Tag: Water Supply

E. coli as a surrogate for water pollution

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Dr Thomas Shahady of the Center for Water Quality at the University of Lynchburg, outlines how E. coli and its contribution to water pollution could help improve detection strategies.

Our freshwater streams and rivers are under siege. An abundance of scientific literature warns about the dangers of water pollution and, in particular, sediment plaguing these systems. What is happening? Why is this occurring? Why are we not stopping it?

I believe it is our approach. We sample water and draw upon causal relationships. We look at land use surrounding at a particular study site and assume that the water running over surrounding land generates resultant problems. We point to agriculture dumping tonnes of nutrients or urbanisation generating excessive water flow and eroding stream banks.

Sewage, livestock, and failing septic systems flowing into streams cause health concerns and outbreaks. All these concerns exist, but are they the primary problem? I suggest they are not.

The presence of E. coli in freshwater

E. coli is a ubiquitous bacterium used as an Indicator Microorganism (IM). Studies suggest that as IMs increase, so does the likelihood of disease-bearing pathogens in water.

But this relationship is causal. The mechanisms producing elevated E. coli in freshwater may be more emblematic of water pollution and, in particular, sedimentation than any elevation in health concerns.

Sedimentation is understood as a wicked problem’ without any discernable solution. It is a fundamental part of the landscape where stream channels carve and meander through time and over vast stretches.

Streams are known to accumulate fine sediments, and the study of stream morphology or shape is the science of understanding the sediment–stream channel relationship.

But at this point in history, streams are simply overwhelmed with sediment and with increasing loading as land is disturbed, and stream channels beckon for any solution to return them to a greater sense of normalisation.

Issues with pollutant testing methods

This is where the idea of E. coli as a surrogate is suggested. Understandably, this bacterium is a good indicator species for water health as it associates with gut flora from warm-blooded animals and correlates well with sewage and animal faecal wastes.

But it is not a benign organism once released into the environment. Studies have provided good evidence that not only does it associate with sediments, but it thrives there even multiplying with the ability to generate very high levels.

Once disturbed or released, it will cause very high readings of water pollution well above any suggested regulatory level.

Therefore, streams carrying an ever-burgeoning sediment load with an abundance of E. coli growing and thriving in the sediments may now overwhelm us as an IM. We need to ask the questions to determine how much E. coli observed in our testing is generated in the stream itself.

How much is supplanted from external sources and then measured in the system simply when the sediment is disturbed? How are we supposed to discern land use impact or septic tank problems in a stream if the system is overwhelmed with our best indicator microorganism?

Understanding the use of E. coli as a surrogate

While studies are ongoing working to discern between the instream and external loading of these sediments, external and internal E. coli is not easily understood. This is particularly concerning as this problem may mask an ability to pinpoint the exact location of pollutants.

Furthermore, it may suggest greater contamination exists in an area (such as agriculture) when, in reality, the high readings may reflect build-up in the area due to sediment and bacteria collecting in the area.

Fig. 2: Stream system overburdened with sediment. This sediment has an extremely high E. coli count associated with it making our ability to measure where the sediment has originated from

E. coli may be a better expression of sedimentation than any other freshwater problem. Arguably, billions of dollars are spent worldwide to improve water quality and lower E. coli to acceptable levels.

Stream restoration is ongoing and best management practices are another industry selling stream improvements. What if the system is so bogged down with legacy sediment that all of this effort will not be realised until this sediment is flushed out in the oceans? Are the streams even possible to cleanse as ever more sediment is continually added through land disturbance? How can we decide what is effective if we cannot measure it?

Perhaps overwhelming concentrations of E. coli in streams are telling us we can’t—we have hit a point in time when there is a level of degradation at which improvement is fleeting and won’t be realised for many more generations.

Gauging how water is responding to clean up efforts

Environmental improvements to tackle water pollution are often competing with each other. For example, the overwhelming movement to remove dams to allow rivers to return to a more natural pattern is also unleashing decades of trapped sediment.

Fencing cattle and land improvements to minimise erosion can be offset by developing farmland into sub-developments. As we work on improvements in one area of the river, it is getting worse somewhere else. The overwhelming sedimentation demonstrates this plague on a healthy stream.

E. coli may be the measure to gauge how the river is responding.

Even molecular techniques are difficult to discern. While Bacteroides is a good source indicator, these tests are expensive and do not identify the bacteria multiplying in the sediment as it does not discern between dean and living source genetic material. Hence, you may have strong increases in E. coli without any concurrent source identification.

If the predominant source of bacteria is the river itself, we have lost the ability to monitor for contamination. Rivers need to cleanse themselves of excessive sedimentation to improve these techniques, helping us pinpoint pollutant sources and clean them up.

Streamlining the water recovery process

I believe an evolution needs to occur in our use of E. coli indicators.

