A critical review on sustainability assessment of recycled water schemes.

Recycled water provides a viable opportunity to supplement water supplies as well as alleviate environmental loads. To further expand current schemes and explore new recycled water end uses, this study reviews several environmental assessment tools, including Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) in terms of their types, characteristics and weaknesses in evaluating the sustainability of recycled water schemes. Due to the limitations in individual models, the integrated approaches are recommended in most cases, of which the outputs could be further combined with additional economic and social assessments in multi-criteria decision making framework. The study also proposes several management strategies in improving the environmental scores. The discussion and suggestions could help decision makers in making a sound judgement as well as recognising the challenges and tasks in the future.

[1]  Gjalt Huppes,et al.  System boundary selection in life-cycle inventories using hybrid approaches. , 2004, Environmental science & technology.

[2]  Konstantinos P. Tsagarakis,et al.  The social acceptability and valuation of recycled water in Crete: A study of consumers' and farmers' attitudes , 2007 .

[3]  Stephen Moore,et al.  Incorporating phosphorus management considerations into wastewater management practice , 2005 .

[4]  Stuart J. Khan,et al.  Human risk assessment of organic contaminants in reclaimed wastewater used for irrigation , 2006 .

[5]  Chris Hendrickson,et al.  Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Goods and Services: An Input-Output Approach , 2006 .

[6]  Pawan Labhasetwar,et al.  Greywater reuse in residential schools in Madhya Pradesh, India—A case study of cost–benefit analysis , 2009 .

[7]  Frank Stagnitti,et al.  RIRA: A tool for conducting health risk assessments for irrigation of edible crops with recycled water , 2007 .

[8]  Yong-Hwa Kim,et al.  Development and Evaluation of an Aquatic Ecological Risk Assessment System (KORECORisk) for the Management of Industrial Complexes , 2007, Integrated environmental assessment and management.

[9]  M. Ortiz,et al.  Life cycle assessment of water treatment technologies: wastewater and water-reuse in a small town , 2007 .

[10]  Leonard Sweet,et al.  Nanotechnology—Life-Cycle Risk Management , 2006 .

[11]  Montse Meneses,et al.  Environmental assessment of urban wastewater reuse: treatment alternatives and applications. , 2010, Chemosphere.

[12]  Maria Leet Socolof,et al.  Evaluating Human and Ecological Impacts of a Product Life Cycle: The Complementary Roles of Life-Cycle Assessment and Risk Assessment , 2006 .

[13]  Anna Björklund,et al.  ORWARE – A simulation model for organic waste handling systems. Part 1: Model description , 1997 .

[14]  Arnold Tukker,et al.  Life cycle assessment as a tool in environmental impact assessment , 2000 .

[15]  Ligia Tiruta-Barna,et al.  Environmental impact and risk assessment of mineral wastes reuse strategies : Review and critical analysis of approaches and applications , 2007 .

[16]  S. Dolnicar,et al.  Recycled water for consumer markets - : a marketing research review and agenda , 2006 .

[17]  Yong-Hwa Kim,et al.  Risk assessment of human antibiotics in Korean aquatic environment. , 2008, Environmental toxicology and pharmacology.

[18]  F. Gagné,et al.  Occurrence of pharmaceutical products in a municipal effluent and toxicity to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) hepatocytes. , 2006, Ecotoxicology and environmental safety.

[19]  E. Cooper,et al.  Preliminary risk assessment database and risk ranking of pharmaceuticals in the environment. , 2008, The Science of the total environment.

[20]  Ligia Tiruta-Barna,et al.  Combining lifecycle and risk assessments of mineral waste reuse scenarios for decision making support , 2007 .

[21]  Shabbir H. Gheewala,et al.  Environmental Evaluation of MSW Management in a Life Cycle Perspective , 2007 .

[22]  Arjen Y. Hoekstra,et al.  The global component of freshwater demand and supply: an assessment of virtual water flows between nations as a result of trade in agricultural and industrial products , 2008 .

