Sick water?

Wastewater Contaminants and their effects

ORIGIN

MANAGEMENT

Storm water Storm water Storm water

Centralized and decentralized sewage treatment Combined sewage and storm water Individual household treatment Enhancing nutrient filtration of wetlands Municipality waste management Industrial small scale waste management Reed bed filtration

Sewerage Sewerage Sewerage Industrial Industrial Industrial

Spills Spills Spills

Manufacturing waste Manufacturing waste Manufacturing waste

Nuclear Nuclear Nuclear

Global water withdrawal percentage by sector

Agricultural run off Agricultural run-off Agricultural run off

Waste water discharge

Medical Medical Medical

Acquaculture Acquaculture Acquaculture

Contaminated food provision

TOXICITY

Smelly

Reusing processed sewage

Solid waste

Drinking water treatment

Suffocate/block

Sewage sludge

Poisonous

Pharmaceutical

Corrosive

Organic matter

Inorganic particulate material

Ecosystem degradation

Biological

Radioactive

Chemicals

Microbes

Heavy metals

Infectous

IMPACT

Increased production costs

Decreased ecosystem health (e.g. dead zones)

Contaminated drinking and bathing water

 Figure 5: The contaminants in waste­ water come from many different sources and can have cumulative and synergistic effects requiring a multi-pronged response.

Contaminated food

Decreased human health

Source: personal communication with E. Corcoran and E. Baker, UNEP-Grid Arendal.

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