In highly impacted watersheds, this test demonstrates sedimentation, and excessive readings suggest excessive sedimentation. We can track improvements or flushing by observing the lowering of E. coli levels through time. In many instances, rivers just need time to recover.

Once a river or stream has hit a point of recovery, this test will allow us to pinpoint areas of concern and needed improvement.

However, this will only occur when the river has improved, and sediment has been flushed through the system.

This is why this test is so important—it can show the level of improvement over time and then fine tune our restoration efforts.

It truly is an indicator, and when we expand our thinking toward what it is actually indicating, we can push toward much-needed improvements in water pollution strategies.

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August 5, 2024
Groundwater depletion and food security are linked, study finds

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A study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) reaffirms the world’s growing dependence on groundwater depletion.

Although efforts to slow groundwater depletion need to be urgently accelerated, this study indicates that such efforts—in the absence of other accompanying measures—would likely lead to significant food security impacts.

The study finds that ending groundwater depletion would lead to sharp declines in food production, especially of rice and wheat, in groundwater-dependent food production systems, pushing up international prices of rice by 7.4% and wheat by 6.7%.

Higher food prices, in turn, would make food less affordable for the poor, increasing the number of people at risk of hunger by 24 million, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

“This is the first transdisciplinary study addressing both food security and groundwater depletion issues simultaneously,” said Edwin Sutanudjaja, a study co-author from Utrecht University.

Climate change has impacted our reliance on groundwater depletion

While growing groundwater use has benefited economic development and improved food security, it has also led to severe water depletion and ecosystem degradation, reduced freshwater access, and increased inequity.

A quarter of the world’s river basins are already overexploited, including key breadbasket areas in India, Pakistan, China, Iran, the US, and Egypt.

Climate change is pushing more farmers to rely on groundwater depletion systems as rainfed farming is becoming less viable and surface flows are shrinking.

Conserving water resources can help improve food security

Given the imperative to both conserve groundwater resources and improve food security, the study used IFPRI’s International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPACT) to simulate the impacts of ending groundwater overdraft.

It also analysed the likely effects of measures to counteract the negative food security impacts associated with halting groundwater depletion.

Nicostrato Perez, IFPRI’s lead modeller, commented: “No single intervention modelled could fully counteract the negative food security impacts from arresting groundwater depletion.

“However, investments in agricultural research and development would increase yields of water-constrained irrigated crops through better seed technologies and agronomic practices, potentially lowering global wheat prices by more than 3%.”

Vartika Singh, a co-author from IFPRI’s New Delhi office, emphasizes the importance of increased support for more effectively managing variable rainfall in a climate-constrained world.

She explained: “Targeted interventions in support of conservation agriculture, mulching, and terracing in both irrigated and rainfed areas are particularly effective in conserving water and reducing price increases of maize, which is a largely rainfed crop.

The authors concluded that a transdisciplinary approach combining regulatory, financial, technological, and awareness measures across water and food systems is essential to achieve sustainable groundwater management while preventing increased food insecurity.

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June 14, 2024
Agricultural communities need water conservation strategies

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A new study has found that relying on water storage will not be enough to compensate for declines in future water availability in western agricultural communities.

Western agricultural communities in the US are heavily reliant on mountain snowpacks and their gradual melt for water storage and supply, and climate change is expected to upend the reliability of this natural process.

Many communities in this part of the country are examining ways to adapt to a future with less water.

The research shows that supplementing the water supply by expanding reservoir capacity will not be enough to avert future water crises.

How climate change is affecting water supply

Water management systems were designed to store winter precipitation and release it downstream during drier months.

However, climate change is altering snowmelt patterns in ways that will make it difficult for existing systems to meet the needs of downstream water users.

As the world’s largest user of freshwater, western agriculture is at particularly high risk from these changes.

© shutterstock/R_Tee

In contrast, water conservation strategies such as reducing total crop acreage, periodic crop fallowing, and shifting toward higher-value crops can help manage these risks.

Water conservation strategies can help restore capacity in agricultural communities

By identifying agricultural communities considered at risk from looming changes in snowfall and snowmelt patterns, the researchers found that water conservation measures like changes in crop type and extent were more stable adaptive strategies than changes to reservoir capacity.

By the end of the century, many areas could have less than half the water they have historically relied on to refill their reservoirs, but changing the types and extent of their crops could help by restoring an average of about 20% of reservoir capacity.

The research team included scientists with the diversity of expertise needed to capture the complexities of water systems while balancing concerns for locally focused adaptation.

“A lot of decisions about water are made at the local level, but there’s this big disconnect between that reality and the macro-scale level of most research on this topic,” explained Beatrice Gordon, who led the study.

“We really wanted to understand what the future could look like at the scale that most agricultural communities manage their water resources.”

Building a risk assessment framework

To find out how risk management practices could work on a community-level scale, the researchers built a comprehensive risk assessment framework based on guidance from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

They gathered historical data on irrigation water supply, agricultural water demand, snow storage and snowmelt patterns, and more for each of the 13 communities.

