VTEI / Water technology, water supply, waste water treatment

Water technology, water supply, waste water treatment

Comparison of the Grey Water Footprint of Conventional Pollution and Micropollutants: A Case Study of the Bandung WWTP (Indonesia)

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Grey water footprint refers to the amount of water required to dilute pollutants released into the aquatic environment so that the water quality remains above agreed water quality standards. This study examines the grey water footprint of micropollutants, also referred to as contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), compared to commonly monitored water parameters (such as nutrients and organic pollution) in wastewater. 24-hour samples were analysed from Indonesia’s largest WWTP, which uses a stabilization pond system for wastewater treatment. The grey water footprint was calculated for 12 micropollutants and six parameters of standard chemical monitoring. The highest value of the grey water footprint in the WWTP effluent was for BOD5 (13.5 l/l). The highest value among the micropollutants in the WWTP effluent was for Fluoxetine (0.08 l/l). When using other published PNEC values, Fluoxetine reached higher grey water footprint values than BOD5. The highest value of the grey water footprint in the WWTP influent was for Ibuprofen (210.4 l/l), but this substance was effectively removed in the WWTP.

Recast of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive brings new challenges not only in the water management sector

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This article presents the main elements of the recast of Council Directive 91/271/EEC concerning urban wastewater treatment, which lays down rules for the collection, treatment, and discharge of urban wastewater in order to protect the environment and human health. In addition to strengthening existing requirements, the text of the new Directive, as provisionally agreed, introduces a significant number of new obligations to be achieved within ambitious deadlines.

Developing cooperation with Canada in the field of water quality

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Between 10th and 16th June 2024, Mgr. Kateřina Sovová, Ph.D., TGM WRI, and Ing. Pavla Fojtíková, Ph.D., the University of South Bohemia, visited Canada to liaise over water quality issues, wastewater monitoring, and toxicity research. This event was implemented with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its main goal was to deepen cooperation in the field of UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6).

Benefits and risks of using sludge from small WWTPs after processing by composting for the production of selected types of vegetables

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The aim of the study, the results of which are presented in this article, was to assess the possibility of simplifying treatment and stabilisation procedures of sewage sludge from small municipal sources of pollution (domestic and small WWTPs up to about 1,000 EP) at the place of their origin and their subsequent use through extensive composting. The results demonstrated the benefit of the application of composts from a material base containing sludge from small WWTPs in increasing the production of the monitored types of vegetables. However, especially with lettuce, there was a higher transmission of selected risk elements. We therefore do not recommend the use of composts with sludge for growing leafy green vegetables. In contrast, this risk did not arise with fruit and vegetables. For practical use, it is still necessary to assess the rate of transfer of other pollutants, such as drug residues and microplastics.

Possibilities of wastewater treatment using an experimental device for physical action by an electrostatic field with a focus on pharmaceuticals

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As a result of climate change and the world´s population growth, ensuring sufficient amount of water is expected to be an increasing problem. There is a growing need for eco-technologies with reduced water consumption, for the use of harvested rainwater, as well as reuse of wastewater.
Currently there are millions of known chemicals, and more and more are being synthesized every day. The chemization of various branches of industry leads to the increasing massive contamination of our environment with foreign substances.
This paper presents the possibilities of rebuilding experimental laboratory equipment for the physical processing of waste into an equipment able to apply electrostatic field action on wastewater. It also considers the possibilities and perspectives of its further use, either alone or in combination with other technological processes, e.g. biotechnologies. The first series of experimental trials was aimed at eliminating selected pharmaceuticals.

The influence of wastewater on microbial contamination of the Vltava below Prague

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In terms of public health protection, the most important indicator in surface water monitoring is microbial fecal contamination. Despite the introduc-tion of the best available technologies, their biggest source is treated and untreated municipal wastewater. Around 90 % of the Czech population use their local sewerage system, which is linked to a WWTP, treated, and discharged into recipient waters. Monitoring of microbial contamination of the Vltava below Prague CWWTP showed a level of fecal pollution in the 10 km section below the wastewater inflow in periods with different flow rates. Smaller tributaries of the Vltava, which bring treated wastewater from local WWTPs to the Vltava, were monitored as additional sources. From April 2022 to March 2023, the amount of Escherichia coli, enterococci, thermotolerant coliform bacteria, and Clostridium perfringens were monitored at ten sampling sites. The monitoring results showed relatively significant microbial pollution of the Vltava from Prague CWWTP dis-charge and, at the same time, the river’s substantial self-cleaning ability in the following section. This creates good potential for the river’s future utilization in the monitored area, with the exception of the section directly affected by the inflow of treated wastewater from Prague CWWTP. This study could be used to raise public awareness in order to minimize the health risk caused by the river’s inappropriate utilization (possible presence of pathogenic microorganisms, including carriers of antimicrobial resistance).

