Review of Urban Water Reuse Handbook edited by Saeid Eslamian

Many areas, especially urban ones, around the world are facing water shortages. Developing new sources of water to meet growing demand is becoming difficult because there are too few new sources left. As a result, water reuse is attracting considerable attention these days. The Urban Water Reuse Handbook is a welcome addition to the water resources literature. It is a massive book, containing 84 chapters divided into 18 parts that span 1,141 pages.

Part I, introducing water reuse, contains four chapters. Chapter 1, on water shortages, discusses water quality deterioration, alleviation of water shortages, and opportunities arising from them. Chapter 2 presents urbanization trends and challenges in sustainable water management and drivers of and opportunities in water reuse. It concludes with a relevant case study. Chapter 3 deals with energy and water reuse, including energy recovery from wastewater, environmental challenges, and smart regulation. Water reuse and sustainable urban drainage systems are the subject of Chapter 4, which focuses on contaminants in rainfall runoff and different best management practices for purification.

Part II’s subject is urban water reuse and sanitation. It contains three chapters. Chapter 5 discusses urban reuse microbiology, including the microbial quality of recycled or reclaimed water and removal of microorganisms from recycled water. Chapter 6 deals with pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in wastewater and their implications for urban water reuse. Providing a snapshot of PPCPs, it discusses their removal in wastewater treatment plants and water reclamation plants as well as concerns about the presence of PPCPs in reclaimed water. Escherichia coli in urban water is the subject of Chapter 7, which first discusses sources of E coli—hospitals, wastewater treatment plants, reused treated wastewater and greywater, diffuse pollution—and then moves on to outbreaks and incidents related to pathogenic organisms in urban water and control techniques.

Urban water reuse options are the theme of Part III, which comprises six chapters. Chapter 8 discusses quality issues in urban water. These include contaminants, watershed monitoring and modeling, public awareness and education, urban water improvement, sources of pollution, poor quality in urban water-supply chains, agencies dealing with urban water quality, and quality control measures. Chapter 9 treats reuse, water potability, and possibilities, first defining nonconventional water and then moving on to sources of nonconventional water, the current extent of water reuse, rainwater harvesting, groundwater, wastewater, social and traditional aspects, and impacts. Urban water reuse in agriculture is dealt with in Chapter 10, which discusses problems to be addressed, regulation of urban water reuse, quality requirements in irrigation, best practices in agricultural reuse, and costs of water reclamation and agricultural reuse. Chapter 11 introduces urban water reuse in industry; it covers industrial water quality, wastewater treatment, and problems and benefits of urban water reuse A relevant case study is offered. Chapter 12 deals with recycling in the textile industry. Process design and freshwater needs, process modeling and dynamics, industrial experimentation, dyeing and finishing, quality specifications for water recycling, and wastewater treatment costs are discussed. Criteria, indices, and classification of water quality and water reuse options constitute Chapter 13, including reuse options, treatment of toxic materials, measures of water quality, groundwater quality criteria for irrigation, and industrial water criteria.

Part IV deals with water reuse regulations and contains four chapters. Water reuse guidelines for agriculture are discussed in Chapter 14, including those recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and by the United States, Canada, Australia, France, and other nations. Chapter 15 is on water reuse guidelines for industry, including cooling towers, and boilers. Water reuse guidelines for recreation are presented in Chapter 16. State legislation on water reuse is discussed in Chapter 17, which provides a historical perspective on water reuse as well as an overview of legislation on water reuse in Europe, Canada, the United States, Australia, China, and Africa.

Environmental and ecological impacts and benefits are discussed in Part V, which comprises four chapters. Beginning with a discussion of freshwater scarcity, Chapter 18 presents the environmental benefits of water reuse. The ecological impacts of water reuse are treated in Chapter 19, starting with environmental drivers for water reuse and continuing with water reuse applications, environmental benefits, environmental risks, and ecological risk assessment. Chapter 20 presents environmental impact assessment, including its principles and objectives, processes, and applications in urban water reuse. Chapter 21 deals with environmental impact assessment in urban water reuse, including its use as an assessment methodology and in managing urban water security.

Part VI, introducing the social and cultural aspects of water reuse, contains five chapters. Water recycling in the community is discussed in Chapter 22, which covers benefits and applications of recycled water, risks of recycled water, and risk assessment. It also presents a framework for management of recycled water quality and use illustrated with cases studies. Chapter 23 presents the ethical and cultural dimensions of water and wastewater reuse from Islamic perspectives. Chapter 24 discusses ethical and cultural dimensions of water reuse from a global perspective, including objectives, data, and methodology. It also discusses geographical characteristics of water reuse regions, the historical development of global water reuse and reuse technology, and water reuse from ethical, cultural, and religious perspectives. Community attitudes and behaviors and the sociopolitics of decision making on urban water recycling schemes are the subjects of Chapter 25 along with a review of the literature on nonpotable and potable water reuse. Chapter 26 is on urban water reuse in tourism areas. Discussing urban wastewater characteristics and the challenges of reuse, it presents potentialities and opportunities for reusing reclaimed water, regulation and risk control, and economic evaluation illustrated with case studies.

