The Waterbackpack PAUL -Portable Aqua Unit for Life Saving- is a water treatment unit based on the Ultra-Low Pressure Ultrafiltration (ULP-UF) technology and is since 2010 successfully applied as a fast response to get safe water during natural disasters or emergencies in more than 2 000 cases worldwide. In addition, PAUL has demonstrated that the ULP-UF technology can be used in permanent decentralised drinking-water supply for remote and rural areas, as it is easy to handle and does require neither chemicals nor energy consumption nor spare parts on a regular basis. Hence, the ULP-UF is an appropriate solution in the process of reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ensure by 2030 access to safe drinking water worldwide. However, during long-term uses and under certain water characteristics, the ULP-UF faces some operational and maintenance challenges. The biofouling adhered to the membrane surface may lead to severe flux reduction. In addition, some re-growth of bacteria may take place on the permeate side because of the presence of high content of natural organic matter (NOM) in the raw water, especially Biopolymer and Humic Acids. Therefore, the aim of this study was to integrate some appropriate treatment steps before the ULP-UF technology, so that a reduction of attachment of NOM and biofilm to the membrane could be achieved and thus an increase of permeate flux and a reduction of potential regrowth of bacteria on permeate water could be accomplished.

As a basic human need, water and its treatment are of the utmost importance. However, some rural areas are disadvantaged and have difficulty in effectively treating their water supply, which can affect the health and safety of their region. To protect and defend citizens, research must supply effective and applicable methods in securing the safety and drinkability of water. Membrane Technology for Water and Wastewater Treatment in Rural Regions is an essential publication that discusses the fabrication and characterization of membranes, processes and operations, and specific applications of membranes on water and wastewater treatment. Moreover, the book discusses selected promising aspects of membrane usage in the industry with a focus on palm oil mill industry, sewage management and treatment, and water treatment in rural areas. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics including membrane processes, water production, and transport resistances, this book is ideally designed for engineers, chemists, environmentalists, public officials, researchers, academicians, students, and industry professionals.

Urban water security is crucial for achieving sustainable development, peace, and human health and well-being. Framing urban water security is challenging due to the complexity and uncertainty of its definition and assessment framework. Several studies have assessed water security in widely divergent ways by granting priority indicators equal weight without considering or adapting to local conditions. This dissertation develops a new urban water security definition and assessment framework applicable to water scarce cities, with a focus on Madaba, Jordan. It takes a novel and systematic approach to assessing urban water security and culminates in integrated urban water security index (IUWSI) as a diagnostic tool and guide management actions. The dissertation suggests a new working definition of urban water security based on the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 6.1 on safe drinking water for all and the human rights on water and sanitation as follows: The dynamic capacity of water systems and stakeholders to safeguard sustainable and equitable access to water of adequate quantity and acceptable quality that is continuously, physically and legally available at an affordable cost for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being and socioeconomic development, ensuring protection against waterborne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability. This proposed definition captures issues at the urban level of technical, environmental and socioeconomic indicators that emphasize credibility, legitimacy and salience. The assessment framework establishes a criteria hierarchy, consisting of four main dimensions to achieve urban water security: drinking water and human well-being, ecosystem, climate change and water-related hazards and socioeconomic aspects (together, DECS). The framework enables the analysis of relationships and trade-offs between urbanization, water security and DECS indicators. The dissertation also provides a structured analysis to understand how urban water is managed in intermittent water supply system, by conducting a water balance analysis after quantifying the components of water losses in Madaba’s water distribution network. The findings showed that Madaba's non-revenue water (NRW) amounted to annual loss of about 3.5 million m3, corresponding to financial losses of 2.8 million USD to the utility, of which 1.7 million USD is the cost of real losses. The dissertation provided an intervention strategy for strengthening infrastructure resilience and reducing leakage via the infrastructure, repair, economic, awareness and pressure (IREAP) framework. The IREAP framework provides a robust strategy to shift intermittent water supply (IWS) into continuous water supply. The IUWSI highlighted the state of water security in Madaba, Jordan and identified the means of implementation to move towards achieving urban water security based on the priorities for Madaba. The drinking water and human wellbeing dimension was the most important priority, receiving a weight of 66.22%, followed by ecosystem (17.15%), socioeconomic aspects (10.18%), and climate change and water-related hazards (6.45%) dimensions. The IUWSI indicated that the urban water security in Madaba is reasonable with a score of 2.5/5 and can meet the minimum requirements in several dimensions, but nonetheless, it has many loopholes to cover. Gaps are clear in the climate change and water-related hazards, and socioeconomic dimensions with scores of 1.6/5 and 2.237/5 respectively. Additionally, specific shortcomings are found in indicators such as water availability, reliability, diversity, and public health. The IUWSI framework assists with a rational and evidence-based decision-making process, which is important for enhancing water resource management in water-scarce cities

Advances in Biological Wastewater Treatment Systems covers different recent advanced technologies, including green technologies, for biological wastewater treatment and wastewater reuse. The technologies involve novel biological processes and/or modified processes coupled with nano materials for improving the performance of the existing treatment processes. The book also describes treatment strategies for the current pollution from complex organic matter, nutrients, toxic substances, micro plastics and emerging micro pollutants in different water resources. The treatment processes describe the recent developed technologies for wastewater treatment and reuse such as biological nutrient removal, bioreactors, photobioreactors, membrane bioreactors, wetlands, algae-bacteria process, natural treatments, integrated/hybrid bio systems, etc. The novel bio systems include aerobic, anaerobic, facultative operation modes with various of types of microorganisms. - Provides updated information on biological nutrient removal from wastewater - Includes anaerobic and aerobic wastewater treatment processes - Provides state-of-art information on design and operation of novel systems, including membrane bioreactors - Describes hybrid treatment processes