Water & Nutrient Cycle Perspective

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Water & Nutrient Cycle Perspective

Find technologies and socio-economic approaches to optimise your local water management and sanitation system.

This perspective is geared to help you find the ideal and sustainable solution to optimise your local water management and sanitation system. It comprises technical instruments and tools (hardwares) as well as economic, political and social approaches (softwares) relating to the main steps of the Water and Nutrient Cycle, namely Water Sources Management, Water Purification, Water Distribution, Water and Nutrient Use, Wastewater Collection, Wastewater Treatment as well as Reuse and Recharge of Nutrients and Water.

Find technologies and socio-economic approaches to optimise your local water management and sanitation system.

This perspective is geared to help you find the ideal and sustainable solution to optimise your local water management and sanitation system. It comprises technical instruments and tools (hardwares) as well as economic, political and social approaches (softwares) relating to the main steps of the Water and Nutrient Cycle, namely Water Sources Management, Water Purification, Water Distribution, Water and Nutrient Use, Wastewater Collection, Wastewater Treatment as well as Reuse and Recharge of Nutrients and Water.

Application of Stored Urine

Stored urine is a concentrated source of nutrients that can be applied as a liquid fertilizer in agriculture and replace all or some commercial…
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Urine Fertilisation (Large-scale)

Separately collected and hygienised urine is a concentrated source of nutrients which can be applied as a liquid fertilizer in agriculture to replace…
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Advanced Integrated Ponds

Advanced integrated wastewater pond systems (AIWPS), advanced integrated pond systems (AIPS) or advanced integrated ponds (AIPs) are an adaptation of…
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Aerated Pond

An aerated pond is a large, mixed aerobic reactor. Mechanical aerators provide oxygen and keep the aerobic organisms suspended and mixed with water…
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Fill and Cover / Arborloo

To decommission a pit, it can simply be filled with soil and covered. Although there is no received benefit, the full pit poses no immediate health…
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Leach Field

A leach field, or drainage field, is a network of perforated pipes that are laid in underground gravel-filled trenches to dissipate the effluent from…
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Waste Stabilization Ponds (WSP)

Waste Stabilization Ponds (WSPs) are large, man-made water bodies. The ponds can be used individually, or linked in a series for improved treatment.…
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Soak Pit

A soak pit, also known as a soakaway or leach pit, is a covered, porous-walled chamber that allows water to slowly soak into the ground. Pre-settled…
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Fish Pond (Aquaculture)

Fish can be grown in ponds that receive effluent or sludge where they can feed on algae and other organisms that grow in the nutrient-rich water. The…
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Application of Dehydrated Faeces

When faeces are stored in the absence of moisture (i.e., urine), they [8251-dehydrate] into a crumbly, white-beige coarse, flaky material or powder.…
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SODIS

When microbially polluted water is exposed to solar light in transparent PET bottles, bacteria, virus and some parasites are inactivated by the solar…
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Anaerobic Filter

An anaerobic filter is a fixed-bed biological reactor with one or more filtration chambers in series. As wastewater flows through the filter,…
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Terra Preta Sanitation

Terra preta is the name of a carbon and nutrient rich soil, which has been produced by pre-Columbian cultures by the incorporation of manure,…
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UV-tubes

The bactericidal effect of concentrated ultraviolet (UV) light is used in many areas and in many set-ups. For drinking water treatment, simple,…
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WATA™

Chlorination, which means adding active chlorine (sodium hypochlorite) to water, is the most common method used for disinfecting of drinking water.…
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The graph shows the water and nutrient cycles and how they are interlinked. It is a simplified and idealised version of the water and nutrient loop that puts humans at the centre. Water coming from water sources is purified, distributed and used in agriculture, households and industry. By using water for these different purposes, nutrients are introduced into the water cycle (e.g. through wastewater, but also in runoff in agricultural systems, etc.). Wastewater, in order to be treated, is collected. The treated wastewater is reused or used to recharge water sources. Nutrients are reused beneficially to produce food or animal feed, thereby not polluting aquatic ecosystems. In this way, both the water and the nutrient loop are closed.

The Water and Nutrient Cycle Perspective recognizes that sectoral approaches are not going to solve the global water and sanitation crisis. Instead, holistic approaches that consider the entire water cycle from source to sea, and that look critically analyse the human influence thereupon are required. It compiles the hardware and software instruments for each step of the Water and Nutrient Cycle, that help you develop a sustainable sanitation and water management system.

The content of this perspective was compiled by seecon gmbh in collaboration with a number of partners:

SSWM Collaboration Partners