Factors affecting the cost of drinking water production

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The article summarizes the findings of a statistical analysis of the cost of drinking water production in the Czech Republic in 2018. Understanding the factors that influence the cost of drinking water production is important for choosing a cost-effective public drinking water supply system. We present the first study analysing the factors affecting the cost of drinking water production in the Czech Republic. We tested the following factors for their influence on the production costs of drinking water: the quantity of drinking water produced, the type of raw water (surface vs. groundwater), electricity consumption, and the treatment technologies and chemicals applied. The results suggested that drinking water production from groundwater was cheaper than from surface water. At the same time, some water treatment technologies and usage of some treatment technologies and chemicals increase production costs. The use of sodium hypochlorite, chlorine and demanganisation have the greatest impact on production costs. We have also confirmed economies of scale in the production of drinking water.

Dewatering sewage sludge using sludge drying beds with wetland vegetation, the so-called Sludge Treatment Reed Bed units

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At present, the problem of waste disposal is growing worldwide; its secondary use is therefore more than desirable. A pressing problem for many small municipalities that need to build or reconstruct a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is solving the issue of processing the resulting sludge and its stabilization, sanitation, and further application. It is not unusual for small municipal WWTPs to lack a complete in-situ sludge management (including dewatering etc.). Sewage sludge is thus often pumped out at high cost and transported to a large WWTP. The main goal for the real application of sewage sludge is to prevent future damage to soils, plants, and the health of animals and people. For this reason, taking into account the substances currently present in the sludge (e.g., organic micropollutants), it is advisable to sufficiently pre-treat the sludge, not just sanitize it to eliminate above-limit microbial pollution.

The history of the grey water footprint, or let’s quote the originator of the idea

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The water footprint was introduced in 2002 [1] and quickly became a popular tool for assessing anthropogenic impacts associated with human activities. The basic methodological document that describes the water footprint methodology is the Water Footprint Assessment Manual from 2011 [2]. The water footprint consists of three components, depending on the source and type of water use: 1) the blue water footprint represents water consumption from water sources, i.e. taken from rivers, lakes, and aquifers, 2) the green water footprint represents the consumption of water that comes from precipitation and is stored on the surface of the soil or plants or as soil moisture, and is consumed mainly by evapotranspiration, 3) the grey water footprint represents the amount of water needed to assimilate anthropogenic pollution based on the natural background concentration and existing environmental water quality standards.

Assessment of the possibility of changing the use of dry reservoirs

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The main objective of the project „Potential use of dry reservoirs in landscape water management“ was to develop a methodological guideline describing the procedure for changing the use of a dry reservoir. The methodological guideline is based on a two¬ level multi¬criteria analysis. Another aim of the project was to make a complete record of implemented dry reservoirs and polders in the Czech Republic and to present it in the form of a database and a map with professional content. Documentation of the technical condition of some existing dry reservoirs was also an important output of the project.

Invitation to the travelling exhibition Historical water management objects, their value, function and significance for the present time

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Research focused on the evaluation of historical water management objects in the Czech Republic from the point of view of their significance for historic preservation is already in its fifth year. It is broadly conceived interdisciplinary research with the involvement of experts from TGM WRI, Methodological Centre of Industrial Heritage of the National Heritage Institute, Historical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, The Silva Tarouca Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening, and Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc. The research is carried out within the DG18P02OVV019 project “Historical water management objects, their value, function and significance for the present time” financed by the NAKI II programme of the Ministry of Culture. 

Risk assessment as a comprehensive approach to protection of drinking water sources

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Drinking water supply as well as its quality form one of the basic pillars of modern society. This corresponds to the goal of the International Water Association (IWA) – good, safe and drinkable water, which enjoys consumer confidence and can be not only drunk without fear, but in which the consumer also appreciates its taste and aesthetic appearance. In order to meet these objectives, it is important to set drinking water quality requirements and also to keep the whole process of drinking water production and distribution, including all risk areas, under continuous control.

Centrum Voda (Center Water)

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Centrum Voda je výzkumný projekt, který hledá řešení problémů vyplývajících z klimatické změny a jejího vlivu na vodní poměry. Snažíme se nalézat odpovědi na základní otázky, jestli dokážeme zajistit dostatek kvalitní vody nejen pro potřeby člověka, ale i pro naši krajinu, zda se zvládneme vyrovnat s přívalovými povodněmi a jak dále snižovat znečištění vodního prostředí.

