Welcome
Hello everybody, my name is Alex and this blog will revolve around wastewater! There will be a series of four weekly entries with different topics surrounding the issues and solutions to this, so stay tuned for the next few days!
As I wrap up this series of blogs related to wastewater, I would like to reflect on how we can take an issue and look on the bright side of it. As humans, we’re all going to face our own personal problems in life. However, we can choose to view our problems in life as we wish, whether we want to see them as hindrances or opportunities to learn and build character. And I would like to encourage people to see them as the latter more often. Without further ado, let’s get started.
I’m quite sure that very few of you reading this blog are not unfamiliar with the issue of ‘fatbergs’ emerging in the sewers of London. These are by no means nothing new, with a 15-tonne load of food fat found in 2013, and a whopping 130-tonne load found earlier on this month! If it couldn’t get any worse, there are more things making up their composition, such as condoms, wet wipes, human waste and other organic chemicals.
Incredibly vile, isn’t it? It’s almost as if I can smell it through my monitor. I just don’t even want to imagine how bad this could possibly smell. I’m not even sure what’s more disgusting, the sight of the fatberg, or the sheer disconcern that people show towards what they are throwing down their drains; it’s almost as if they believe that it’s no longer their problem. If you are one of these people, I’m going to tell you straight-up right now – you are terribly mistaken.
This issue will not go away by itself, and it will be costly to fix. If this wasn’t recognised sooner, the people of London could be seeing rivers of sewage waste filling up their streets, and even manhole explosions. They say that prevention is better than the cure, and people need to take that advice to heart when it comes to a situation like this. You need to be part of it: stop putting fat waste down your sink, and throw your wipes and condoms into the bin. It’s that simple.
With such a large mass, how exactly do you fix the problem? Just the thought of having to break down that 130-tonne blob, finding a way to transport it, and then finding somewhere to put it; it all makes my head spin. It really drives the minds of innovators to find a way in which it can be used for something. Indeed, it is very possible that it can be made into a source of biofuel, and this work is being done as we speak. Given that oils are a source of energy, it shouldn’t be any surprise that we can use fatbergs as fuel. There is so much that up to 350 buses could be powered in a day. And that’s how you kill two birds with one stone – unclogging the sewers and having an additional source of energy at one’s disposal.
This is all a big “if” however; there is no certainty of how successful it will be. I do think it is an excellent display of positive attitude, to take a problem and turn it into an opportunity. It will certainly be expensive, but at least the cost of fixing the base problem is somewhat offset by finding potential good outcomes from it. Going even beyond what was proposed, we can even extract the gas produced and use this as an energy source too. After all, methane is a by-product of organic decomposition, and having less of that in our sewers will reduce the risk of additional manhole explosions. Killed two birds with one stone.
Now, I personally think that solving the issue of plastic waste is much harder, and I am yet to see a solution that will be 100% effective. I do think it would be more motivating to bring up the fact that not only will they not be broken down, that they’re a threat to ecosystems, but also the fact that we live on a planet with a finite amount of resources, and yet most countries are okay with disposing of a plentiful amount of it onto our landfills. That’s not sustainable.
The only country that is an exception would be Sweden, which puts less than 1% of its trash onto landfills! That’s an incredibly low number, and it makes you wonder how it is even possible. The answer to that is through waste-to-energy plants, also known as the incineration of trash to generate electricity. Recycling of materials where possible is still practiced, but as we know in Australia, there are plenty of things that we cannot throw in the recycle bins. Even beyond this, the small fraction that cannot be recycled or converted into energy will end up onto landfills, but it’s far better than what the rest of the world is doing. Other countries within the EU are actually importing their own waste for Sweden to deal with, but now I think it is time for every country in the world to get on board with this recycling system.
Oh, and you know that garbage patch located on the North Pacific Ocean? I think something needs to be done about that right away, and I believe I have just the solution. *wink wink* *nudge nudge*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XoMrQA7Wx8
Anyway, to everyone who has viewed my wastewater blogs, I would like to say thank you. I hope you have enjoyed reading them as much as I have enjoyed making them. Next time you hear from me, I’m sure I’ll be out there being a part of the solution to our wastewater problem. Take care everybody.
Alex
In the world we currently live in, it would appear as if the average person grows up with the same end goals in mind: to be able to fend for themselves, and then to get married and have kids whilst continuing to put food on the table for their families. We all have our own route to get there, and that may or may not have a motivational cause behind it. I believe that most people do have a motivational cause that keeps them doing what they are doing, regardless of what stage in life they have made it to. For example, my motivation in life is to be a part of creating a clean and sustainable future, whether that involves waste management, mitigating and/or resolving issues related to climate change, improving renewable energy efficiency, and of course, ensuring water management is improved to maximise public access to clean water.
