Impacts of Comorbidity and Mental Shock on Organic Micropollutants in Surface Water During and After the First Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Wuhan (2019–2021), China

The first pandemic wave of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)induced a considerable increase in several antivirals and antibiotics in surface water.The common symptoms of COVID-19 are viral and bacterial infections,while comorbidities(e.g.,hypertension and diabetes)and mental shock(e.g.,insomnia and anxiety)are nonnegligible.Nevertheless,little is known about the long-term impacts of comorbidities and mental shock on organic micropollutants(OMPs)in surface waters.Herein,we monitored 114 OMPs in surface water and wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs)in Wuhan,China,between 2019 and 2021.The pandemic-induced OMP pollution in surface water was confirmed by significant increases in 26 OMP concentrations.Significant increases in four antihypertensives and one diabetic drug suggest that the treatment of comorbidities may induce OMP pollution.Notably,cotinine(a metabolite of nicotine)increased 155 times to 187 ngL1,which might be associated with increased smoking.Additionally,the increases in zolpidem and sulpiride might be the result of worsened insomnia and depression.Hence,it is reasonable to note that mental-health protecting drugs/behavior also contributed to OMP pollution.Among the observed OMPs,telmisartan,lopinavir,and ritonavir were associated with significantly higher ecological risks because of their limited WWTP-removal rate and high ecotoxicity.This study provides new insights into the effects of comorbidities and mental shock on OMPs in surface water during a pandemic and highlights the need to monitor the fate of related pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment and to improve their removal efficiencies in WWTPs。

Science and Technology for Combating Global Water Challenges

The survival and development of human society highly depends on the water availability. Driven by the growth of population and economy, global water demand has increased more than eightfold since the 1900s. Meanwhile, the commonly deteriorated freshwater quality cause a large proportion of available water resources unsuitable for human uses. This inter-coupled challenge of insufficient water quantity and inadequate water quality has rendered water scarcity a widespread problem in many parts of the world.

Roadmap for Managing SARS-CoV-2 and Other Viruses in the Water Environment for Public Health

The water sector needs to address viral-related public health issues,because water is a virus carrier,which not only spreads viruses(e.g.,via drinking water),but also provides information about the circu-lation of viruses in the community(e.g.,via sewage).It has been widely reported that waterborne viral pathogens are abundant,diverse,complex,and threatening the public health in both developed and developing countries.Meanwhile,there is great potential for viral monitoring that can indicate biosafety,treatment performance and community health.New developments in technology have been rising to meet the emerging challenges over the past decades.Under the current coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2),the world’s attention is directed to the urgent need to tackle the most challenging public health issues related to waterborne viruses.Based on critical analysis of the water viral knowledge progresses and gaps,this article offers a roadmap for managing COVID-19 and other viruses in the water environments for ensur-ing public health.

Free Residual Chlorine Calibration by WaterCAD at El-Nozha Water Network in Alexandria Governorate, Egypt

Most of developing countries suffer from decreasing and poor quality of drinking water which led to emergence of many dangerous diseases. In addition, there isn’t any methodology followed to predict and disinfect drinking water by using advanced software program. Maintaining water quality in the water distribution system has become a prominent issue in the study of the water network. Residual chlorine concentration is the indicator to ensure the quality of water in the water network because it eliminates contaminants in the distribution network beginning of the treatment plant down to the consumer. In collaboration with Alexandria (Egypt) Water Company, samples were taken from El-NOZHA water plant station and El-HADARA water distribution network to know the free residual chlorine. In this paper, WaterCAD software has been used to make hydraulic analysis and calibration of residual chlorine in water distribution network to know the ideal chlorine dose that should be added at the water treatment plant and to know the areas of strength and weakness in the concentration of free residual chlorine in the water distribution network. In addition different scenarios have been found to know the free residual chlorine at the weakness areas after injecting chlorine in some junctions and the impact of a fire case or breaking in the water pipe distribution network on the residual chlorine. Results showed ensuring in the water quality in the distribution network by adding chlorine dose in water less than the existing dose which has been added in the El-NOZHA water treatment plant. It is possible to maintain the percentage of free residual chlorine concentration at different locations without relying on adding chlorine only in water treatment plant by injecting low percentage of chlorine dose in the junctions.