Part VII, dealing with the economic aspects of water reuse, encompasses three chapters. Chapter 27 is on household water, discussing the distribution and calculation of household water reuse and household water conservation including necessary equipment. The socioeconomic impacts of urban water reuse are treated in Chapter 28, which discusses a systems dynamics approach including dynamic hypotheses and integrated approaches, and provides a case study. Chapter 29, on desalination, covers processes, cost, and urban water supply and desalination in Australia.

Water reuse systems and technologies are the topic of Part VIII, comprising 10 chapters. Chapter 30 discusses traditional water reuse systems, including water harvesting, hydrogenesis in the absence of rivers, evolution of water technology in hydraulic societies, hidden water knowledge, environmental hydrology, unconventional solutions, and examples of innovative uses of traditional water systems. Modern water reuse technologies are presented in Chapter 31, dealing with treatment trains and advanced treatment schemes. Modern water reuse technologies are dealt with in Chapter 32, covering innovation in water reuse and resource recovery, energy resources, membrane filter technologies, treatment process selection, membrane biofilters, and UV disinfection. Chapter 33, on blackwater systems, discusses blackwater generation, collection, and recycling; blackwater treatment systems and processes; blackwater monitoring and recycling plants; and blackwater sludge disposal and utilization. Greywater is the subject of Chapter 34, including its characteristics and management. Chapter 35 deals with wastewater operational requirements, distribution systems, treatment plant monitoring, and new directions and concerns. Greenhouse gas emissions from decentralized systems are treated in Chapter 36, including measurement of fugitive nitrous oxide and methane from wastewater and reported real-world investigations. Chapter 37 discusses microfiltration membranes, ultrafiltration membranes, seawater reverse-osmosis membranes in desalination, current filtration membranes, issues with membranes, and emerging membrane technologies. Upgrading wastewater treatment systems for urban water reuse is the subject of Chapter 38. Wastewater management technologies, hazardous waste treatment, and biomonitoring of wastewater effluents are covered. Contamination warning is presented in Chapter 39, including instrument and control system technology; alarm systems; contaminant warning systems; and sensors for on-line monitoring of chemical, biological, and radiological contamination.

Water reuse risk and impact analysis are covered in Part IX’s three chapters. Chapter 40 discusses urban water reuse risks, reuse criteria, and risk management in the urban water cycle; reducing risk from urban wastewater use in urban farming; the economics of urban water reuse and of reuse system scale in urban water systems; drinking water potential health effects; exploding sewers; lessons learned for response and recovery; and managing urban water risks. Agricultural water reuse in low-income settings is discussed in Chapter 41, which covers health risks and risk management strategies. Chapter 42 discusses indicators of fecal pollution in wastewater reuse, indirect and direct potable reuse, public health, adoption of wastewater reuse, pathogens, limits of bacterial pollution indicators, alternative pollution indicators, disinfection of potable water, permissible levels of indicators, public acceptance of bacteriological indicators, and the Santa Cruz Wash.

Part X covers water reuse management and monitoring and contains seven chapters. Chapter 43 deals with management of contaminants in wastewater and risk management options. Water meteoric reuse and management are discussed in Chapter 44, including reduction of domestic water consumption, rainwater harvesting, and storage volume. Chapter 45’s subject is best management practices in the urban water cycle. Included are integrated urban water management and best management practices in water-sensitive urban design. Chapter 46 deals with the unintended consequences of mining. Focusing on acid drainage in Johannesburg, South Africa, it discusses the problem and its setting, its unintended consequences, turning the tide, discrete hydrologic flow pathways, and lessons learned. Chapter 47 treats wastewater and sludge reuse management in agriculture, encompassing irrigation water quality criteria, municipal wastewater disposal, geotechnical criteria for site selection of terrestrial sewage disposal, wastewater treatment plants and biosolids in reforestation, national and regional planning for reuse of municipal wastewater for irrigation, and interactions between soil, plants, and metals. Wastewater monitoring is discussed in Chapter 48, which covers selection of monitoring locations and monitoring of foul connections. Chapter 49 presents urban stormwater quality monitoring, including factors affecting urban stormwater quality, measurement of stormwater quality, methods and equipment for monitoring, and characterization of stormwater pollutants.