A retrospective view of the Šumperk water supply system from the 1960s to the present

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In the second half of the 20th century, the long-term problem of supplying the town of Šumperk with drinking water was finally solved. New sources of drinking water supplemented the missing capacities in the form of surface abstraction from Divoká Desná within the newly built collec-tive water supply system, together with the use of sources in Rapotín and Olšany. A significant contribution to solving the problem was the recon-struction of the water supply network, water reservoir, and intake facilities, which reduced losses. An important factor that has reduced the water consumption of the population is, of course, the significant increase in water and sewerage prices in the last 20 years, which had an impact on Šumperk as well. The operational and organizational conditions of the town’s drinking water supply were negatively affected by society-wide de-velopment, which ultimately meant an increase in operating losses in the water supply network due to limited funds for the renewal and upgrading of the water supply network. The political changes in 1989 and the following period were reflected not only in the organizational conditions of the town’s drinking water supply, but also in the final consumption and price of drinking water, both in the Šumperk region and across the whole of the Czech Republic. With the example of Šumperk, it is also possible to illustrate the transformation of the water industry after 1989 and possible diffi-culties, new starting points, and challenges for its future development.

SMART WATER

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”SMART WATER” is a project funded from the Norwegian Financial Mechanisms as part of the REINE programme, running from 2nd August 2021 to 30th June 2022.
The project is coordinated by the non-profit research and training centre METCENAS, o. p. s., its partner being the organisation AVAS, s. r. o., which is responsible for the dissemination and delivery of the results.

Vodní květ

Balance evaluation of selected water quality indicators on the tributaries of Vranov reservoir

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Most of the reservoirs in the Czech Republic have been built as multifunctional reservoirs, with the basic functions being storage and protection. The way the catchment area upstream of a reservoir is used has a significant impact on water quality. Pollution sources can be divided into point, area, and diffuse sources. Being continuous or recurrent, point pollution is not significantly influenced by meteorological factors and it is linked to narrowly delimited areas such as settlements, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), industrial plants, agricultural facilities, etc. Area pollution is difficult to observe as it is irregular and depends on meteorological, soil, morphological, and vegetation characteristics [4]. The category of diffuse sources usually includes small diffuse point sources of pollution, namely municipal, agricultural, industrial, as well as traffic pollution, leachates from landfills, etc.

Study of the effectiveness of the small municipal sourcess sewage sludge extensive stabilization for their use as a fertilizer

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The article is devoted to the presentation of partial results of a study aimed at determining the potential use of extensive sludge dewatering technology for small municipal WWTPs (up to 1000 PE) in the conditions of the Czech Republic. The study has shown that the use of technology based on extensive sludge dewatering and their stabilization in sludge dewatering reed beds with suitable wetland vegetation can be an alternative to other technologies. Especially in combination with constructed wetland (CW) based WWTPs, which are characterized by lower sludge production.

A retrospective view of the Šumperk water supply system up to the 1960s

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The article focuses on the water industry sector. It deals with the development of drinking water supply in Šumperk town from the Middle Ages to the 1960s. According to the water supply network development, the text is structured into individual chapters, focusing on the interesting period of the late 19th century, when a municipal water plant was established. The water plant was also the first company managed by the city council at its establishment. It was an excellent good practice example for similar towns in the Czech lands, both technologically and operationally. Subsequent chapters focus on expanding the water supply network, reservoirs, and intake areas, which had to be sized for the increasing water consumption associated with the city‘s dynamic development in the late 19th and first half of the 20th century. The final chapter summarises the development of the municipal waterworks project from 1945 until the year when the town of Šumperk was connected to the water intake sources from the Kouty-Šumperk group water supply system. The paper is an inspiring retrospective look into the history of the municipal water supply. It can also be a helpful comparison with the current state, building possibilities and limits of the water supply infrastructure.

Testing of a prototype separation device designed for rainwater treatment

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Článek shrnuje poznatky získané v rámci řešení výzkumného projektu „Technologie separace specifických polutantů ze srážkových vod“ (TH03030223), který se zabýval čištěním srážkových vod ze zpevněných ploch a komunikací zatížených nerozpuštěnými látkami (NL), polycyklickými aromatickými uhlovodíky i těžkými kovy. Projekt si kladl za cíl vyvinout účinnou technologii, která by uvedené polutanty ze srážkových vod separovala.

