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He C, Wu Y, Zhou X, Huang Y, Shui A, Liu S. The heterogeneous impact of population mobility on the influent characteristics of wastewater treatment facilities. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 366:121672. [PMID: 38991349 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2024] [Revised: 06/17/2024] [Accepted: 06/30/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024]
Abstract
Improving the resilience of wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs) has never been more important with rising risks of disasters under climate change. Beyond physical damages, non-physical shocks induced by disasters warrant attention. Human mobility is a vital mediator in transferring the stresses from extreme events into tangible challenges for urban sewage systems by reshaping influent characteristics. However, the impact path remains inadequately explored. Leveraging the stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment, this study aims to quantify and interpret the heterogeneous impacts of mobility reduction on the influent characteristics of WWTFs with different socio-economic, infrastructural, and climatic conditions. To achieve this goal, we developed a research framework integrating causal inference and interpretable machine learning techniques. Based on the empirical data from China, we find that 79.1% of the studied WWTFs, typically located in cities with well-developed drainage infrastructures and low per capita water usage, exhibited resilience against drastic mobility reduction. In contrast, 20.9% of the studied WWTFs displayed significant variations in influent characteristics. Large-capacity WWTFs in subtropical regions encountered challenges with low-load operations, and small-capacity facilities in suburban areas grappled with nutrient imbalances. This study provides valuable insights to equip WWTFs in anticipating and adapting potential variations in influent characteristics triggered by mobility reduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengyu He
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China
| | - Yipeng Wu
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China
| | - Xiao Zhou
- Hefei University of Technology, School of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering, 230009, Hefei, China
| | - Yujun Huang
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China
| | - Ailun Shui
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China
| | - Shuming Liu
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China.
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Perry WB, Chrispim MC, Barbosa MRF, de Souza Lauretto M, Razzolini MTP, Nardocci AC, Jones O, Jones DL, Weightman A, Sato MIZ, Montagner C, Durance I. Cross-continental comparative experiences of wastewater surveillance and a vision for the 21st century. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 919:170842. [PMID: 38340868 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the epidemiological value of monitoring wastewater into sharp focus. The challenges of implementing and optimising wastewater monitoring vary significantly from one region to another, often due to the array of different wastewater systems around the globe, as well as the availability of resources to undertake the required analyses (e.g. laboratory infrastructure and expertise). Here we reflect on the local and shared challenges of implementing a SARS-CoV-2 monitoring programme in two geographically and socio-economically distinct regions, São Paulo state (Brazil) and Wales (UK), focusing on design, laboratory methods and data analysis, and identifying potential guiding principles for wastewater surveillance fit for the 21st century. Our results highlight the historical nature of region-specific challenges to the implementation of wastewater surveillance, including previous experience of using wastewater surveillance, stakeholders involved, and nature of wastewater infrastructure. Building on those challenges, we then highlight what an ideal programme would look like if restrictions such as resource were not a constraint. Finally, we demonstrate the value of bringing multidisciplinary skills and international networks together for effective wastewater surveillance.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mariana Cardoso Chrispim
- Environmental and Biosciences Department, School of Business, Innovation and Sustainability, Halmstad University, Kristian IV:s väg 3, 30118 Halmstad, Sweden
| | - Mikaela Renata Funada Barbosa
- Environmental Analysis Department, Environmental Company of the São Paulo State (CETESB), Av. Prof. Frederico Hermann Jr., 345, São Paulo CEP 05459-900, Brazil; NARA - Center for Research in Environmental Risk Assessment, School of Public Health, Environmental Health Department, Av. Dr Arnaldo, 715, 01246-904 São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Marcelo de Souza Lauretto
- NARA - Center for Research in Environmental Risk Assessment, School of Public Health, Environmental Health Department, Av. Dr Arnaldo, 715, 01246-904 São Paulo, Brazil; School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, University of Sao Paulo, Rua Arlindo Bettio, 1000, São Paulo CEP 03828-000, Brazil
| | - Maria Tereza Pepe Razzolini
- NARA - Center for Research in Environmental Risk Assessment, School of Public Health, Environmental Health Department, Av. Dr Arnaldo, 715, 01246-904 São Paulo, Brazil; School of Public Health, University of Sao Paulo, Environmental Health Department, Av. Dr Arnaldo, 715, 01246-904 São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Adelaide Cassia Nardocci
- NARA - Center for Research in Environmental Risk Assessment, School of Public Health, Environmental Health Department, Av. Dr Arnaldo, 715, 01246-904 São Paulo, Brazil; School of Public Health, University of Sao Paulo, Environmental Health Department, Av. Dr Arnaldo, 715, 01246-904 São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Owen Jones
- School of Mathematics, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 4AG, UK
| | - Davey L Jones
- Environment Centre Wales, Bangor University, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK; Food Futures Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch WA 6105, Australia
| | | | - Maria Inês Zanoli Sato
- Environmental Analysis Department, Environmental Company of the São Paulo State (CETESB), Av. Prof. Frederico Hermann Jr., 345, São Paulo CEP 05459-900, Brazil; NARA - Center for Research in Environmental Risk Assessment, School of Public Health, Environmental Health Department, Av. Dr Arnaldo, 715, 01246-904 São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Cassiana Montagner
- Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, Institute of Chemistry, University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo 13083970, Brazil
| | - Isabelle Durance
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK.