Part XI is made up of four chapters. Chapter 50 deals with urban wetland hydrology and water purification, encompassing wetland functions, degradation, modeling, flood protection, groundwater recharge, water supply and erosion control, evapotranspiration, and water purification. Urban wetlands hydrology, and changes are the subject of Chapter 51. In Chapter 52, the subjects include wetland systems and removal mechanisms, wetland systems for wastewater treatment and pollutant removal, and design of wetland systems. Phytoremediation is described in Chapter 53. Mechanisms and processes, application in water reuse, and utilization of plants, bacteria, and fungi in phytoremediation are included.

Part XII comprises of four chapters dealing with artificial wetlands. Chapter 54 discusses the fundamentals of wetland treatment and presents case studies on the design of constructed wetlands and their mechanisms of pollutant removal. Case studies of constructed wetlands are the focus of Chapter 55, which covers contaminant removal; costs, energy, and land requirements; and applications. The basic design of constructed wetlands is detailed in Chapter 56, including design aspects, performance, application in urban wastewater treatment, and hybrid constructed wetlands. Chapter 57 deals with pollutant removal by constructed wetlands, covering types of constructed wetlands, pollutant removal mechanisms, and urban water reuse.

Part XIII, devoted to rainwater harvesting, contains three chapters. Chapter 58 focuses on rainwater use in urban areas, covering rainwater quality, rainwater harvesting guidelines, rainwater treatment systems, and rainwater reuse. Reuse of harvested rainwater is discussed in Chapter 59, including harvesting system components, water quality and treatment components, stormwater management, low-impact development, integrated reuse of rainwater harvesting, and facilities for adaptation to climate change using rainwater harvesting. Chapter 60 discusses rainwater tanks as a means of reuse and conservation in urban areas, encompassing harvesting systems, comparison with on-site detention, water savings, harvesting system components, quality of water from a rainwater tank, tank sizing, and the maintenance and economics of harvesting systems.

Part XIV’s five chapters are dedicated to specific applications of water reuse. Chapter 61 deals with design and management of groundwater recharge systems and unconventional water systems, as well as water quality and sustainability. Urban stormwater and treated sewage for water reuse via aquifers are presented in Chapter 62. The use of wastewater for hydroelectric power generation is presented in Chapter 63. Chapter 64 discusses nanotechnology in water reuse. Recycled water at the basin and farm scales is dealt with in Chapter 65, including irrigation efficiency, FAO recommendations, and the impact of efficiency improvements.

Part XV deals with water reuse in climatically and physically different regions. It comprises five chapters. Chapter 66 is on water reuse in arid zones; Chapter 67, on water reuse in coastal areas; Chapter 68, on sustainability of water reuse in cold-climate regions; Chapter 69, on water reuse practices in cold regions; and Chapter 70, on water reuse in hilly urban areas. All of these chapters consider storage, freshwater use reduction, systems design, management, and legislative requirements and approvals.

Case studies of water reuse constitute the subject of Section XVI, comprising three chapters. Chapter 71 deals with feasibility studies for water reuse systems, including global scenarios, World Health Organization guidelines, wastewater treatment technology, and feasibility study methodology. Wastewater in agriculture in the periurban areas of Dhaka City, Bangladesh, is discussed in Chapter 72, including reuse, benefits, risks, and collection methods. Chapter 73 discusses the governance of nonconventional water sources with reference to a South Australian urban community, including ownership, trust, and pricing.

Part XVII, comprising four chapters, deals with the impacts of climate change, mitigation, and adaptation on water reuse. Chapter 74 focuses on resilience, not CO2 mitigation, continuity and sustainability, prediction and observation, and modeling, using the United Kingdom as an example. Climate change adaptation and water reuse are discussed in Chapter 75; the impact of climate change on drinking water, in Chapter 76; and the impact of climate change on the incidence of infectious disease, in Chapter 77. Strategies for adaptation to climate change are offered in each chapter.

Part XVIII, containing seven chapters, discusses sustainable water reuse and its outlook for the future. Chapter 78 focuses on water reuse for recreation, including limitations, gaps, challenges, risks, and uncertainties. Water reclamation is dealt with in Chapter 79, including rationale and processes. Chapter 80 is on the sustainable reuse and recycling of treated urban wastewater; Chapter 81, on water reuse products in urban areas; and Chapter 82, on conjunctive use of water reuse and urban water. The three chapters cover quality, methods, and management of water reuse. Chapter 83 deals with urban water reuse at the policy level—safety plans, implementation, economics, management, and capacity building. Future urban water reuse policies are discussed in Chapter 84.

The Urban Water Reuse Handbook covers a broad range of topics and will be a useful reference for a diverse community that includes graduate students, faculty members, and water resources professionals. There is wide variation in the depth and breadth of coverage from chapter to chapter, and the sequence of chapters is not quite logical. Nevertheless, the book is rich in information. The editor deserves to be complimented for assembling such a compendium on urban water reuse from around the world.