Grey water footprint of pollution discharged from wastewater treatment plants in the Czech Republic registered in the water balance in the period 2002–2018 – data set

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Koncept vodní stopy byl představen v roce 2002 [1] a dnes je jedním z rozšířených nástrojů pro hodnocení udržitelnosti užívání vodních zdrojů [2]. Vodní stopa patří do rodiny environmentálních stop [3], které umožňují podívat se na problémy užívání přírodních zdrojů z jiné perspektivy. Šedá vodní stopa je kvalitativní ukazatel převádějící vypouštěné znečištění na objem vody potřebný k jeho naředění na koncentrace neškodné pro životní prostředí [4].

Concentration and enumeration methods of somatic coliphages in water samples

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Somatic coliphages are a new indicator for monitoring the efficiency of water treatment and purification in the Directive (EU) 2020/2184 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020 on the quality of water intended for human consumption and in Regulation (EU) 2020/741 of the European Parliament and of the Council from 25 May 2020 on minimum requirements for water reuse.

Change of microbial community in tertiary wastewater treatment

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The aim of this contribution is the presentation of partial results of testing tertiary technology for recycling of treated urban wastewater. The obtain water will be used for watering of greenery, playgrounds, or for street cleaning. The quality of the treated water depends on the purpose of the use.

Search for suitable molecular markers for species differentiation of enterococci

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Enterococci, together with representatives of the species Escherichia coli, belong to the so-called indicators of faecal pollution, which are used in the evaluation of the microbiological quality of bathing waters. Their determination is governed by the Decree of the Ministry of Health No. 238/2011 Coll. and performed by culture on selective agar media.

Use of Earth remote sensing methods to monitor the condition of bathing sites

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The Ministry of Health in cooperation with other related bodies compiles, on an annual basis, the List of outdoor bathing sites on surface waters where the bathing service is offered by the operator, and other surface waters used for bathing. It is compiled based on the long-term monitoring, performed, exclusively as in-situ measurements, by the regional hygiene stations. With respect to the fact that this way of monitoring is not only time-consuming but also financially demanding, the need for minimizing these expenses naturally arises.

Possibilities of combined ways of treatment for selected waste types using an experimental equipment for physical waste treatment with the intention of their further use

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This article presents possibilities of a unique device for industrial waste treatment using a patented process, and outlines possible future directions. This device, using different physical processes, individually or in synergy, e.g. combined effects of ultrasonic waves, focused microwave field, arc discharges, electrostatic field and the exposure to ultra-violet radiation, is intended to degrade dangerous substances in waste, reducing its hazardous properties for the environment and to prepare the waste for future applications (material or energy), i.e. separately or in combination with other technology processes, such as biotechnology.

Determination of selected illicit drugs in wastewater using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

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The wastewater-based epidemiology approach to the analysis of illicit drugs was conceptualized in 2001 and for the first time was applied in 2005 for cocaine estimation in Italy. Further, other illicit drugs as heroine, cannabis and amphetamine have been estimated.

Municipal wastewater as a diagnostic medium of the City of Prague

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The article informs about regular, almost two-year long monitoring of municipal wastewater at selected sampling points of the Prague sewerage network. Selected illicit drugs (e.g. methamphetamine, MDMA, THC, cocaine), nicotine and its metabolites and the ethanol metabolite ethyl sulphate are monitored in municipal wastewater.

Space-time dynamic of pesticide loading in the drinking water reservoir Švihov

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The article deals with space-time dynamic of non-polar and polar compounds load into the drinking water reservoir Švihov in Želivka river basin during the whole vegetation season by passive sampling techniques. The monitoring on the nine tributaries of the Švihov water reservoir and on the raw water inlet to the Želivka drinking water treatment plant took place for eight months from April to November 2018.

Test of sorption filters on the base of granular activated carbon for drinking water cleaning

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The contribution presents model tests of sorption efficiency and elimination of organic substances, especially pesticides from five different exposed granular activated carbon (GAC). Results can contribute to the understanding of suitable filter lines for the realized investment project GAC filtration.

Determination of basic typology of elevated water tanks

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Příspěvek přináší prvotní pokus o systematické pojetí stanovení typologie věžových vodojemů pro potřeby řešení výzkumného projektu Věžové vodojemy – identifikace, dokumentace, prezentace, nové využití. Navazuje na předchozí stanovení odborné terminologie problematiky a definování objektu zájmu. Z typologického hlediska je na věžové vodojemy nahlíženo jako na nedílnou součást větších technologických celků – vodovodních systémů. V rámci základního dělení je pak sestavena typologie věžových vodojemů založená na výběru parametrů – stavební situace věžových vodojemů ve vztahu k dalším objektům, funkce věžových vodojemů, nosná konstrukce, tvar a materiál akumulační nádrže, počet nádrží a účel objektu.