They then used projections for the future climate through 2100 to understand how supply and demand dynamics may change in the near future.

The researchers selected western agricultural communities located in headwaters areas, making them both subject to significant changes in future climate and sentinels for the future of the West.

Several are located in the Upper Colorado River Basin, which feeds into the river’s main stem—a water system that supports more than 40 million people.

“A lot of these areas are providing downstream water to other communities,” Gordon said. “So, if they have an increase in demand and a decrease in supply, it impacts not only that area but also the areas that rely on that water downstream.”

The study results show that there will be a stark decline in how much many of these communities will be able to refill their reservoirs in just a few decades, with some seeing declines to about half of the water they were historically able to store.

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June 13, 2024
Why the stormwater runoff matters

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D4Runoff is a Horizon Europe-funded project developing a novel framework to detect, prevent and reduce pollution in urban stormwater runoff.

Thousands of chemicals are used every day in urban areas, and many of them end up on surfaces in the urban landscape. When it rains in cities, the resulting urban stormwater runoff washes the surfaces and transports pollutants to the natural receiving waters, where they pose a risk to public health and damage to ecosystems.

In addition to heavy metals and other legacy pollutants, Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs), such as endocrine-disrupting compounds, pharmaceuticals and microplastics, are detected in urban runoff. However, regulation and monitoring programmes that aim to mitigate diffuse pollution cover only a small subset of contaminants. As a consequence, most municipalities and water companies have limited knowledge of which chemical compounds are present in the stormwater runoff.

The EU Green Deal includes the Zero Pollution Action Plan, in which the European Union has prioritised air, soil, and water pollution. The D4RUNOFF project, supported by Horizon Europe, develops a novel framework to detect and deal with urban runoff pollution by CECs.

The threefold D4RUNOFF approach

First, the project develops novel detection methods capable of providing a ‘chemical fingerprint’ for each water sample based on signals from known pollutants and unknown compounds that are not (yet) included in monitoring programmes. This will allow comparison of the chemical composition of urban runoff from cities across Europe and identify priority pollutants present in the samples.

Fig. 1: Sampling sites for collection of urban runoff to be analysed with workflows developed in the project

Next, we perform an analysis of sources, fate, as well as the effectiveness of present-day state-of-the-art Nature-based Solutions (NbS). Using GIS and AI tools emphasises the existence, importance and urgency of the ‘CECs problem.’ The project provides knowledge and tools to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of policies by providing detailed insights into the distribution and impacts of CECs across urban landscapes. By using real-time data and predictive analytics, D4RUNOFF helps to pinpoint areas most at risk and in urgent need of attention. This approach not only streamlines the regulatory process but also ensures that interventions are timely and based on sound science.

Secondly, D4RUNOFF remarks on the necessity/advantage of adopting NbS to mitigate the impact of CECs. By cataloguing effective NbS and pairing them with specific urban scenarios, the project aids decision-makers in choosing the most appropriate, sustainable, and cost-effective methods to prevent or reduce urban pollution.

Thirdly, D4RUNOFF advocates the integration of these solutions into local and national regulations, promoting a shift towards more resilient and environmentally friendly urban landscapes.

D4RUNOFF recommendations are likely to encourage policymakers to consider updating environmental regulations to incorporate continuous monitoring and proactive management of pollutants through technological control and natural mitigation means.

The research, innovating and engaging with policymakers and society is done in three case study cities: Odense in Denmark, Santander in Spain and Pontedera in Italy. In these case study areas, we will demonstrate the combined approaches and their effects, optimise the framework and provide guidelines for other cities and the EU Commission. The framework will be introduced in the municipal climate adaptation strategies, or it may even be leading the way to a concept for a municipal pollution strategy. These are all important steps forward to meet the Zero Pollution Action Plan.

Fig. 2: 3D model of the first generation of Raman-based measuring device prototype

Improving knowledge optimise decisions: Detection and monitoring

Anthropogenic chemicals enter our urban environment through the use of building materials, vehicles, medicine, pet flea remedies, and many other sources. The introduction of new chemicals into our environment is a continuous process as the result of industrial innovation.

This prompts the scientific community to investigate. Analytical chemists race to keep track of these chemicals, while environmental scientists study how they move around and how they affect ecosystems. Exposure scientists investigate their interactions with living organisms. Meanwhile, potential health risks are assessed by toxicologists and epidemiologists.

Consequently, environmental engineers and policymakers work to manage, reduce and regulate chemicals in order to prevent and reduce pollution from urban stormwater runoff.

As innovation accelerates, this cycle becomes shorter. There’s an urgent need for a comprehensive assessment of the environmental cycle of emerging contaminants and a better understanding of key transport and fate mechanisms in order to minimise human exposure to their effects.

In order to make informed decisions regarding the status of runoff water and the performance of NbS, it is essential to provide the decision-makers with accurate and real-time data.

