Sustainability Nutrient Removal: Sustainable Solutions

Posted July 7, 2009
By Charles Bott
Conference Chair, WEF 2009 Nutrient Removal Conference

Last week WEF convened their second Nutrient Removal Conference: Sustainable Treatment Solutions. As chair, I had the challenging task of following up on a very successful 2007 event, but I had the assistance of great conference steering and planning committees as well as WEF staff to help with the program development.

While this year’s conference in Washington, D.C. was again located in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which has some of the most stringent nitrogen and phosphorus discharge limits in the world, it is clear that more widespread removal of nutrients from point sources is gaining momentum. Eutrophication and the growth of hypoxic zones such as in the Gulf of Mexico will be driving more broad-based nutrient removal.

From the beginning of the conference planning process, it was clear that the focus of nutrient removal from wastewater treatment plants had transformed drastically in less than two short years. In 2007, the focus was on removing nutrients to extremely low levels using new technologies and approaches. Looking back, there was surprisingly little discussion about carbon footprints, net environmental benefits, or water quality benefits achieved.

However, the direction of our sector has shifted and the makeup of our program reflected that change. Discussions about environmental and societal costs in addition to the usual financial costs framed our nutrient removal debates in the context of a triple bottom line approach. In a resource-constrained world, energy efficiency and resource recovery both play a role in a more sustainable approach to nutrient removal from wastewater.

In the Opening General Session, I asked the audience to focus on three efforts:

1. Reduce the cost and environmental footprint associated with removing nutrients. This will come from a focus on energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, lower chemical usage, resource recovery, and reliability of operations. Clearly, a continued focus on new and more cost-effective nutrient removal technologies is an important part of this challenge, but it must be balanced with environmental and societal cost concerns.
   
2. Move forward on the “new paradigm” of wastewater treatment and integrate these concepts into current planning and upgrades. This means thinking about wastewater as a resource for water reuse and reclamation and incorporating approaches such as decentralization and even source separation.
   
3. Engage the broader water quality community and the public. We will continue to make significant investments in our infrastructure. The understanding of the high quality effluent we produce can only increase the political will to further our nutrient removal efforts associated with more diffuse sources like urban stormwater, air deposition, and agriculture.

So what will be the focus of Nutrient Removal 2011? What issues or trends will shape our thoughts on the program and information needs for WEF’s members and beyond? Check back to the conference website and WEF’s Nutrient Removal Knowledge Center and let us know what you think.

01/05/2010 Nutrient Removal: Sustainable Solutions  ()   Posted July 7, 2009   Last week WEF convened their second Nutrient Removal Conference Sustainable Treatment Solutions. As chair, I had the challenging task of following up on a very successful 2007 event, but I had the assistance of great conference steering and planning committees as well as WEF staff to help with the program development. Comments (10) ICPL Group, Delhi (India) based <a href=” http://icplgroup.com”>water treatment chemicals</a> supplier offering water treatment chemicals for boilers, cooling towers, industrial water, drinking water and other water impurities. Posted by: Bharat Rawat (icplgroup.com@gmail.com) on 04/15/2010 ICPLGroup,Delhi(India)based<a href="http://www.icplgroup.com/index.htm"> water treatment chemicals</a> supplier offering water treatment chemicals for boilers, cooling towers, industrial water, drinking water and other water impurities. Posted by: pradeep kumar (icplgroup.com@gmail.com) on 04/22/2010 It is very nice that the direction of the conference was so topical. Nowadays the whole world it speaking about energy efficiency and resource recovery and I think there are already some good results. Posted by: TubesFan (rainsanders8@gmail.com) on 12/22/2010 <a href="http://www.wastewatertreatment.co.in/index.php">Wastewater Treatment India</a>: Water is basic to life. It is a precious resource and has become precious commodity now. On going Industrialization, population & urbanization pose pressure on water availability... Posted by: Albert Vincent (albert.vincent01@gmail.com) on 02/05/2011 Interesting direction they choose to take the conference in this year. Unfortunately was unable to attend, but look forward to seeing some implications from this. Posted by: Dan (dantroll@yahoo.com) on 08/17/2011 Interesting conference. Hope to attend a few more in the near future. Very helpful Posted by: Pattie (walking123@yahoo.com) on 08/23/2011 Have you ever considered adding more videos to your blog posts to keep the readers more entertained? I mean I just read through the entire article of yours and it was quite good but since Im more of a visual learner,I found that to be more helpful well let me know how it turns out! I love what you guys are always up too. Posted by: Jeremy (hurkle45@yahoo.com) on 08/29/2011 Indeed the direction of the conference was to the point. We need more results by the end of this era. Posted by: Wrongful Foreclosure (kevinjones8110@yahoo.com) on 09/25/2011 Thank you for your information - I have certainly acquired something fresh from here. Posted by: Lynn Quella (Price16@gmail.com) on 09/28/2011 This was a fantastic post. Really loved reading your weblog post. The information was very informative and helpful. Posted by: Peanut Machine (dsgtfcandy@yahoo.com) on 10/21/2011