Back to the point, I hold these views because I tend to be insightful and believe I can relate in a certain way – we get too comfortable. You know that feeling you get when life is finally going your way? You’re merely satisfied with what you have currently achieved at this present point in time, and you’re telling yourself “I’ve made it! My goals are finally accomplished.”
Noooooope. Hold up. You have not “made it.”
When I achieve my goals, I set myself new ones. That’s right, I never stop pursuing. I believe that this is where true success comes from in any career. Our world is not as simple as I initially made it out to be at the start of this blog; it is in fact very complex, and a complex world is made up of unique minds. Unique minds have unique ideas, and I feel as if only a small percentage of them are actually implemented into the world – more on that later.
The main point I want to make for now is: do not get comfortable. Life is too short to think of it as constant stepping stones and a final destination. The day you get comfortable is the day you start going backwards, and there will be someone much more passionate working harder than you. So step out of your comfort zone, take a risk, and a chance on yourself to aim higher.
So, having said that, I have hopefully inspired you in some capacity. If you’re still unsure, I wanted to put an idea out there: social innovation.
I have to get something off my chest, I cannot tell you the amount of times I have logged into Facebook and seen an article or video of something incredibly creative appear on my news feed. Here is an example of something that really fascinated me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8_3Urj_nko
Indeed, it’s not uncommon for countries to lack access to clean water, but the determination of a few engineers led to the forming of Watly: which not only produces clean water, but also electricity and internet access through the magic of solar power! Yes! It uses graphene-based technology to boil and condense water that is safe to drink, by up to 5,000 litres of water per day!
Currently however, this has only been implemented into Abenta Village in Ghana, costing up to $450,000 to manufacture. The true challenge here is ensuring as many people as possible have their access to clean water, and that certainly will be costly – just because it helps some people it does not guarantee a marketing success. But it’s possible, and this is a symbol of inspiration for African inventors to be part of it. I too, want to help spread that message of inspiration, to you included.
No matter how insignificant you may think you are, what you must really understand is that just one creative idea can take you so far. If you have one that means a lot to you, then go out and pursue it. It will be a difficult challenge, and you may fail the first time, the second time, or even the tenth time. But as long as you stick to it, it is entirely possible to make your idea a reality, provided that you don’t violate the laws of physics!
Your journey doesn’t end simply at your idea, it only begins there! The key part of social innovation is sharing that idea with the world, and you can start with your friends and family. There’s nothing quite like the emotional support you can receive from them. Now that you have a degree of positive support, use the tools you have at your disposal to start your prototype. I believe most of you reading this will have a reasonable degree of technical knowledge, but I understand you may not be financially equipped. Start a fundraiser; you can do that right now thanks to GoFundMe, and convince people to support your cause. You may even find a couple of experts who can be a part of it. It may take a few years to succeed, but STICK TO IT. Companies such as Thankyou and Who Gives a Crap are other examples of small ideas that have made a difference, check them out!
Technology has evolved incredibly since the ancient times; we can send signals across the world, cancer can be cured, wastewater can be recycled, and we have access to transport. You’d think by now, that the world has run out of ideas. I beg to differ – there are loads of new ideas that come on my Facebook news feed every day. It never has to end anywhere, and you too can be a part of it. I myself would like to see a day where we can recycle all of our waste, including that of wastewater. We only have one world after all, and what does go around will come around. Maybe when that day comes, we will be able to unscramble an egg.
Here is one idea that I didn’t necessarily come up with myself, but would like to see implemented on a large scale.
I realised in the video that I said discharge outlets should be made hydrophobic, I actually meant to say hydrophilic (attracted to water), sorry!
To end this blog, I hope you are inspired and have come up with an idea yourself, and if so, share it with me! I’ll be the first person to support it and start your journey to making it a reality. Go chase it.
Alex
So you now know how excessive nutrients in water ecosystems cause severe harm to its ecological health. Let’s consider what we can do to reduce the amount that reaches into these freshwater systems via stormwater, so that algae will not grow out of control:
The first six points require all individuals to play a role in it, but the last point provokes an interesting question: what makes a product “water wise”? It’s actually quite simple: regulation.
