Articles
International Journal of Environmental Research (17356865)(2)
Groundwater quality management is challenging due to the fate and transport of multiple pollutants in the porous media, extensive polluters, and late aquifer responses to pollution reduction practices. Water quality trading (WQT) is an economically incentive-based policy for waste load allocation (WLA) in water resources. This study evaluates the effectiveness of 12 WLA scenarios on reducing groundwater nitrate and chloride, simultaneously using MODFLOW and MT3DMs. Here, the theoretical efficiencies of multi-pollutant WQT are also testified out of these scenarios by developing environmental, economic and practical conditions. For these purposes, Varamin plain, south-eastern Tehran, Iran, was chosen as the study area where both point and non-point pollution sources were considered in WQT. At first, an allowable quality limit (AQL) for the groundwater was set for pollutants regarding groundwater impairment and simulation outcomes. The AQL violations of WLAs were then calculated in addition to their marginal abatement costs and penalties. Here, nitrate abatement ranges between 3.3–18.3%, while chloride abatement ranges between 4.5–23.6%. Our findings show that, 5 WLA scenarios could pass the conditions of not violating any AQLs, and gaining remarkable benefits (> 25%) for all market attendants. Potential WQT strategies are finally prioritised regarding their viability and marginal costs. According to these conditions, trading discharge permits between wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with 50% nitrate removal (sellers) and farmers (buyers) are recommended as the optimal WQT alternative, which imposes no penalties or land-use changes. Here, the overall benefits of sellers and buyers exceed 47% and 81%, respectively, in comparison with not attending any WLA scenario. Highlights Varamin aquifer quality is analyzed in 12 WLA scenarios with point and non-point sources. Wastewater treatment and altering crop pattern can reduce pollutants in 10 years. Multi-pollutant WQT is theoretically feasible and has economic benefits. Four conditions are emphasized in order for the feasibility study of potential WQT. A practical WLA with low benefits has privilege over a highly beneficial WLA without practicability © University of Tehran 2024.
Water Science and Technology (2731223)(7)pp. 1741-1756
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have positive and negative impacts on the environment. Therefore, life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) can provide a more holistic framework for performance evaluation than the conventional approach. This study added water footprint (WF) to LCIA and defined ϕ index for accounting for the damage ratio of carbon footprint (CF) to WF. The application of these innovations was verified by comparing the performance of 26 WWTPs. These facilities are located in four different climates in Iran, serve between 1,900 and 980,000 people, and have treatment units like activated sludge, aerated lagoon, and stabilization pond. Here, grey water footprint (GWF) calculated the ecological impacts through typical pollutants. Blue water footprint (BWF) included the productive impacts of wastewater reuse, and CF estimated CO2 emissions from WWTPs. Results showed that GWF was the leading factor. ϕ was 4–7.5% and the average WF of WWTPs was 0.6 m3/ca, which reduced 84%, to 0.1 m3/ca, through wastewater reuse. Here, wastewater treatment and reuse in larger WWTPs, particularly with activated sludge had lower cumulative impacts. Since this method takes more items than the conventional approach, it is recommended for integrated evaluation of WWTPs, mainly in areas where the water–energy nexus is a paradigm for sustainable development. © 2024 IWA Publishing. All rights reserved.
Jamshidi, S.,
Ansorge L.,
David Vaca-Jiménez S.,
Gerbens-Leenes W.,
Aldaya M.M.,
Arastou, K.,
Wöhler L. Ecological Indicators (1470160X)
International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology (17351472)(14)pp. 8885-8900
Fish ponds are reliable food supply in local scale. However, they have adverse environmental impacts due to discharging pollution to the surface waters. To quantify the sustainability of this industry with the perspective of environment-food nexus, the-state-of-the-art index of food environmental footprint (FEF) is used and calculated for trout ponds (TPs). For this purpose, an integrated method is developed for accounting the environmental impacts of TPs by including grey water footprint (GWF) in Recipe, a tool for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). GWF stands for the embedded water consumption and LCIA combines the potential health and ecological impacts. Here, water quality data of multiple pollutants, BOD, COD, TSS, NO2, NO3, NH4, TN, PO4, DO and Cu+2, in the influent and effluent of Iranian TPs was obtained by field experiments and discussed with data from 9 countries. Results showed that TSS and NH4 are critical pollutants and the average GWF is about 16 m3/kg. Moreover, human health impacts are relatively greater than ecological damages. Nevertheless, FEF is calculated 0.17 and verifies TP sustainability (< 1). Based on environment-food nexus perspective; it means that the positive value of food production dominates TPs’ negative environmental damages. In addition, this study reviewed the efficiency of constructed wetlands for low-strength wastewater treatment. Due to its potential on TSS and NH4 removal, this system can reduce the GWF and added environmental damages of TPs 85% and 58%, respectively. Consequently, FEF decreases to 0.023 showing the very sustainability (< 0.1) of TPs by wastewater treatment. Graphical abstract: (Figure presented.). © The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Iranian Society of Environmentalists (IRSEN) and Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University 2024.
2025 29th International Computer Conference, Computer Society of Iran, CSICC 2025pp. 113-166
Algal bloom and Eutrophication are well-known problems in surface waters, particularly lakes, wetlands, and estuaries. These problems are the consequences of unsustainable farming, urban development, and rural activities like grazing livestock or recreation. Any uncontrolled pollution discharge from these point or nonpoint emission sources introduces nitrogen and phosphorous compounds into water bodies. High concentrations of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorous (TP) accelerate Eutrophication and consequently endangers aquatic ecosystem with human inhabitants. This chapter introduces some integrated sustainable management strategies for the restoration of wetland and lakes from Eutrophication. Based on this purpose, the basin of Zrebar Lake located in western Iran was chosen as the studied area. According to the recent studies, this natural wetland encounters Eutrophication. Here, water quality, sediments, emission sources, and ecological specifications of Zrebar Lake are initially reviewed. It is concluded that agricultural activities, such as irrigation and land-uses changes upstream, are mainly responsible for TN and TP pollution loads. Therefore, with a local point of view, integrated farm and basin management (IBFM) strategies are recommended as a solution. However, their sustainability depends on the effectiveness of management practices, impacts on production yields, and the willingness of locals and farmers. The geographical, social, and economic conditions of this area limit implementing some management practices. Therefore, the application of basin simulation tools, like the SWAT model, is recommended as it is inevitable for accounting the effectiveness of management practices. This method can include land-use changes and provide a framework for evaluating the amount of pollution loads removal, changing production yields, and estimating regionally oriented water footprint (WF) of productions in different management practices. For example, 50% reduction of chemical fertilizers, animal manures, and water for irrigation in a decade may approximately reduce 85% of TN pollution loads and 25% of TP pollution loads discharged per one ton of product to the lake. However, this strategy can also reduce the net income of farmers cultivating apple, tobacco and tomato between 25% and 65%. It is also not clear whether these applications can improve ecosystem in this period. Therefore, this chapter implies that the modeling framework requires supplementary quantitative methods for detailed sustainability assessment. WF sustainability (WS) and life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) are two quantitative approaches introduced as auxiliary tools. Accordingly, the WFs of agricultural productions can be compared with annual available water in the study area. LCIA can also accumulate the impacts and show how environmental indicators would be improved by different policies in IBFM. © 2023 Scrivener Publishing LLC.