[23]  M. Bino,et al.  Effect of treated grey water reuse in irrigation on soil and plants , 2010 .

[24]  T. Neset,et al.  Food Consumption and Nutrient Flows: Nitrogen in Sweden Since the 1870s , 2006 .

[25]  Laosheng Wu,et al.  Impact of long-term reclaimed wastewater irrigation on agricultural soils: a preliminary assessment. , 2010, Journal of hazardous materials.

[26]  Francisco Hernández,et al.  Development of analysis tools for social, economic and ecological effects of water reuse , 2008 .

[27]  Reinout Heijungs,et al.  Similarities, Differences and Synergisms Between HERA and LCA—An Analysis at Three Levels , 2006 .

[28]  Omar Romero-Hernandez.  Applying Life Cycle Tools and Process Engineering to Determine the Most Adequate Treatment Process Conditions. A Tool in Environmental Policy (12 pp) , 2005 .

[29]  R J Chiou,et al.  Aspects of municipal wastewater reclamation and reuse for future water resource shortages in Taiwan. , 2007, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[30]  Bandita Mainali,et al.  Responses of community to the possible use of recycled water for washing machines: A case study in Sydney, Australia , 2011 .

[31]  Todd A. Anderson,et al.  Occurrence of PPCPs at a Wastewater Treatment Plant and in Soil and Groundwater at a Land Application Site , 2011 .

[32]  M. Cleuvers.  Aquatic ecotoxicity of pharmaceuticals including the assessment of combination effects. , 2003, Toxicology letters.

[33]  Karin Treyer,et al.  Environmental toxicology and risk assessment of pharmaceuticals from hospital wastewater. , 2011, Water research.

[34]  J E Drewes,et al.  Fate of pharmaceuticals during indirect potable reuse. , 2002, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[35]  B Frostell,et al.  A systems approach evaluation of sludge management strategies: sludge management in Valparaíso and Aconcagua, Chile. , 2002, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[36]  F. Brissaud.  Criteria for water recycling and reuse in the Mediterranean countries , 2008 .

[37]  Oliver A.H. Jones,et al.  Aquatic environmental assessment of the top 25 English prescription pharmaceuticals. , 2002, Water research.

[38]  A K Chapagain,et al.  An improved water footprint methodology linking global consumption to local water resources: a case of Spanish tomatoes. , 2009, Journal of environmental management.

[39]  Håkan Jönsson,et al.  ORWARE – A simulation model for organic waste handling systems. Part 2: Case study and simulation results , 1997 .

[40]  Zoe Leviston,et al.  Predicting community behaviour in relation to wastewater reuse: What drives decisions to accept or reject? , 2007 .

[41]  Kerrie Mengersen,et al.  Bayesian Network for Risk of Diarrhea Associated with the Use of Recycled Water , 2009, Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis.

[42]  A. Hurlimann.  Is recycled water use risky? An Urban Australian community’s perspective , 2007 .

[43]  D Butler,et al.  Life cycle assessment of wastewater treatment technologies treating petroleum process waters. , 2006, The Science of the total environment.

[44]  Thomas D. Waite,et al.  Life Cycle Assessment of Water Recycling Technology , 2005 .

[45]  Helmut Rechberger,et al.  Practical handbook of material flow analysis , 2003 .

[46]  Anne Roiko,et al.  Contaminants of concern in recycled water , 2010 .

[47]  Amadeo R. Fernández-Alba,et al.  Chemical evaluation of contaminants in wastewater effluents and the environmental risk of reusing effluents in agriculture , 2009 .

[48]  Tak Hur,et al.  Dynamic material flow analysis of steel resources in Korea , 2011 .

[49]  I. Muñoz,et al.  Life Cycle Assessment of urban wastewater reuse with ozonation as tertiary treatment: a focus on toxicity-related impacts. , 2009, The Science of the total environment.

[50]  T. Asano.  Water Reuse: Issues, Technologies, and Applications , 2007 .

[51]  Henrik Wenzel,et al.  Use of life cycle assessment as decision-support tool for water reuse and handling of residues at a Danish industrial laundry , 2004, Waste management & research : the journal of the International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association, ISWA.