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Saingam P, Li B, Nguyen Quoc B, Jain T, Bryan A, Winkler MKH. Wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 at intra-city level demonstrated high resolution in tracking COVID-19 and calibration using chemical indicators. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 866:161467. [PMID: 36626989 PMCID: PMC9825140 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2022] [Revised: 12/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology has proven to be a supportive tool to better comprehend the dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the disease moves into endemic stage, the surveillance at wastewater sub-catchments such as pump station and manholes is providing a novel mechanism to examine the reemergence and to take measures that can prevent the spread. However, there is still a lack of understanding when it comes to wastewater-based epidemiology implementation at the smaller intra-city level for better granularity in data, and dilution effect of rain precipitation at pump stations. For this study, grab samples were collected from six areas of Seattle between March-October 2021. These sampling sites comprised five manholes and one pump station with population ranging from 2580 to 39,502 per manhole/pump station. The wastewater samples were analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations, and we also obtained the daily COVID-19 cases (from individual clinical testing) for each corresponding sewershed, which ranged from 1 to 12 and the daily incidence varied between 3 and 64 per 100,000 of population. Rain precipitation lowered viral RNA levels and sensitivity of viral detection but wastewater total ammonia (NH4+-N) and phosphate (PO43--P) were shown as potential chemical indicators to calibrate/level out the dilution effect. These chemicals showed the potential in improving the wastewater surveillance capacity of COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prakit Saingam
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
| | - Bo Li
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Bao Nguyen Quoc
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Tanisha Jain
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Andrew Bryan
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Mari K H Winkler
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
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Vo PHN, Tscharke B, Toft S, Madsen C, Nguyen KQ, Nguyen HTM, Bui XT, Li J, Thai PK. Spatiotemporal trends and impact of Covid-19 lockdown on eight sewage contaminants in Brisbane, Australia, from 2012 to 2020. CHEMOSPHERE 2023; 314:137702. [PMID: 36587913 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.137702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the spatiotemporal trends and impact of COVID-19 lockdowns to the profile of physiochemical parameters in the influent of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) around Brisbane, Australia. One 24-hr composite influent sample was collected from 10 WWTPs and analyzed for a range of physiochemical parameters per week (i.e., chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), ammonia, volatile suspended solid (VSS)) and per month (i.e., Ni and Cr) from 2012 to 2020, including the period of COVID-19 lockdowns in the region. The catchments studied were urban, with a mix of domestic and industrial activities contributing towards the contaminant profile. Statistical analysis identified that industrial and commercial land use, as well as population size had a large impact to the parameter loads and profile. Per capita mass loads of Cr in one catchment were 100 times higher than in others from one industrial point source. TP demonstrated a potential monotonic decrease over time due to practical reduction policies that have been implemented for phosphorous content in household detergents, except for one catchment where trade waste from food manufacturing industries contributed to an overall increase of 6.9%/year TP. The COVID-19 lockdown (March-April 2020) posed different impact on different catchments, either decrease (7-61%) or increase (2-40%) of most parameter loads (e.g., COD, TOC, TN, TP, VSS, Ammonia), which was likely driven by catchment characteristics (i.e., the proportion of residential, commercial, and industrial land uses). This study enhances our understanding of spatiotemporal trend of contaminants in the catchments for further effective source control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phong H N Vo
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD, 4103, Australia.
