers for transportation purposes, urban sanitization, power generation, and providing drinking water among 25 million people. This policy considers an assessment of emerging contaminants in drinking water that cover up acceptance of the risk governance process, defensibility of decisions made by all stakeholders, public health-risk reduction, and integration of science into policymaking.
The main type of contaminants of emerging concerns in drinking water
Based on the Safe Drinking Water Act, contaminants in the drinking water are classified into several key factors such as chemical, physical, radiological substance, biological or matter in water (Epa.gov, 2022). Drinking water contains a small number of contaminants that are harmless at a certain level. The physical contaminants are such as sediment or organic material suspended in the water of streams, rivers, and lakes that are created from soil erosion. Moreover, the physical contaminants impact the physical properties or physical appearance of water. On the other hand, the chemical contaminant in drinking water serves as a compound including pesticides, metals, toxins, nitrogen, bleach, salts, human or animal drugs and toxins produced by bacteria. Moreover, the Biological contaminants in drinking water refer to microbiological and microbes contaminants such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and parasites. On the other hand, radiological contaminants are one type of chemical compound that is effectively harmful to human beings.
Based on the viewpoint of Joseph et al. (2019), drinking water and wastewater treatment are from community water systems that employ the conventional water treatment processes such as sedimentation, filtration, coagulation-flocculation, and disinfection for various contaminants of emerging concern along with the endocrine-disrupting compounds. In addition, it is very hard to remove various organic and inorganic contaminants in aqueous solutions and most cost-effective in the drinking water plants. On the other hand, Lambert and Wagner (2018) have argued that deposition of a complex combination of materials in drinking water of the surrounding water such as micro-Plasticisers is a matter of increasing concern in protected areas. In addition, Aqua-bacterium commune is the colonization of low-density that becomes a common member of drinking water biofilms which lead to concern for freshwater environments in the community.
Key issues of drinking water in the present time
The safety of managed drinking water is a common demand over the 74% of the global population of about 5.8 billion people in 2020 that are available when needed, one located on-premises and free from contamination (Who.int, 2022). More than 2 billion people use contaminated drinking water sources with faces globally that resulted in the greatest risk in drinking-water safety. Moreover, the emerging issue of microbiologically contaminated water transmits diseases such as dysentery, typhoid, diarrhoea, cholera, and polio causes 485000 deaths per year.
On the other hand, the SDGs (sustainable development goals) target 6.1 calls for equitable and universal access to affordable and safe water drink that needs to be located on-premise, priority chemical contamination and free from fecal (World Health Organization, 2018). Moreover, the inadequate management of urban areas, agriculture, and industrial wastewater are dangerously contaminated or chemically polluted that increase effects on health including arsenic and fluoride. However, WHO (world health organization) leads global efforts, advising governments on the development of health-based targets and regulations to prevent water-related disease (Sustainabledevelopment.un.org, 2022). Moreover, it produces a series of water quality guidelines for recreational water quality and safe use of wastewater based on managing risks.
As per the viewpoint of Li and Wu (2019), drinking water quality conditions are decreased in irrigation areas and a rapidly urbanizing area in many countries and they support the fast development of water quality assessment approaches for maintaining water quality standards in the community. In addition, drinking water quality factors, protection, management, and drinking water quality governance policies play a vital role behind the cause of emerging issues of drinking water in the community. For example, Yan’an City is an important cultural city on the Chinese Loess Plateau that faces high risks of health due to the presence of nitrate exposure in drinking water (Li and Guo, 2019). In addition, the people faced issues of drinking water due to limited sources of consumption because of inadequate rainfall and surface water in the country. However, the poor sustainable groundwater resources management and governance are also responsible for the scarcity of drinking water and emerging issues in water quality in the areas. Hence, many countries are facing the same issues with drinking water scarcity and emerging issues in plant, technology and governance-related issues in the various areas that directly impact people’s health and well-being, especially for the child.
Emerging challenges for the drinking water industry
Safe drinking water and its availability are the fundamentals of human rights and the water industry faces issues to meet these demands and reach each person simultaneously. As per the viewpoint of Hassanzadeh et al. (2020), the water industry faces key challenges of managing climate change and meeting demands with increasing human population, response frequency of extreme events (storms, floods, droughts, fires). The main issue behind these challenges is the water suppliers’ sources are dominated by limited water sources of surface, ground, and rainwater that becomes less reliable. Investments in alternative water quality sources become risks among the industrials as it faces emerging challenges due to limited access to the future supply of drinking waters that meet the people’s demands and improve their standing in the country.