To do so, D4Runoff develops novel screening methodologies and automated instruments for in-situ monitoring of pollutants in runoff, including microplastics, pesticides, heavy metals and hazardous tyre wear chemicals. These devices are platforms integrating the latest technologies: microfluidics, nanomaterials, electrochemical and Raman sensors and advanced machine learning data analysis.

Overall, D4Runoff results put the holistic CEC lifecycle view into practice, from lab to action.

Applying Nature-based Solutions

In combination with NbS, conventional urban drainage systems can improve their capacity, efficiency, and lifespan, resulting in hybrid systems.

An exhaustive review of drainage techniques has resulted in the D4RUNOFF library, from which the parametric design of different NbS has been developed. These sustainable techniques have been prioritised with selected multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methods, resulting in a ranking of NbS led by constructed wetlands and green roofs. The consideration of economic, environmental, and social criteria, together with the expertise in each technique, ensures the sustainability and viability of the final decision. The next step is to locate areas of opportunity for NbS using a Geographical Information System (GIS) that identifies the suitable places within the urban environment that meet the conditions for NbS implementation and proposes the best hybrid solutions for urban drainage in a given district.

Getting help from artificial intelligence

How can digital solutions and artificial intelligence (AI) revolutionise our ability to prevent runoff water pollution?

With D4RUNOFF’s innovative AI digital solutions, we are reshaping how the urban runoff is managed.

The innovation scope is to develop a smart platform that harnesses the power of cutting-edge technology and AI to connect the D4RUNOFF detection methods, sensors and risk mapping to prevent and reduce water pollution with NbS technology.

D4RUNOFF platform design will enable stakeholders to access the system accordingly. A green consultant, for example, can select the most effective NbS for each problem spot. At the same time, another section maps out pollution risks on the map, guiding the city managers to target the efforts where they are needed most. By collecting online data on pollutants and improving knowledge of pollution from different land uses and/or neighbourhoods of the city, the system can provide assistance to all stakeholders, including citizens, to be part of the solution by introducing NbS in their streets.

The Policy Making Support System helps city managers, and policymakers identify critical areas within the regulatory framework where interventions are needed to improve the monitoring of CECs and prevent pollution by promoting specific NbS in the urban planning and regulatory process.

The technical architecture of the D4RUNOFF platform seamlessly integrates technologies for efficient data processing, including the Calculation Engine and Data Gathering modules. These modules store crucial information and data from real sites across Europe. Together, they form a powerful tool, blending advanced science with tangible results for greener, cleaner cities.

Serving the EU’s Green Goals, Policy and Strategy: Diffuse pollution management

In line with the EU’s ambitious commitment to the Zero Pollution Action Plan and The EU Water Frame Directive, the D4RUNOFF project represents an innovative and forward-looking approach to urban pollution management.

The project aims to streamline the development and implementation of robust methods to assess the risks and costs of pollution and the benefits and drawbacks of solutions by developing novel chemical detection methods, monitoring, and forecasting tools.

Robust metrics are also essential to evaluating the legislative framework’s actual implementation, such as providing evidence to ban unnecessary chemicals and setting surveillance thresholds to promote prevention.

Foresight and knowledge: The core of D4RUNOFF

At its core, the D4RUNOFF project employs foresight as a method to enhance preparedness for the unexpected, particularly the challenges posed by climate change.

It delivers comprehensive knowledge of CECs, covering their sources, fate and transport, which can be used to identify priority pollutants that are not regulated today.

This knowledge serves as a valuable policy improvement tool, informing strategic decisions in environmental engineering and policy science. It embraces synergy and collaboration at multiple levels of institutional decision-making (EU, national, regional, and local) and multiple stakeholders (citizens, industry, authorities, etc.).

Indeed, the D4RUNOFF project does not operate in isolation. It is tightly linked to sister projects and crosscuts multiple targets set by policies.

D4RUNOFF outcomes go beyond the CEC and urban runoff: approach, knowledge, metrics, and tools will help enforce closely related strategies to tackle the complexities of efforts to reduce pollution in public services (a goal of the next EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, UWWTD), and address the challenges of plastic and textile regulations and soil policy.

Through collaboration, the project promotes a holistic approach to the twin challenges of water quality and ecosystem health, emphasising the need for up-to-date knowledge and advanced metrics of contaminants.

Today’s urban wastewater systems, designed 30 to 60 years ago for a different era, are now facing the pressing demands of new requirements, like those set by the next UWWTD. The D4Runoff metrics and decision support tools provide helpful knowledge and foresight into next-generation UWWT technologies and strategies for massive renewal investment as those going to be mobilised by the €1tr European Sustainable Investment Plan for a climate-neutral economy.

D4Runoff tools also open up to better inclusion of just transition criteria to balance environmental goals with social agendas (of which NbS could be a cornerstone).

