A stochastic approach for assessing the chronic environmental risk generated by wet-weather events from integrated urban wastewater systems

Wet-weather discharges from urban areas with a combined wastewater system represent a threat for surface waters. In fact, when the system capacity is reached during medium/big rain events, a mixture of stormwater and untreated wastewater is discharged through combined sewer overflows (CSOs) or bypass (BP) of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). The discharged pollutant loads are highly variable in time and space, making it difficult to correctly monitor and assess the environmental risks for a specific catchment. The present work proposes a methodology to assess the chronic impact of wet-weather discharges from integrated urban wastewater systems (IUWS) by using a stochastic approach. Monitoring data from the literature were used to characterize the discharges and to predict the risk posed by (micro-)pollutants on a yearly basis in an archetype IUWS. Calculated risks from wet-weather discharges are compared against those posed by WWTP effluent. The results show that CSOs pose a higher risk to surface waters compared to WWTP effluent and bypass, with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons being the category of micropollutants of major concern for CSOs. Conversely, WWTP effluent discharges are responsible for most of the risk associated with pharmaceuticals. A sensitivity and uncertainty analysis highlighted the importance of performing an accurate estimation of the recipient flow rate, which can provide a better risk estimation than focusing only on the characterization of the discharged concentrations. In climate change scenarios, where recipient flow rate reduction and overflow volume increment is expected, the risk caused by wet-weather discharges may increase for all micropollutant categories, including pharmaceuticals.Environmental chronic risk generated by wet-weather discharges compared to final effluent was stochastically assessed, also from a climate-change perspective, stressing their growing contribution for many (micro-)pollutants

Assessing the contribution of wet-weather discharges on micropollutants release by urban catchments

Wet-weather discharges from integrated urban wastewater systems (IUWS) represent a threat for surface waters. When the system capacity is reached during medium/large rain events, a mixture of stormwater and untreated wastewater is discharged to surface water through Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) or Bypass (BP) of Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP). The loads of contaminants discharged by CSOs and BP are highly variable in time and space (Petrie, 2021), making it difficult to correctly monitor and assess the environmental risk for a specific catchment. The present work aims at assessing the impact of 12 micropollutants present in wet-weather discharges on receiving surface water, by using an archetype IUWS, defined through a stochastic approach. Monitoring data from literature were retrieved and elaborated to characterize the discharges and to predict the risk posed by micropollutants on a yearly horizon. The calculated risk from wet- weather discharges was compared against that posed by WWTP effluent (EFF)

Combination of ozone and activated carbon for Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) removal in drinking water: influence of compounds characteristics and organic matter competition

The presence of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in drinking water is raising concern for potential negative effects on human health. Ozonation and adsorption on activated carbon (AC) are the most promising processes for PPCPs removal among those usually present in drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs). To evaluate the performance of these processes, both individually and in combination, adsorption isotherms were determined on real matrices collected in a DWTP before and after ozonation, focusing on 10 PPCPs identified as the most critical for the analysed DWTP. AC showed higher PPCPs removals than ozonation, but the combination of the two processes was beneficial. However, the effect of ozone on adsorption depends on PPCPs reactivity with ozone. A competitive effect of organic matter on PPCPs adsorption was observed. Finally, the removal of absorbance at 254 nm is a good proxy variable for PPCPs removal

An integrated modelling framework to assess cascade water reuse in urban areas

In the recent years water scarcity has been an increasing problem for many countries worldwide. For this reason, there is currently a strong focus on increasing reclaimed wastewater reuse, especially for agriculture purposes (Fernandes and Cunha Marques, 2023). Besides, the cost of energy from conventional resources is increasing, thus the energy sector is moving towards more distributed and efficient use of heat sources across urban areas. Typical applications are heat pumps using local groundwater reservoirs and subsequently discharging in the nearby surface water bodies/artificial channels (recipients). Furthermore, for a better quality of these recipients and for a better performance of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), stormwater can be collected in separated sewers discharging only the urban runoff to the recipient. In this context, water is subjected to multiple uses, with potential cross-contaminations across different compartments, posing a risk for the environment. Hence, there is a strong need for tools capable of supporting stakeholders towards a wiser and safer use of water resources, to ensure long-term resilience, stability, sustainability and security of the society with regard to water use. An integrated model was developed to simulate the fate and associated risk of hazardous contaminants in a cascade water reuse system

Fate of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) from discharge to drinking water: a modelling and monitoring integrated framework

Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) presence in drinking water is gaining growing concern for potential negative effects on human health. This study combined modelling of river transport with monitoring campaigns performed over one year at a drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) located at the closure section of Po river basin, to evaluate the types of released PPCPs, their concentrations and fate in both the river and the DWTP. Over the 114 monitored PPCPs, maximum 23 compounds have been detected at the DWTP inlet with concentrations from 10 to 1800 ng/L, varying among PPCPs and in time. The transport in Po river of iopamidol, with the highest concentration at the DWTP inlet, was simulated combining hydrological and quality data and models. Finally, DWTP monitoring showed that ozonation and adsorption onto activated carbon have the main impact in reducing a wide variety of PPCPs, with performances influenced by their characteristics

The journey travelled – A view of two settings a decade apart

Inclusion is generally recognized as an ongoing, active process which reflects shifts in policies, practice and values as well as political choices made over long periods of time. Although intended as a transformative concept it can also represent a messy compromise between congealed policy positions and contradictory practices. Against this background of compromise and dissatisfaction, this study aims to examine how two schools with clear inclusive aspirations and intentions have weathered the last decade. Drawing upon two research visits ten years apart in which the schools were filmed and members of the school community were interviewed, this study reports on their perception of the journey travelled. Data from the study shows that in both cases there was a shift away from practices which were previously seen as being a route towards greater inclusion. The causes for these shifts were political, economic and social factors underpinned by the pervasive influence of the special education and medical model on the two schools’ practice and principles

Integrating Social Assistive Robots, IoT, Virtual Communities and Smart Objects to Assist at-Home Independently Living Elders: the MoveCare Project

The integration of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) frameworks with Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) has proven useful for monitoring and assisting older adults in their own home. However, the difficulties associated with long-term deployments in real-world complex environments are still highly under-explored. In this work, we first present the MoveCare system, an unobtrusive platform that, through the integration of a SAR into an AAL framework, aimed to monitor, assist and provide social, cognitive, and physical stimulation in the own houses of elders living alone and at risk of falling into frailty. We then focus on the evaluation and analysis of a long-term pilot campaign of more than 300 weeks of usages. We evaluated the system’s acceptability and feasibility through various questionnaires and empirically assessed the impact of the presence of an assistive robot by deploying the system with and without it. Our results provide strong empirical evidence that Socially Assistive Robots integrated with monitoring and stimulation platforms can be successfully used for long-term support to older adults. We describe how the robot’s presence significantly incentivised the use of the system, but slightly lowered the system’s overall acceptability. Finally, we emphasise that real-world long-term deployment of SARs introduces a significant technical, organisational, and logistical overhead that should not be neglected nor underestimated in the pursuit of long-term robust systems. We hope that the findings and lessons learned from our work can bring value towards future long-term real-world and widespread use of SARs

An integrated modelling framework to assess cascade water reuse in urban areas

Water scarcity is an increasing problem for many countries worldwide, and the need for sustainable management of water resources is an urgent concern to face rising environmental challenges (Fernandes and Cunha Marques, 2023). This has prompted a rethink of water resources management and the reuse of water has gain growing interest. There is currently a strong focus on increasing reclaimed wastewater reuse, especially for agriculture (Delli Compagni et al., 2020). Besides, the ever-increasing costs associated with conventional energy sources have impelled the energy sector to transition towards more distributed and efficient energy production for heating/cooling purposes by exploiting local sources, especially across urban areas (Valancius et al., 2019). Typical applications are heat pumps using local groundwater reservoirs, and subsequently discharging the withdrawn water into the nearby surface water recipients, being natural or artificial water channels. Moreover, to enhance the water quality of these recipients and optimize the capacity of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), stormwater can be collected in separated sewers, discharging only the urban runoff to the recipient (Pálfy et al., 2017). In this context of rethinking the water management of urban areas, potential cross-contaminations across different compartments can occur, posing a risk for the environment, especially if water is subjected to multiple (re)uses (e.g. water from the recipient used for crop irrigation). Hence, there is a strong need for tools capable of supporting stakeholders towards a wiser and safer use of water resources, to ensure long-term resilience, stability, sustainability and security of the society with regard to water (re)use.In this work, an integrated model was developed to simulate the fate and associated risk of hazardous contaminants in a cascade water reuse system, located in the city of Milan. The model allows the evaluation of the feasibility of future water management strategies based on the risk assessment