| | - Ben Tscharke
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD, 4103, Australia
| | - Sonja Toft
- Urban Utilities, 15 Green Square Close, Fortitude Valley, QLD, 4006, Australia
| | - Craig Madsen
- Urban Utilities, 15 Green Square Close, Fortitude Valley, QLD, 4006, Australia
| | - Kim Qui Nguyen
- Key Laboratory of Advanced Waste Treatment Technology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh (VNU-HCM), Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam
| | - Hong T M Nguyen
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD, 4103, Australia
| | - Xuan Thanh Bui
- Key Laboratory of Advanced Waste Treatment Technology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh (VNU-HCM), Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam
| | - Jiaying Li
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD, 4103, Australia
| | - Phong K Thai
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD, 4103, Australia
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Vo V, Tillett RL, Papp K, Chang CL, Harrington A, Moshi M, Oh EC, Gerrity D. Detection of the Omicron BA.1 Variant of SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater From a Las Vegas Tourist Area. JAMA Netw Open 2023; 6:e230550. [PMID: 36821109 PMCID: PMC9951036 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.0550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/24/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Interpretation of wastewater surveillance data is potentially confounded in communities with mobile populations, so it is important to account for this issue when conducting wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). OBJECTIVES To leverage spatial and temporal differences in wastewater whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data to quantify relative SARS-CoV-2 contributions from visitors to southern Nevada. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cross-sectional wastewater surveillance study was performed during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 to February 2022) and included weekly influent wastewater samples that were analyzed by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction to quantify SARS-CoV-2 RNA and WGS for identification of variants of concern. This study was conducted in the Las Vegas, Nevada, metropolitan area, which is a semi-urban area with approximately 2.3 million residents and nearly 1 million weekly visitors. Samples were collected from 7 wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) locations that collectively serve the vast majority of southern Nevada (excluding the small number of septic systems) and 1 manhole serving the southern portion of the Las Vegas Strip. With Las Vegas tourism returning to prepandemic levels in 2021, it was hypothesized that visitors were contributing a disproportionate fraction of SARS-CoV-2 RNA to the largest WWTP in southern Nevada, potentially confounding efforts to estimate COVID-19 incidence in the local community through WBE. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Relative SARS-CoV-2 load and variants from visitors vs the local population. RESULTS The Omicron BA.1 VOC was detected in the Las Vegas Strip manhole approximately 1 week before its detection at the WWTP locations (December 13, 2021) and by clinical testing (December 14, 2021). On December 13, Omicron-specific mutations represented a mean (SD) of 48.0% (4.2%) of all genomes from the Las Vegas Strip manhole and 4.1% (1.4%) of all genomes at facilities 2 and 3; by December 20, Omicron-specific mutations represented means (SD) of 82.0% (3.0%) of all genomes at the Las Vegas Strip manhole and 48.0% (2.8%) of all genomes at facilities 2 and 3, respectively. During this time, it was estimated that visitors contributed more than 60% of the SARS-CoV-2 load to the sewershed serving the Las Vegas Strip and that Omicron prevalence among visitors was 40% to 60% on December 13 and 80% to 100% on December 20th. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Wastewater surveillance is a valuable complement to clinical tools and can provide time-sensitive data for decision-makers and policy makers. This study represents a novel approach for quantifying the confounding effects of mobile populations on wastewater surveillance data, thereby allowing for modification of an existing WBE framework for estimating COVID-19 incidence in southern Nevada.
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Affiliation(s)
- Van Vo
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Precision Medicine, University of Nevada Las Vegas
| | - Richard L. Tillett
- Nevada Institute of Personalized Medicine, University of Nevada Las Vegas
| | | | - Ching-Lan Chang
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Precision Medicine, University of Nevada Las Vegas
| | - Anthony Harrington
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Precision Medicine, University of Nevada Las Vegas
| | - Michael Moshi
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Precision Medicine, University of Nevada Las Vegas
| | - Edwin C. Oh
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Precision Medicine, University of Nevada Las Vegas
- Nevada Institute of Personalized Medicine, University of Nevada Las Vegas
- UNLV School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nevada Las Vegas
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Hoar C, Li Y, Silverman AI. Assessment of Commonly Measured Wastewater Parameters to Estimate Sewershed Populations for Use in Wastewater-Based Epidemiology: Insights into Population Dynamics in New York City during the COVID-19 Pandemic. ACS ES&T WATER 2022; 2:2014-2024. [PMID: 37552716 PMCID: PMC9063991 DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.2c00052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Understanding per capita rates of disease incidence or prevalence from wastewater surveillance data requires an estimate of the population contributing to wastewater samples, given that populations in large urban areas are dynamic, especially if major events, such as the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, cause large population shifts. To assess whether commonly measured wastewater parameters can be used to estimate sewershed populations, we used wastewater data collected from New York City's (NYC) 14 wastewater treatment facilities to evaluate the relationship between influent loads of four wastewater parameters-ammonia, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, total suspended solids, and five-day carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand-and census-based population estimates of the corresponding sewersheds during 2019, when populations were assumed to be relatively stable. Ammonia mass load had the most consistent relationship with sewershed population, regardless of wet weather contributions to NYC's predominantly combined sewer system. Changes in ammonia loads due to COVID-19 restrictions enacted in March 2020 generally reflected population shifts in sewersheds serving areas of Manhattan and Brooklyn, for which previous studies report decreased commuter mobility and residential populations. Our findings highlight the utility of ammonia mass load in influent wastewater as a population indicator to normalize wastewater-based epidemiology data and track sewershed population dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Andrea I. Silverman
