The presence of emerging contaminants (ECs) in the environment has been consistently recognized as a worldwide concern. ECs may be defined as chemicals or materials found in the environment at trace concentrations with potential, perceived, or real risk to the “One Health” trilogy (environment, human, and animal health). The main concern regarding pharmaceuticals and in particular antibiotics is the

Most countries maintain regulatory requirements for testing of drinking water supplies to guide treatment procedures and ensure safe water delivery to consumers. It is unclear, however, if water quality data are always used effectively, particularly in low-resource settings. Efforts to improve the use of water quality data will benefit from a comprehensive understanding of existing systems for managing

The sustainable developments goals (SDGs) introduced monitoring of drinking water quality to the international development agenda. At present, Escherichia coli are the primary measure by which we evaluate the safety of drinking water from an infectious disease perspective. Here, we propose and apply a framework to reflect on the purposes of and approaches to monitoring drinking water safety. To deliver

The Sustainable Development Goals require that 100 mL water samples contain no culturable E. coli to classify a water supply as “safely managed” from a microbial perspective. But small volume sampling is often insufficient for detecting microbial risks. We used culture-based measures of total coliforms and E. coli along with dead-end ultrafiltration (DEUF) and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) to assess

Natural water bodies and treated wastewaters contain an increasing variety of organic micropollutants with a negative impact on ecosystems and human health. Herein, we propose an integrated process based on membrane distillation and advanced oxidation, in which thermal energy is simultaneously used to drive the permeation of pure water through a hydrophobic membrane and to activate the generation of

Biological wastewater treatment has developed for more than 100 years, and new concepts about future wastewater treatment have been put forward worldwide. Environmental biotechnology is still the key contributor for wastewater management. However, these biotechnologies are facing challenges due to stringent discharging standards and the removal of emerging pollutants. Here, a new concept of microbial

The COVID-19 outbreak due to SARS-CoV-2 has raised several concerns for its high transmission rate and unavailability of any treatment to date. Although major routes of its transmission involve respiratory droplets and direct contact, the infection through faecal matter is also possible. Conventional sewage treatment methods with disinfection are expected to eradicate SARS-CoV-2. However, for densely

Predicting pipe failures using statistical modelling benefits from detailed knowledge of the conditions and circumstances which influence such failures. Incorporating this knowledge into model building improves failure predictions. In this study, we model weather, soil and hydrogeological variables in a generalized additive model for five common pipe materials separately, using partial dependence plots

Conventional fabrication technologies of superhydrophobic and self-cleaning membranes for wastewater treatment often involve complex surface modifications, and massive usage of nanomaterials or organic solvents. In this work, we developed a pure rheological spray-assisted nonsolvent induced phase separation (SANIPS) approach to fabricate self-cleaning polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes with high

Reverse electrodialysis (RED) is a technology producing renewable energy from the mixing of river and seawater. In natural salinity gradients, multivalent ions are present, which lead to a reduced RED power output. Transport of multivalent ions against the concentration gradient and their trapping inside the membranes leads to a lower driving force and increased membrane resistance. The present work

Safely managed drinking water services (SMDWS) is the service ladder used for the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) monitoring of drinking water and expands on the Millennium Development Goal metric (“improved water source”) with three additional criteria, namely: availability when needed, accessibility on premises, and safety (free from faecal and priority chemical contamination). Multiple Indicator

We evaluated the anthropogenic forcing and exceedance probability of arsenic vulnerability in the Quaternary Alluviums of the Mid-Gangetic Plain through the coupled application of hydrogeochemical analyses, inverse modelling, probability analyses, kriging, bivariate and multivariate statistical analysis (MVA). Fifty-seven groundwater samples (total 171) each were collected during the pre-monsoon (April

In Zambia limited access to adequate water and sanitation is a key developmental challenge, particularly for rapidly expanding peri-urban areas. During 2016–2017, a cross-sectional household survey was conducted among 12,500 households representing ~60,000 individuals to assess the burden of household diarrheal and respiratory disease and to measure water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) characteristics

Scale deposits in water systems often result in ample technical and economic problems. Conventional chemical treatments for scale control are expensive and may cause health concerns and ecological implications. Non-chemical water treatment technologies such as electromagnetic field (EMF) are attractive options so the use of scale inhibitors, anti-scalants, or other chemical involved processes can be

Although sanitation systems are fundamental for human health and sustainable development, limited focus has been placed on their contributions to climate mitigation and adaptation. Climate change threatens existing systems, as well as efforts to increase services for 2.3 billion people who lack even a basic sanitation service. At the same time, the sanitation and wastewater sector directly produces

To respond to the global Sustainable Development Goals framework, Ecuador through the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) has been strengthening its monitoring system since 2016, specifically on SDG 6.1 and 6.2. The World Bank Group, UNICEF Ecuador Country Office and WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme provided initial support. Additional parameters were included in household surveys

Water resources are essential for every development activity, not only in terms of available quantity but also in terms of quality. Population growth and urbanisation are increasing the number of users and uses of water, making water resources scarcer and more polluted. Changes in rainfall patterns threaten to worsen these effects in many areas. Water scarcity, due to physical lack or pollution, has

Small towns lag behind cities in drinking water and sanitation access globally. Closing this gap requires developing service models for areas with both urban and rural characteristics. This study assessed Bushenyi-Ishaka, a municipality in Uganda situated at the rural–urban transition, with a focus on service ladder indictors. Data sources included household interviews (n = 500) and water quality samples

This study explores the associations of drinking rainwater with mineral intake and cardiometabolic health in the Bangladeshi population. We pooled 10030 person-visit data on drinking water sources, blood pressure (BP) and 24-h urine minerals. Fasting blood glucose (FBG) was measured in 3724 person-visits, and lipids in 1118 person-visits. We measured concentrations of sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium

Australia has committed to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) goals under the UN’s 2030 Agenda. However, these goals may not be fully achieved in Australia under current policy settings. Australia reports success in achieving the goal for quality and access to safe drinking water and sanitation (SDG 6), though for Australians living in remote Indigenous communities, the experience is very

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

This article presents a perspective on the current development and application of membranes for the treatment of water. We examine how membranes contribute to the global challenge of sustainable supply of clean water. The main theme is on desalination and how innovative science and emerging technology is being applied. Thus, we appraise how techniques such as advanced membrane materials, biomimetic