Conclusions

D4RUNOFF helps bridge the gap between technological advances and regulatory practice, influencing environmental regulation and policy-making through its scientific output, engaging key stakeholders at all levels of representation, and providing innovative decision-support tools to deal with diffuse pollution in urban stormwater runoff.

The scientific findings from the project’s chemical and biological research are bringing a ‘CECs problem’ to the fore.

By providing policymakers with accurate, data-driven evidence, the project will foster a proactive regulatory environment that prioritises ecological intelligence and facilitate the adoption of proactive, forward-looking regulations to include current and forthcoming CEC remediation into next-generation wastewater systems in our cities.

The intelligent tools to encourage the integration of NbS into planning and design on a day-to-day basis help to get more from investments for cost-effective reduction of pollution. These solutions are particularly important in areas where traditional infrastructure may not address the complex dynamics of stormwater runoff and pollutant dispersion, adding a social value.

In conclusion, D4RUNOFF project embodies the essence of the EU’s environmental strategy – informed by science, driven by policy and motivated by the vision of a healthier, more sustainable future for all.

Join us at d4runoff.eu to preserve our environment and safeguard our communities. Stay tuned for the coming groundbreaking results!

Please note, this article will also appear in the 18th edition of our quarterly publication.

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May 20, 2024
Tackling water pollution in the UK
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OFWAT’s Innovation Fund outlines its innovative approaches to tackle water pollution in the UK.

Good-quality water is essential for humans and their environment. In the UK, every individual uses about 140L of water every day. While our need for water remains steady, our other activities are seriously affecting the quality of this essential resource.

In the UK, the main causes of water pollution include industrial activities (releasing harmful chemicals and pollutants into water bodies), agricultural practices (carrying pesticides, fertilisers, and animal waste), and urban runoff (including sewage). This increased contamination poses a serious threat to essential natural water sources.

Water pollution has wide-ranging impacts on the environment and human health. Ecosystems suffer from decreased biodiversity and habitat destruction due to pollutants and disrupted food chains. Polluted water sources pose risks to people using the water for leisure, causing gastrointestinal illnesses and other health issues.

Over the past two decades, we’ve seen some improvement in the quality of water in our rivers¹ and coastal areas – and in the biodiversity of some of the wildlife they support.² There are, however, also too many incidents of pollution. And a strong desire from customers and other water users that more is done to protect our rivers, inland and coastal waters. So, there is still significant work ahead of us to address these challenges and ensure further improvements in water quality.

It is, therefore, critical that we work towards a more sustainable water sector and take advantage of technological and innovation advances to do this.

Innovative approaches to tackling sludge

Across the UK and Europe, there is a growing realisation that sludge – a treated combination of solid matter and dead bacteria left over from the treatment process of sewage – poses environmental challenges. It contains microplastics, metals and PFAS (indestructible chemical compounds, also known as ‘forever chemicals’), which can enter the soil and waterways.

© shutterstock/Kletr

The Ofwat Innovation Fund’s most recent innovation competition, Water Breakthrough Challenge 4, was a £40m competition that recognised 17 winners with the potential to deliver wide-scale, transformational change benefitting customers, society and the environment. Among these winners were a number of innovations seeking to better manage and prevent treated sludge as a possible pollutant.

This included the Sewage Sludge Gasification project from Yorkshire Water, which looks to offer an alternative to recycling sludge to land.

The project will use the Advanced Thermal Conversion gasification process to convert treated sewage sludge into usable products such as biochar, vitrified ash ‘stones’, and a hydrogen-rich synthesis gas (syngas). By operating at a high temperature, the process aims to destroy other contaminants, including forever chemicals, including PFAS and microplastics, and ultimately reduce the risk of water pollution.

An added bonus is that everything produced by the gasification can be reused. The biochar, which resembles small pieces of charcoal, will be tested to treat wastewater as an additive in brick manufacturing and as a soil improver to increase water and nutrient retention. As it doesn’t readily decompose, it’s also a vehicle for sequestering carbon in soil — though it must be properly managed to ensure soil ph levels are not negatively impacted.

The vitrified ash ‘stones’ could be used as aggregate in the construction industry to reduce the embodied carbon footprint of concrete. The syngas – a blend of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and methane – can be used to produce green electricity, along with other high-value products.

It is clear that as well as helping reduce pollution, innovative approaches to sludge management can benefit a circular economy and encourage a more sustainable society through the provision of outputs such as green electricity.

Another winner from the competition has been funded to explore a similar but different treated sludge transformation process, in this case via pyrolysis. This high-temperature process doesn’t use oxygen but seeks to recycle treated sludge for similar uses – ultimately reducing the need for treated sludge to be spread.

A third project will look into further uses for the biochar that can be produced from this process.

Tech-led approaches to public awareness and education

Although much of the responsibility for pollution management sits with organisations and governing bodies – including the agricultural industry, urban planning as well as water companies themselves — public awareness and education can play a crucial role in reducing water pollution.