[52]  Paul H. Brunner,et al.  Regional Material Management and Environmental Protection , 1992 .

[53]  Despo Fatta-Kassinos,et al.  Existence of Pharmaceutical Compounds in Tertiary Treated Urban Wastewater that is Utilized for Reuse Applications , 2011 .

[54]  L. Sokka,et al.  Quantifying the total environmental impacts of an industrial symbiosis - a comparison of process-, hybrid and input-output life cycle assessment. , 2010, Environmental science & technology.

[55]  Thomas Wintgens,et al.  Feasibility studies for water reuse projects: an economical approach , 2006 .

[56]  Warit Jawjit,et al.  Assessing environmental performance by combining life cycle assessment, multi-criteria analysis and environmental performance indicators , 2007 .

[57]  D. Corwin,et al.  Environmental impacts and sustainability of degraded water reuse. , 2008, Journal of environmental quality.

[58]  I. Kalavrouziotis,et al.  The risks associated with wastewater reuse and xenobiotics in the agroecological environment. , 2011, The Science of the total environment.

[59]  M. Pons,et al.  Influence of impact assessment methods in wastewater treatment LCA , 2008 .

[60]  R. Tan,et al.  Environmental performance optimization using process water integration and Sustainable Process Index , 2006 .

[61]  C Schönning,et al.  QMRA (quantitative microbial risk assessment) and HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control points) for management of pathogens in wastewater and sewage sludge treatment and reuse. , 2004, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[62]  X C Wang,et al.  Application of life cycle assessment for an evaluation of wastewater treatment and reuse project--case study of Xi'an, China. , 2010, Bioresource technology.

[63]  D. Connell,et al.  Fate simulation and risk assessment of endocrine disrupting chemicals in a reservoir receiving recycled wastewater. , 2010, The Science of the total environment.

[64]  Glenn W. Suter.  Ecological Risk Assessment , 1992 .

[65]  D Hellström,et al.  Systems analysis for environmental assessment of urban water and wastewater systems. , 2002, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[66]  G Finnveden,et al.  Life cycle assessment part 2: current impact assessment practice. , 2004, Environment international.

[67]  A. Ismail,et al.  A review of the effects of emerging contaminants in wastewater and options for their removal , 2009 .

[68]  Takashi Asano,et al.  Peer Reviewed: Recovering Sustainable Water from Wastewater , 2004 .

[69]  B Devine,et al.  Screening health risk assessment of micropullutants for indirect potable reuse schemes: a three-tiered approach. , 2007, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[70]  Willi Gujer,et al.  Confronting limitations: new solutions required for urban water management in Kunming City. , 2007, Journal of environmental management.

[71]  Erwin Nolde,et al.  Greywater reuse systems for toilet flushing in multi-storey buildings – over ten years experience in Berlin , 2000 .

[72]  Michael Zwicky Hauschild,et al.  Comparison of Three Different LCIA Methods: EDIP97, CML2001 and Eco-indicator 99 , 2003 .

[73]  Helmut Rechberger,et al.  Material Flow Analysis with Software STAN , 2008, EnviroInfo.

[74]  Viet Anh Nguyen,et al.  Optimising water and phosphorus management in the urban environmental sanitation system of Hanoi, Vietnam. , 2007, The Science of the total environment.

[75]  Anna-Karin Johansson,et al.  Are pharmaceuticals potent environmental pollutants? Part I: environmental risk assessments of selected active pharmaceutical ingredients. , 2006, The Science of the total environment.

[76]  Brenda Dyack,et al.  Exploring the Institutional Impediments to Conservation and Water Reuse - National Issues. A Report for the Australian Water Conservation and Reuse Research Program (AWCRRP.) , 2004 .

[77]  D. Griffin,et al.  Groundwater quality impacts from the land application of treated municipal wastewater in a large karstic spring basin: chemical and microbiological indicators. , 2009, The Science of the total environment.

