The Orange County Water District (OCWD) in California has been operating a Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS, Figure 1) since 2008. The GWRS treats secondary effluent from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) for distribution to reinjection wells, spreading basins, and industrial users. Upstream of the reverse osmosis system (RO), the secondary effluent goes through a microfiltration proces...

Genotoxicity in wastewater and reclaimed water now is gaining increased attention because of genotoxins' potential damage to the ecosystem and human health. The effect of ozonation on genotoxicity in reclaimed water was investigated. It was found that ozonation decreased the genotoxicy dramatically in three tertiary treatment plants. In the further batch ozonation experiment in laboratory, seco...

The performance of a novel industrial membrane bioreactor (MBR) comprising denitrification, nitrification and ultrafiltration for the secondary treatment of primary treated animal rendering wastewater has been compared with an experimental, low-cost and novel vertical-flow constructed treatment wetland planted with Typha latifolia L. The process wastewater followed pre-treatment by dissolved ai...

The effects of plant species (castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) versus sunflower (Helianthus annus L.)) and irrigation regime (freshwater versus secondary treated municipal wastewater) on soil properties and on seed and biodiesel yield were studied in a three year pot trial. Plant species were irrigated at rates according to their water requirements with either freshwater or wastewater effluent...

Adult male fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) were exposed to effluent from the City of Boulder, Colorado wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) under controlled conditions in the field to determine if the effluent induced reproductive disruption in fish. Gonadal intersex and other evidence of reproductive disruption were previously identified in white suckers (Catostomus commersoni) in Boulder C...

Sewage effluent for land application is becoming an increasingly important source of irrigation water in many semi-arid regions of the world. Two main approaches to the use of sanitation to upgrade effluent for reuse in agriculture were analyzed: (i) sanitizing to the level required for each crop; or (ii) upgrading all effluent to the sanitary level mandated for unrestricted irrigation (<10 fec...

In primary effluent filtration (PEF), primary effluent is treated to reduce TSS, BOD, or other contaminants without resorting to secondary treatment in trickling filters or activated sludge basins. If PEF can meet the effluent quality requirements applicable to a wastewater stream, substantial cost reductions can be realized by using PEF instead of secondary treatment. In other instances, PEF c...

The goal of this study was to assess the responses of fathead minnows (FHM) exposed to known endocrine-disrupting substances (EDS) in our labs. As well, we wanted to examine the applicability and sensitivity of the full lifecycle FHM test for use on-site, exposing fish to a complex environmentally relevant Canadian effluent. Fathead minnows exposed from the egg stage to ethinylestradiol (EE2, 0...

Contaminated midline abdominal wounds are often left open and allowed to close via secondary intention to prevent surgical site infections. Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) devices have decreased time of healing by secondary intention when compared to the prior standard of moist dressings. The authors report a modification of NPWT that utilizes the unique characteristics of the negative ...

In vitro transactivation bioassays have shown promise as water quality monitoring tools, however their adoption and widespread application has been hindered partly due to a lack of standardized methods and availability of robust, user-friendly technology. In this study, commercially available, division-arrested cell lines were employed to quantitatively screen for endocrine activity of chemical...