The Ofwat Innovation Fund has supported a number of water companies in their ambitions to achieve better customer education around water pollution.

In the latest competition, Severn Trent was awarded £1.8m to pilot an exciting scheme, in partnership with Nectar and behaviour experts, that aims to incentivise customers to reduce their energy consumption through smart meter gamification. The initiative will work by awarding points for water-efficient behaviour, ultimately driving lower water use and reduced energy bills for the customer.

Similarly, Ofwat had previously awarded the citizen science initiative, The Big River Watch, £7m as part of an earlier round of the competition. The project, from a consortium of water companies and partners, including United Utilities, Severn Trent and The Rivers Trust, has led to the creation of an app-based survey that encourages individuals to monitor the local health of their rivers and comment on visible pollution levels, wildlife (indicating health) and their experience of the river.

Innovative educational initiatives, such as citizen science, will be critical in getting the public to engage in monitoring and improving water quality, including awareness of pollution and its impact.

Green infrastructure to reduce and counter water pollution

Some issues related to water pollution can be improved through customer education. Still, much of it needs national-level processes to drive change, which is why Ofwat works so closely with innovation teams at water companies. Through initiatives to address the factors behind pollution, we can begin to instigate the structural changes needed to achieve healthier bodies of water.

Some of these are literally structure-based changes. Over time, built-up areas have become increasingly water-resistant, with paved, non-permeable surfaces leading to increased run-off. This, combined with a changing climate and increased risk of extreme weather such as storms and flooding, can lead to the overuse of sewage overflows.

Introducing green infrastructure to urban environments, such as green roofs and permeable pavements, can absorb and slow down rainwater runoff, mitigating flooding.

Sustainable Drainage Systems (suds) replicate natural drainage processes through features such as ponds and infiltration basins. These systems manage surface water runoff, diminishing flood risk and enhancing water quality while fostering biodiversity.

Suds iq, a national suds collaboration and evaluation platform led by Southern Water and awarded funding as a winner of Water Breakthrough 4, seeks to create a nationwide online platform for Sustainable Drainage Systems (suds) collaboration aimed at enhancing collective understanding of suds functionality and benefits.

This platform will streamline partnership efforts and promote the adoption of environmentally friendly drainage solutions, expediting efficiency and implementation.

Another innovative project that has been awarded funding is developing a market-based approach to deliver suds. For example, the risk of flooding in London due to heavy rain is on the rise. This winning initiative encourages utility companies to fill some of the 165,000 holes they dig in London annually with ‘sustainable drainage systems,’ such as rain gardens, helping to alleviate pressure on drains caused by rainwater and contribute to making the city greener.

A pollutant-free future

It’s exciting to see our Innovation Fund driving so many of the crucial changes needed to reduce pollution and limit the effects of unavoidable pollutants.

Although there is still work to be done, we hope that these projects can pave the way for a cleaner, greener water sector of the future, powered by innovations that benefit society, the environment and customers.

References
1. https://environmentagency.blog.gov.uk/2024/01/25/water-transformation-source-to-sea/
2. Invertebrate biodiversity is improving in England’s rivers, long-term trends show | UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (ceh.ac.uk)
Please note, this article will also appear in the 18th edition of our quarterly publication.
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May 20, 2024
Can green wastewater infrastructure reduce emissions?

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Researchers have shown a transition to green wastewater treatment approaches in the US that leverages the potential of carbon financing.

Switching to green wastewater infrastructure could save a staggering $15.6bn and just under 30 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions over 40 years.

The comprehensive findings from Colorado State University were highlighted in a paper in Nature Communications Earth and Environment in a first-of-its-kind study.

It explores the potential economic trade-offs of switching to green infrastructure and technology solutions that go beyond existing grey-water treatment practices.

Built off data collected at over 22,000 facilities, the report provides comprehensive baseline metrics and explores the relationship among emissions, costs and water treatment capabilities for utility operators and decision-makers.

Developing potential solutions for green wastewater infrastructure

Braden Limb, the paper’s first author and a PhD student in the Department of Systems Engineering, explained: “These findings draw a line in the sand that shows the potential for adopting green wastewater approaches in this space—both in terms of money saved and total emissions reduced.

“It is a starting point to understand what routes are available to us now and how financing strategies can elevate water quality treatment from a somewhat local issue into something that is addressed globally through market incentives.”

Findings centre around both point-source green wastewater treatment and non-point sources of water pollution.

Traditional point-source water treatment facilities such as sewage plants remove problem nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus before releasing water back into circulation.

This grey infrastructure system is monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency.

However, regulation standards may tighten in the future, and facilities would need more power and more emissions to reach newly allowable thresholds.

Identifying sources of freshwater contamination

Existing facilities already account for 2% of all energy use in the US and 45 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Another significant source of freshwater contamination in the US comes from non-point sources, such as fertiliser runoff from agriculture entering rivers. Other non-point sources of pollution can come from wildfires—aided by climate change—or urban development, for example.