On the other hand, Gitis and Hankins (2018) have argued that water treatment chemicals are the parts of now using novel physical treatment methods which are used in the water industry over granular filtration and UV towards elimination or minimization of the use of classic disinfection chemicals. Moreover, the water industry faces sustainable issues in freshwater sources to sources of deteriorating feed quality that compact water trace chemicals, microbial pathogens, viruses, solids, odor, and hardness and emerging micro-pollutants. Hence, the industry faces problems supplying water of drinking quality mainly in remote locations where it meets the needs such as food, medication, electricity, safe water, and sanitation in the community.
Based on the viewpoint of Cantele et al. (2018), Water utilities play a critical role in the water industry to develop sustainable goals with ensuring the continuous supply of water and the protection of the quality of water resources for current and future generations. For example, the Italian water industry uses qualitative and quantitative indicators in sustainability reporting and performance measurement for measuring water management issues in the country. The main factors needed to incorporate the water industry are drinking water quality, water scarcity, fair end-use efficiency, pricing, & access and distribution network efficiency.
USEPA model for emerging issues of drinking water
The USEPA (the United States Environmental Protection Agency) model considers the “derivation of maximum contaminant level goals for perchlorate in drinking water” that helps to meet the maximum contaminant or emerging issues in water (Clewell et al. 2019). The model encounters a total of 90 contaminants in drinking water with a legal limit that helps to protect human health. Moreover, the water system and regarding industry can achieve sustainable goals with the help of USEPA rules over water-testing schedules, methods systematically. In addition, the SDWA (Safe Drinking Water Act) generates opportunities to enforce and set their drinking standards for strangers of national standards (Epa.gov, 2022). It uses an Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Program that helps to collect data by measuring contaminants suspected over present in drinking water that maintains health-based standards under the SDWA. For example, America sets effective laws for protecting drinking water sources in the country such as the Clean Water Act that recommended states to establish water quality standards, designated surface water for the purpose of drinking (Epa.gov, 2022). The USEPA sets conifers available technology and cost for monitoring and reporting the national standard of drinking water that helps to protect against the health risks.
Way to solve emerging issues in water
According to Wang et al. (2018), people need to be educated to change lifestyle and water consumption through motivating their new behaviors. The water scarcity areas are forms of consumption from individuals and facing the drinking water crisis over the supply chains of major corporations. The governments should implement advanced technology and invest in new water conservation methods regarding wastewater treatments, energy conservations, and urge new insights for wastewater treatments. For example, Singapore tries to recycle the wastewater and reduce the consumption of freshwater with self-sufficient practice (Ganter, 2019).
Figure 1: re 2. Degree of public satisfaction of several drinking water sources quality
(Source: Wang et al. 2018)
On the other hand, Stavenhagen et al. (2018) have argued that the water industry needs to practice appropriate and affordable price ranges that help to meet the SDGs in the countries. Moreover, the OECD countries raise their economic growth by decreasing lower waste and pollution in water and environmental factors (Oecd.org, 2022). In addition, the governments need to develop energy-efficient desalination plants that help industries capitalize on their large energy reserve and meet the demands of drinking water in the community. Most governments faced emerging issues of drinking water due to a poor policy and regulation that directly impacts human health and well-being, barriers to growing children in the population. For example, the US governments promote the clean water act and the government of Russia (Prime minister Vladimir Putin) approved wastewater discharge at Lake Baikal surveying to serve fresh or drinking water for the people (Ganter, 2019).
Conclusion
Based on the analysis of the entire literature review on the emerging issue of drinking water, it can be concluded that this is a core issue and becomes problematic day by day. The most developed countries are alert from this issue that directly causes death and negatively impacts human well-being and living standard in the country. The emerging contaminant causes several diseases in the human body that raises risk among the current and next generation. The water industry faces issues and is afraid of investments in this business because of the limited supply and fresh resources in the country. Hence, people need to be aware of water consumption and reduce waste of water, reuse the wastewater and increase the use of rain or natural sources to mitigate this environmental issue in the future.
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