In short, regulations are rules that are put in place to ensure that organizations and people must (or should) follow. They can take place via legislation, through incentives, as well as changing societal attitudes. Yes, I know people don’t like being told what to do, so it is also imperative to educate people on why these regulations are put in place to begin with. In the context of stormwater pollution, there are certain regulations that can (and already have) been put in place to minimize algal blooms.
In Western Australia, the Environmental Protection Act (1986) enacted laws in 2010 that sought to minimize the amount of phosphorus that is allowed to be in fertilisers. Initially, the limit of phosphorus in garden fertiliser used to be 2.5% by weight, and that is now changed to 2%. Of course this limit change does not seem like much, but when we consider how many people use fertilisers in their gardens, this all adds up. Likewise, lawn and all-purpose fertiliser is not able to contain more than 1%. Unfortunately, we cannot entirely remove phosphorus from our fertilisers, as it is an essential nutrient for plant growth, but plants do not absorb phosphorus very easily. Therefore, fertiliser must be applied to plants in an efficient way that allows them to meet their needs, whilst minimising the amount that gets into stormwater. This can be achieved through regular testing of soil to monitor phosphorus levels.
Beyond fertilisers, why do we have phosphorus in our detergents? A study from the Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal finds that they enhance their cleaning ability by removing metal ions in water that reduce the effectiveness of detergents. But when these types of detergents have the potential to harm the water ecosystems, ask yourself this, is it worth it? I think not.
As far as I am concerned, there have been no regulations put in place via legislation in Australia to limit how much phosphorus is used in our detergents. But fear not, changing societal attitudes has in fact made a difference. America’s ban of phosphate detergents in the 1990s has led to movements in Australia taking a stand against the issue. With a stronger awareness of the issue, this has led to market forces driving detergent companies away from using phosphate in their products, without any downside in product costs. This is a perfect example of how we the people can put regulations in place by ourselves without needing legislation. You can be a part of this too, by purchasing phosphorus-free cleaners as endorsed by the South East Regional Centre for Urban Excellence.
Let’s view this as inspiration to go further and help stop stormwater pollution with the power we currently have right now. As I’ve stated before, there exist ways we can individually stop nutrients from reaching into the stormwater drains. Spread the awareness further through social movements, and make it increasingly frowned upon to leave nutrients in vulnerable places that allow them to reach into the stormwater.
Just follow the signs, they exist for a reason.
Indeed, there is legislation put in place in order to penalise people for littering. But you can play a part in holding these people accountable. If you catch someone doing such an act, confront them. Tell them to pick up their mess. If they refuse to listen, report it. These regulations are put in place for a reason, and you have a role in making sure that they are effective.
Remember, this doesn’t just apply for dog droppings; this applies towards trash as well, which has danger towards wildlife. Chemicals from detergents destroy the protective barrier on frog skin, oils accumulate and clog fur, feathers, gills, and even pipes, and pesticides and herbicides contain toxins that accumulate in the environment. Likewise, sediment (sand and soil) blocks light needed for aquatic plants, can clog pipes and uses up oxygen in the water. Once again, encourage people around you to: wash their car on the lawn, dispose of chemicals properly, fertilise wisely, ensure waste stays away from stormwater drains.
It doesn’t just have to end there. We can improve our stormwater drains by ensuring that they end up going to a wastewater treatment plant before it gets released back into the environment. Not our traditional wastewater plants however, because these are not equipped to deal with stormwater, but one that is designed to remove the aforementioned waste materials that reach into it. Our stormwater drainage system was designed with clean rainwater in mind, but that is out of date. They are designed with only the purpose of transporting water straight to the environment – this is clearly out of date. So, let’s start by renovating these drains to be redirected towards new wastewater a treatment plant, that’s a step forward. Have any of you got any ideas? Let me know below!
I would like to thank Amy Krupa from SERCUL for educating me about the impacts of nutrients on the environment, and inspiring me to spread the word about this. Check out the Phosphorus Awareness Project, it seeks to spread awareness to the issue!
Thank you for reading and see you next time,
Alex
Quick! Without thinking, what’s the first and most important need for a human to survive?
a) Food
b) Water
c) Sleep
d) Shelter
e) Oxygen
f) Fuel
If you answered (b) or (e), congratulations! You acknowledge the necessity of keeping our Earth clean. Or do you? Maybe you’re not thinking as deeply about it as I do, but now that I’ve caught your attention, I’ll get to my main point soon enough. Most importantly however, you understand the two key elements that humans (and countless organisms, I might add) require. But do you understand that there is a finite amount of these elements on Earth?
This blog will be more focused on water rather than air, as essential as both are, I feel in a better mood to talk about the latter. So let’s get to the point, shall we?
