Journal Home Online First Current Issue Archive For Authors Journal Information 中文版

Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering >> 2021, Volume 15, Issue 1 doi: 10.1007/s11783-020-1308-z

Novel perspective for urban water resource management:

1. State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
2. Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China
3. College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
4. EnviroSystems Engineering and Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing 100083, China
5. National Engineering Research Center for Urban Pollution Control, Shanghai 200092, China
6. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266033, China
7. Department of Civil and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-1500, USA
8. Biodesign Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-5701, USA

Available online: 2020-08-11

Next Previous

Abstract

Abstract • 5R (Recover, Reduce, Recycle, Resource and Reuse) approaches to manage urban water. • 5R harvests storm water, gray water and black water in several forms. • 5R offers promise for moving solutions for urban water scarcity in practice. Demand for water is expanding with increases in population, particularly in urban areas in developing countries. Additionally, urban water system needs a novel perspective for upgradation with urbanization. This perspective presents a novel 5R approach for managing urban water resources: Recover (storm water), Reduce (toilet flushing water), Recycle (gray water), Resource (black water), and Reuse (advanced-treated wastewater). The 5R generation incorporates the latest ideas for harvesting storm water, gray water, and black water in its several forms. This paper has briefly demonstrated each R of 5R generation for water treatment and reuse. China has the chance to upgrade its urban water systems according to 5R principles. Already, a demonstration project of 5R generation has been installed in Qingdao International Horticultural Exposition, and Dalian International Convention Center (China) has applied 5R, achieving over 70% water saving. The 5R offers promise for moving solutions for urban water scarcity from “hoped for in the future” to “realistic today”.

Related Research