Limb said that rather than building more grey infrastructure treatment facilities to address those increasing sources, the paper explores green wastewater approaches financed through carbon markets that can tackle both types simultaneously.

He said: “There could be a switch to green wastewater solutions, such as constructing wetlands or reforestation instead of building yet another treatment facility.

“Those options could sequester over 4.2 million carbon dioxide emissions per year over a 40-year time horizon and have other complementary benefits we should be aiming for, such as cheaper overall costs.”

What is carbon financing and could it be a potential solution?

Carbon financing is a mechanism aimed at mitigating climate change by incentivising activities that reduce emissions or sequester them from the atmosphere.

Companies voluntarily buy ‘credits’ on an open market that represent a reduction or removal of carbon from the atmosphere, which can be accomplished in various ways.

These credit offsets the institution’s emissions from operations as it aims to reach sustainability goals.

These trades incentivise the development of sustainable activities and can also provide a source of fresh money to further develop or scale up new approaches, such as green wastewater facilities.

While there are similar financing markets for water, the problem is initially more localised than it is for air quality and carbon. That dynamic has limited the value of water market trades in the past.

The paper suggests that these existing markets could be improved and that the carbon markets could also be leveraged to change some of the financial incentives farmers have around water treatment and impacts from their activity.

The researchers found that using the markets could generate $679m annually in revenue, representing an opportunity to further motivate green infrastructure solutions within water quality trading programmes to meet regulated standards.

Mechanical Engineering Professor Jason Quinn, who worked on the study, said the findings have some limitations but that this was an important first step to model both the problem and opportunity available now.

He concluded: “This is the first time we are considering air and water quality simultaneously – water is local, and carbon is global.

“But by bringing these market mechanisms together we can capitalise on a window of opportunity to accelerate the improvement of America’s rivers as we transition to a renewable energy and restored watershed future.”

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April 15, 2024
Testing environmental water to monitor the spread of COVID-19

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To better understand COVID-19’s spread during the pandemic, public health officials expanded environmental water surveillance.

Environmental water surveillance tracks SARS-CoV-2 levels and health risks among most people, but it misses people who live without shelter, a population particularly vulnerable to severe infection.

To fill this information gap, researchers have tested flood-control waterways near unsheltered encampments, finding similar transmission patterns as in the broader community and identifying previously unseen viral mutations.

The research is published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters.

The limitations of testing untreated environmental water

In recent years, testing untreated environmental water for SARS-CoV-2 incidence and dominant viral variants, as well as other pathogens, has been vital to helping public health officials determine infectious disease transmission in local communities.

Despite this, this monitoring only captures information on viruses shed from human waste in buildings that are connected to local sewage infrastructure.

Beyond the pandemic’s impact on human health, it also exacerbated socioeconomic difficulties.

It increased the number of people experiencing homelessness and living in open-air encampments without access to indoor bathrooms.

To understand the prevalence of COVID-19 among people who live unsheltered, Edwin Oh and colleagues tested for SARS-CoV-2 in waterways near encampments outside Las Vegas from December 2021 until July 2022.

Identifying SARS-CoV-2 in unsheltered areas

Using quantitative polymerase chain reaction, the researchers identified SARS-CoV-2 RNA in more than 25% of the samples tested from two flood-control channels.

The highest detection frequency over the study period aligned with Las Vegas’ first wave of omicron variant infections, as confirmed through parallel testing at a local environmental water treatment plant.

The researchers say these results suggest a similar level of transmission was occurring within the unsheltered community as it was among the general population.

Then, the researchers conducted whole genome sequencing to identify the SARS-CoV-2 variants in the waterways. These samples largely contained the same variants identified in the broader community.

Deeper computational analysis of the viral sequences identified three novel viral spike protein mutations in some environmental water samples, but the researchers have not yet examined what impact these mutations might have on viral function or clinical outcomes.

Regardless, the ability to detect and identify SARS-CoV-2 in environmental water samples could help improve public health measures for a community that is often underrepresented in current surveillance methods.

The researchers also say monitoring environmental water could warn health officials of unexpected variants circulating in the community.

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April 3, 2024
£1m boost for wildlife and water quality improvements
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Work on a project to restore wetland habitat will boost wildlife and biodiversity and support water quality improvements at Billingham Beck and Thorpe Beck, which are tributaries of the River Tees.

The £1m project, led by the Environment Agency in partnership with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and National Highways, will be complete by the autumn and will show significant wildlife and water quality improvements.

It’s part of the £30m Tees Tidelands Programme, a groundbreaking set of projects officially launched in November.

The programme will help the River Tees Estuary adapt to climate change, restore valuable habitat for internationally important wildlife, and reconnect the river’s tributaries.

Vicky Ward, Natural England’s Tees Estuary Recovering Nature Project Manager, explained: “The Tees Tidelands programme is an incredible contribution to the Tees Estuary and will significantly reduce flood risks for local communities and industries.”