Wastewater. What does the word mean to you? I know you may be thinking: “it’s water that is no longer usable.” But this couldn’t be further from the truth. One such definition, considered the universal definition as included on Wikipedia:
“Any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence.”
In my view, this definition applies to most forms of wastewater. However, I think that definition can be expanded beyond human influence alone, of course, if we consider that there is no natural system that has a universal salinity, acidity, oxygen level and temperature that will suit every organism. For example: seawater – have you drunk it before? I have, and it was awful. Nor would I recommend it for watering my garden. Yet there is a load of biodiversity in our oceans, and I speculate that’s part of why we have biodiversity: because of the numerous combinations of possible natural water conditions that exist in the categories mentioned above. Likewise, pure water is also known to be harmful, disrupting the flow of electrolytes in essential organs.
Having acknowledged the importance of biodiversity, let’s see it from the human perspective. I consider wastewater to be any type of water in a state that is directly unusable for humans in any way whatsoever, whether that is drinking, irrigation, swimming, or cleaning; this isn’t even an exhaustive list of uses. None of these types of water built for these uses will necessarily have the same mixture of chemicals either. It’s fascinating, isn’t it? How versatile the element truly is.
Since there is (arguably) not a single chemical combination of water that can be used in every possible situation, it can be argued that all water is wastewater. Indeed, many of my own classroom peers hold this view as it does hold weight. There’s more to it though, the water you drink and use was once wastewater, having gone through a series of treatment processes to suit your thirsty needs! That is a topic for another time; today, I wanted to talk further about what wastewater is more concretely and less ambiguously, and I have decided to categorise them as done by the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.
The wastewater we are most familiar with is domestic wastewater, which covers everything that comes from households, business workplaces, and public areas. It is water that is used in toilets, showers, baths, sinks, pools and laundries; all of which ends up in sewage pipes leading to a local treatment plant. Beyond this, wastewater that contains by-products of industrial activities is called industrial wastewater (duh), coming from operations such as food processing, metal refining, oil extraction and many more! Finally, stormwater occurs as a result of runoff onto urban and agricultural areas, taking along any materials pollutants that stand in its way! Unfortunately these are highly difficult to treat as any that does not end up in drainage sewers (separately from the above two), will end up in natural systems including lakes, streams and the ocean!
A non-exhaustive list of the constituents, covered in these types of wastewater will be listed below:
Keep in mind each constituent can be found in multiple categories!
To make it easier to understand, I thought I’d make it into its own spectrum, based on difficulty to treat and harmfulness to humans and the environment! Not necessarily backed up scientifically, but based entirely on my own intuition. Feel free to add to it, and correct me where I may be wrong.
I know it is a very broad spectrum, and will consequently have inaccuracies. But the most important message to gain here is that it is highly difficult to treat the contaminants that end up in the stormwater due to: the source of pollution not having a direct source, not knowing exactly where the pollutants end up, as well as the wide spread (hence low concentration) of pollutants making them difficult to purge from the water entirely.
So why does wastewater need to be treated in the first place? You previously acknowledged that water is vital for survival. But what about the importance of keeping it clean? The reasoning: water is finite, and less than 3% of this is fresh – if we did not recycle and reuse our water, the human race would cease to exist. And that is why our wastewater treatment plants exist – yes, let me say again, our water supplies are recycled from wastewater.
An overlooked example of industrial wastewater that is not able to be treated at a plant comes from a controversial engineering practice known as fracking! Simply put, it is a process that allows for oil and gas to be easily extracted from deep under the ground, and is regarded as economically viable. This sounds great on the surface, but realistically, long term it is not. Over 1,000 chemicals are involved as a result of the process, and worse, they end up in surrounding aquifers and surface water systems. These chemicals sadly include radium, selenium and lead – nasty! The worst part? They have the same issues as stormwater as far as the treatment process goes.
So how do we compromise? One proposed solution is that we implement centralisation of wastewater treatment methods. In summary, it is the extraction, usage, followed by treatment of water done simultaneously during the fracking process, in order to minimize by-products from reaching into the water system. To me, it sounds good in theory, but in practice, maybe not so much. It seems too good to be true to keep contaminants entirely from reaching the natural water systems, but fracking may very well continue as long as the proponents push for it. So, regardless of your view, a clean way of doing so will ensure that both sides can win. Until then, I continue to say no to the practice.
I hope that this was a pleasant read for you, and that you learned something. Please continue discussion below, I am sure to learn just as much from you!
~Alex
Amoeba Antics 
