Increasing Trends Towards Drinking Water Reclamation from Treated Wastewater

All around the world, water supplies are coming under increasing pressure as population growth, climate change, pollution, and changes in land use affect water quantity and quality. To address existing and anticipated water shortages, many communities are working to increase water conservation and are seeking alternative sources of water. Water reuse—the use of treated wastewater, or “reclaimed” water, for beneficial purposes such as drinking, irrigation, or industrial uses—is one option that has helped some communities significantly expand their water supplies. This review summarizes the main findings of the literature. The paper provides an overview of the options and outlook for water reuse in the world, discusses water treatment technologies and potential uses of reclaimed water, and presents a new analysis that compares the risks of drinking reclaimed water to those of drinking water from traditional sources. Involved technologies in wastewater treatment plant for drinking water purpose should be furnished with highly performant methods such as membrane processes (nanofiltration, reverse osmosis) and advanced oxidation processes (H2O2, O3, etc.). Treating efficiently wastewater at its source is the best “barrage” against pollutants diffusion through the nature as chemicals of emerging concern are detected in tap water