Exciting project will bring ‘much-needed boost’ for wildlife and water quality improvements

Paul Eckersley, the Environment Agency’s project manager, said: “This exciting project will bring a much-needed boost to biodiversity and water quality after decades of modification have seen precious habitat lost.

“Working with our partners, we’re creating new wetlands and making it more accessible for the community. Removing the weir will open up the watercourse for migrating fish and other species.”

He added: “This project is one part of a much wider programme of work to bring multiple benefits to the area through Tees Tidelands, which also includes realigning flood defences and restoring mudflat and saltmarsh habitat.”

The Billingham Beck project includes:
- Partly removing a historic weir to open up 55km of river for migrating fish from the River Tees;
- Woody debris dams and new shallow ditches to reconnect Billingham Beck to floodplains, restoring areas of wetland;
- An upgraded network of footpaths and improved landscaping to enhance access and public enjoyment of the site and reconnect people to the beck; and
- Improved vehicle access for easier maintenance of the new wetlands.
The watercourses in this area have been historically modified with channels straightened and deepened and the introduction of culverts and a weir, with the loss of wetland habitat having an adverse effect on the ecology and restricting fish movement.

Benefits for the wider community

Most of the project’s funding has come from National Highways Designated Funds, which has approved £906,000 for feasibility, detailed design, and implementation.

The wildlife and water quality improvements project has been aligned with its scheme to improve the A19 between Norton and Wynyard, creating a better journey for drivers and ensuring it also benefits the environment.

Connor Walls, National Highways Project Manager, concluded: “We’re delighted to see the start of work on Billingham Beck. Environmental sustainability is key to everything we do, and by supporting this fantastic community green space, we’ll be helping improve local biodiversity and benefit the wider community and the area’s wildlife.”
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March 6, 2024
Removing PFAS chemicals from water through electrocatalysis

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Scientists from the University of Rochester have pioneered an innovative electrochemical process to remove PFAS chemicals from water.

The researchers’ electrocatalysis approach has been demonstrated to be effective at remedying pollution caused by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as ‘forever chemicals‘.

PFAS chemicals have been widely used in various products such as clothing, food packaging, and firefighting foams, posing significant environmental and health risks due to their persistence in the environment.

This novel approach to removing PFAS chemicals could herald a new era in environmental remediation efforts, ensuring a safer and healthier future for communities worldwide.

Targeting PFAS contamination

Led by Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering Astrid Müller, the research team focused on addressing the contamination caused by Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), a type of PFAS extensively used in stain-resistant products.

Despite being banned in many parts of the world due to its detrimental effects on human and animal health, PFOS remains prevalent in the environment, particularly in water supplies.

Innovative nanocatalysts

To overcome this significant environmental issue, Müller and her team developed nanocatalysts using a novel combination of ultrafast lasers, materials science, chemistry, and chemical engineering expertise.

Müller explained: “Using pulsed laser in liquid synthesis, we can control the surface chemistry of these catalysts in ways you cannot do in traditional wet chemistry methods.

You can control the size of the resulting nanoparticles through the light-matter interaction, basically blasting them apart.”

One of the key breakthroughs of this research is the cost-effectiveness of the method. By adhering the nanoparticles to hydrophilic carbon paper and utilising lithium hydroxide, the team achieved complete defluorination of PFOS chemicals.

Importantly, the process utilises nonprecious metals, making it significantly more economical compared to existing methods, potentially reducing the cost by nearly 100 times.

In contrast, treating a cubic metre of polluted water with existing methods that use boron-doped diamonds would cost $8.5m.

Future prospects and sustainability

Looking ahead, Müller aims to further optimise the process by exploring alternative materials to enhance cost efficiency.

She also plans to extend the application of the method to other prevalent PFAS chemicals associated with various health issues.

Despite acknowledging the utility of PFAS in consumer products and green technologies, Müller advocates for their sustainable usage through electrocatalytic solutions.

She explained: “I would argue that in the end, a lot of decarbonisation efforts — from geothermal heat pumps to efficient refrigeration to solar cells — depend on the availability of PFAS.

“I believe it’s possible to use PFAS in a circular, sustainable way if we can leverage electrocatalytic solutions to break fluorocarbon bonds and get the fluoride back out safely without putting it into the environment.”

Müller also emphasised the social justice aspect of the research, highlighting its potential to address pollution disparities, particularly in economically disadvantaged areas.

“Often in areas with lower income across the globe, there’s more pollution,” said Müller. “An advantage of an electrocatalytic approach is that you can use it in a distributed fashion with a small footprint using electricity from solar panels.”

The University of Rochester’s research offers a promising avenue for tackling the pervasive issue of PFAS chemical pollution.

With its cost-effective and sustainable approach and its potential for widespread application, this breakthrough could prove instrumental in the fight against harmful PFAS chemicals.

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March 6, 2024