The challenge of removing waste from wastewater: let technology use nature!

Tertiary treatments capable of removing chemical and biological contaminants of emerging concern have been successfully developed and implemented at full scale, opening the possibility of using wastewater treatment plants as recycling units, capable of producing wastewater that can be reused in various activities, such as agriculture irrigation; However, tertiary treatments remove only part of the wastewater microbiota, leaving the opportunity for regrowth and/or reactivation of potentially hazardous microorganisms, facilitated by the poor competition among the surviving microorganisms; Under the motto 'added by technology, lead by nature', the treatment and storage of treated wastewater must find the balance to develop a protection shield against the impoverishment the microbial quality and the development of potentially hazardous bacteria.

Automated summary

Tertiary treatments have been successful in removing chemical and biological contaminants of emerging concern, allowing wastewater treatment plants to potentially become recycling units. However, there is a risk of regrowth of hazardous microorganisms due to poor competition among surviving microorganisms. A balance must be found in the treatment and storage of treated wastewater to protect against microbial quality deterioration and the development of potentially harmful bacteria.