- Department of Civil and Urban Engineering, Tandon School of Engineering,
New York University, Brooklyn, New York 11201,
United States
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Kumar M, Jiang G, Kumar Thakur A, Chatterjee S, Bhattacharya T, Mohapatra S, Chaminda T, Kumar Tyagi V, Vithanage M, Bhattacharya P, Nghiem LD, Sarkar D, Sonne C, Mahlknecht J. Lead time of early warning by wastewater surveillance for COVID-19: Geographical variations and impacting factors. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL (LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND : 1996) 2022; 441:135936. [PMID: 35345777 PMCID: PMC8942437 DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2022.135936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/19/2022] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The global data on the temporal tracking of the COVID-19 through wastewater surveillance needs to be comparatively evaluated to generate a proper and precise understanding of the robustness, advantages, and sensitivity of the wastewater-based epidemiological (WBE) approach. We reviewed the current state of knowledge based on several scientific articles pertaining to temporal variations in COVID-19 cases captured via viral RNA predictions in wastewater. This paper primarily focuses on analyzing the WBE-based temporal variation reported globally to check if the reported early warning lead-time generated through environmental surveillance is pragmatic or latent. We have compiled the geographical variations reported as lead time in various WBE reports to strike a precise correlation between COVID-19 cases and genome copies detected through wastewater surveillance, with respect to the sampling dates, separately for WASH and non-WASH countries. We highlighted sampling methods, climatic and weather conditions that significantly affected the concentration of viral SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected in wastewater, and thus the lead time reported from the various climatic zones with diverse WASH situations were different. Our major findings are: i) WBE reports around the world are not comparable, especially in terms of gene copies detected, lag-time gained between monitored RNA peak and outbreak/peak of reported case, as well as per capita RNA concentrations; ii) Varying sanitation facility and climatic conditions that impact virus degradation rate are two major interfering features limiting the comparability of WBE results, and iii) WBE is better applicable to WASH countries having well-connected sewerage system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manish Kumar
- Sustainability Cluster, School of Engineering, University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248007, India
| | - Guangming Jiang
- School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Australia
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | - Alok Kumar Thakur
- Discipline of Earth Science, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382 355, India
| | - Shreya Chatterjee
- Encore Insoltech Pvt Ltd, Randesan, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382 307, India
| | - Tanushree Bhattacharya
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra 835215, India
| | - Sanjeeb Mohapatra
- NUS Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Tushara Chaminda
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka
| | - Vinay Kumar Tyagi
- Environmental BioTechnology Group (EBiTG), Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Meththika Vithanage
- Sustainability Cluster, School of Engineering, University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248007, India
- Ecosphere Resilience Research Center, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda 10250, Sri Lanka
| | - Prosun Bhattacharya
- COVID-19 Research@KTH, Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology,SE-100 44, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Long D Nghiem
- Centre for Technology in Water & Wastewater, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo 2007, Australia
| | - Dibyendu Sarkar
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, NJ 07030, USA
| | - Christian Sonne
- Sustainability Cluster, School of Engineering, University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248007, India
- Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Roskilde DK-4000, Denmark
| | - Jürgen Mahlknecht
- Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Monterey, Monterrey 64849, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
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Jia X, Shahzad K, Klemeš JJ, Jia X. Changes in water use and wastewater generation influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of China. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 314:115024. [PMID: 35447447 PMCID: PMC8986492 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2022] [Revised: 03/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2022] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
This paper examines and projects the water use and wastewater generation during and after the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in China, and discussed the water use/wastewater generation pattern changes among different sectors. Existing studies on the impact of pandemic spread-prevention measures on water consumption and wastewater treatment during the pandemic are reviewed. The water use and wastewater discharge in China through the COVID-19 period are then projected and analyzed using Multivariate Linear Regression. The projection is carried out for years 2019-2023 and covers an (estimated) full process of pre-pandemic, pandemic outbreak, and recovery phase and provides essential information for determining the complete phase impact of the COVID-19. Two scenarios, i.e. the recovery scenario and the business as usual scenario, are set to investigate the water use and wastewater generation characteristics after the pandemic. The results imply that in both scenarios, the water use in China shows a V-shaped trend from 2019 to 2023 and reached a low point in 2020 of 5,813✕108 m3. The wastewater discharge shows an increasing trend throughout the COVID period in both scenarios. The results are also compared with the water consumption and wastewater generation during the SARS-CoV-1 period. The implication for policymakers is the possible increase of water use and wastewater discharge in the post COVID period and the necessity to ensure the water supply and control of water pollution and wastewater discharge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuexiu Jia
- Sustainable Process Integration Laboratory - SPIL, NETME Centre, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology - VUT Brno, Technická 2896/2, 616 69, Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Khurram Shahzad
- Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Jiří Jaromír Klemeš
- Sustainable Process Integration Laboratory - SPIL, NETME Centre, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology - VUT Brno, Technická 2896/2, 616 69, Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Xiaoping Jia
- Qingdao University of Science and Technology, 99 Songling Rd, Laoshan District, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
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