IWA Specialist Conference on Global Challenges for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment and Resource Recovery

To meet environmental challenges of the future in a sustainable way, wastewater must be acknowledged as a renewable resource for water, energy, nutrients and other materials. The current practice of wastewater treatment that focuses on using energy and chemicals to remove constituents, must change to the new paradigm focused towards what can be recovered, especially since localized population growth is depleting resources. The rapidly growing urban centers in developed and developing countries are in desperate need of wastewater treatment while being simultaneously stressed by resource scarcity. As the water sector looks to face the new challenges with innovative solutions that protect the environment, public health, and global sustainability, minimizing use of resources and maximizing the recovery of resources from wastewater is destined to become the focal point. Wastewater contains valuable resources such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. Carbon in the wastewater can be recovered to generate energy while nitrogen and phosphorus recovery can supplement nutrient demand for agriculture. In contrast, improperly discharged wastewater threatens human health, ecosystems, biodiversity, food security and the sustainability of water resources.

Stringent permits in developed countries and resource constraints (especially electric power and chemicals) in developing countries demand energy-neutral wastewater treatment and recovery. There are many innovative approaches and technologies for energy-neutral nutrient removal and recovery. These approaches can be adapted for the urban environment which often requires intensified treatment. The drivers for resource recovery and energy neutrality include decreased energy demand and carbon emissions, marketable commodities, and improved efficiency at reduced cost.

The Himalayas contain the world’s largest non-polar ice masses, the source of water for over 20% of the earth’s population. These populations are urbanizing rapidly in large centers in South Asia, South East Asia and China. By 2030, 40% of the India’s population and 60% of China’s population will be located in urban centers. These waters are increasingly threatened, and better approaches for urban water resource management have become critical. This conference brings together IWA members and delegates and world’s experts to treat this important subject. This is a timely first IWA conference in Nepal, a wondrous country that sits upon some of the most important water reserves in the world. We welcome delegates from all over the world and heartily greet and support all the nations served by this critical water source, to engage, discuss and collaborate in this conference on the theme of sustainable wastewater treatment systems.