[78]  A. Pena,et al.  Regulatory approach on environmental risk assessment. Risk management recommendations, reasonable and prudent alternatives , 2009, Ecotoxicology.

[79]  Mats Tysklind,et al.  Environmental risk assessment of antibiotics in the Swedish environment with emphasis on sewage treatment plants. , 2007, Water research.

[80]  Sara Dolnicar,et al.  Marketing Recycled Water: Review of Past Studies and Research Agenda , 2005 .

[81]  R Otterpohl,et al.  Material flow analysis as a tool for sustainable sanitation planning in developing countries: case study of Arba Minch, Ethiopia. , 2009, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[82]  B. E. Nancarrow,et al.  LITERATURE REVIEW OF FACTORS INFLUENCING PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF WATER REUSE , 2003 .

[83]  Arpad Horvath,et al.  Life Cycle Energy Assessment of Alternative Water Supply Systems (9 pp) , 2006 .

[84]  Mohamed Tawfic Ahmed.  Life Cycle Assessment, a Decision-Making Tool in Wastewater Treatment Facilities , 2007 .

[85]  Hasan Belevi,et al.  An approach to optimise nutrient management in environmental sanitation systems despite limited data. , 2008, Journal of environmental management.

[86]  A. Schäfer,et al.  Occurrence of pharmaceutically active and non-steroidal estrogenic compounds in three different wastewater recycling schemes in Australia. , 2007, Chemosphere.

[87]  Sven Lundie,et al.  A hybrid life cycle assessment model for comparison with conventional methodologies in Australia , 2009 .

[88]  F. Castells,et al.  Life Cycle Assessment of Urban Wastewater Reclamation and Reuse Alternatives , 2011 .

[89]  B. Richardson,et al.  Public participation in environmental decision-making in China: Towards an ecosystem approach , 2014 .

[90]  Marius Claassen.  Ecological risk assessment as a framework for environmental impact assessments , 1999 .

[91]  A. Horvath,et al.  Energy and air emission effects of water supply. , 2009, Environmental science & technology.

[92]  Xin Wang,et al.  Risk assessment of heavy metals in soil previously irrigated with industrial wastewater in Shenyang, China. , 2009, Journal of hazardous materials.

[93]  M. Birkved,et al.  Environmental risk assessment of human pharmaceuticals in Denmark after normal therapeutic use. , 2000, Chemosphere.

[94]  M. Huijbregts,et al.  USES-LCA 2.0—a global nested multi-media fate, exposure, and effects model , 2009 .

[95]  D W Pennington,et al.  Life cycle assessment: Part 1: Framework, goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, and applications , 2004 .

[96]  Jong Moon Park,et al.  Environmental impact minimization of a total wastewater treatment network system from a life cycle perspective. , 2009, Journal of environmental management.

[97]  Thomas Wintgens,et al.  Methodologies for feasibility studies related to wastewater reclamation and reuse projects , 2006 .

[98]  J. March,et al.  Experiences on greywater re-use for toilet flushing in a hotel (Mallorca Island, Spain) , 2004 .

[99]  Walter Klöpffer,et al.  Analytical tools for environmental design and management in a systems perspective , 2012 .

[100]  Noor Zalina Mahmood,et al.  Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) of potable water treatment process in Malaysia: comparison between dissolved air flotation (DAF) and ultrafiltration (UF) technology. , 2009 .

[101]  Anna Hurlimann,et al.  Urban Australians Using Recycled Water for Domestic Non-Potable Use — An Evaluation of the Attributes Price, Saltiness, Colour and Odour Using Conjoint Analysis , 2007, Journal of environmental management.

[102]  A. Cook,et al.  Indirect Potable Reuse: A Sustainable Water Supply Alternative , 2009, International journal of environmental research and public health.

[103]  Paul H. Brunner,et al.  Material Flow Analysis: A tool to support environmental policy decision making. Case-studies on the city of Vienna and the Swiss lowlands , 2000 .

[104]  A. Hospido,et al.  Environmental performance of wastewater treatment plants for small populations , 2008 .