Design and Comparison of Wastewater Treatment Plant Types (Activated Sludge and Membrane Bioreactor), Using GPS-X Simulation Program: Case Study of Tikrit WWTP (Middle Iraq)

Mathematical models and simulation are considered a powerful tool in engineering practice. Those tools are becoming increasingly used for the improvement of wastewater treatment plants design because the conceptual design is complex and ill-defined. In this paper, three alternatives: 1) complete mix activated sludge without nitrogen removal (CAS);2) complete mix activated sludge with nitrogen removal (CAS-N) and;3) membrane bioreactor (MBR) processes were designed into two steps: first concept design to calculate the size of process units, then second implement modeling and simulation to improve the accuracy of the conceptual design. In brief, the treatment process design has been verified by using the activated sludge model No. 1 (ASM1) in GPS-X (v.7) simulation software. This application helps not only in sizing the treatment units but also in understanding the plant’s capacity. In the same time, it can assist in studying the future expansion works required for increased hydraulic and organic loadings. For this purpose, Tikrit WWTP was selected as a case study. The used model was validated by comparing the designed values of the plant and the modeling data. The verification of the obtained results from both hand calculations and the results of the program showed a good agreement. A significant difference in the volume of secondary treatment was obtained from design calculations, where the CAS without denitrification system was 9244 m3 (aerobic and secondary tanks), CAS with denitrification system was 11,324 m3 (anoxic, aerobic and secondary tanks) and for MBR system was 7468 m3 (anoxic, aerobic and immersed membrane tanks). From the obtained results point of view, it can be concluded that mathematical models can be considered as worthy tools to complement the established wastewater treatment plant design procedures.

Preferential binding between intracellular organic matters and Al_(13) polymer to enhance coagulation performance

Coagulation is the best available method for removing intracellular organic matter(IOM),which is released from algae cells and is an important precursor to disinfection by-products in drinking water treatment. To gain insight into the best strategy to optimize IOM removal, the coagulation performance of two Al salts, i.e., aluminum chloride(AlCl_3) and polyaluminum chloride(PACl, containing 81.2% Al_(13)), was investigated to illuminate the effect of Al species distribution on IOM removal. PACl showed better removal efficiency than AlCl_3 with regard to the removal of turbidity and dissolved organic carbon(DOC), owing to the higher charge neutralization effect and greater stability of pre-formed Al_(13) species. High pressure size exclusion chromatography analysis indicated that the superiority of PACl in DOC removal could be ascribed to the higher binding affinity between Al_(13) polymer and the low and medium molecular weight(MW) fractions of IOM. The results of differential log-transformed absorbance at 254 and 350 nm indicated more significant formation of complexes between AlCl_3 and IOM, which benefits the removal of tryptophan-like proteins thereafter. Additionally,PACl showed more significant superiority compared to AlCl_3 in the removal of <5 kD a and hydrophilic fractions, which are widely viewed as the most difficult to remove by coagulation.This study provides insight into the interactions between Al species and IOM, and advances the optimization of coagulation for the removal of IOM in eutrophic water.

Assessment of agricultural drainage water quality for safe reuse in irrigation applications-a case study in Borg El-Arab,Alexandria

Objective:To demonstrate the technical feasibility of the reuse of agricultural drainage water for irrigation.Methods:The agricultural drainage water near Banjar El-Sokar,Borg El-Arab City,Alexandria,Egypt was collected.The measured heavy metals in the drainage water were compared with the permissible levels stated in environmental regulations,Law No.48 of 1982 concerning the protection of the Nile River and waterways from pollution.Results:Heavy metals and trace elements were detected in this agricultural drainage water as following:Al(1.64 mg/L),Ca(175.00 mg/L),Cd(1.87 mg/L),Co(2.23 mg/L),Cu(1.71 mg/L),Fe(1.64 mg/L),K(20.50 mg/L),and Pb(2.81 mg/L).According to allowable limits,item such as Fe is lower than permissible level of 3.00 mg/L,while Pb and Cu are higher than 0.10 mg/L and 1.00 mg/L,respectively.Conclusions:Vegetables irrigated with such drainage water are not safe for human and animal consumption.Accordingly,the study suggests and recommeds remediation of drainage water using physical,chemical and/or biological methods.

Direct evidence of microbiological water quality changes on bacterial quantity and community caused by plumbing system

Drinking water quality deteriorates from treatment plant to customer taps, especially in the plumbing system. There is no direct evidence about what the differences are contributed by plumbing system. This study compared the water quality in the water main and at customer tap by preparing a sampling tap on the water main. The biomass was quantified by adenosine triphosphate(ATP) and the microbial community was profiled by 454 pyrosequencing.The results showed that in distribution pipes, biofilm contributed >94% of the total biomass,while loose deposits showed little contribution(< 2%) because of the low amount of loose deposits. The distribution of biological stable water had minor effects on the microbiocidal water quality regarding both quantity(ATP 1 ng/L vs. 1.7 ng/L) and community of the bacteria. Whereas the plumbing system has significant contribution to the increase of active biomass(1.7 ng/L vs. 2.9 ng/L) and the changes of bacterial community. The relative abundance of Sphingomonas spp. at tap(22%) was higher than that at water main(2%), while the relative abundance of Pseudomonas spp. in tap water(15%) was lower than that in the water from street water main(29%). Though only one location was prepared and studied, the present study showed that the protocol of making sampling tap on water main offered directly evidences about the impacts of plumbing system on tap water quality, which makes it possible to distinguish and study the processes in distribution system and plumbing system separately.