With water scarcity as a pressing issue in Saudi Arabia and other Middle
Eastern countries, the treatment and reuse of municipal wastewater is increasingly
being used as an alternative water source to supplement country water needs.
Standards are in place to ensure a safe treated wastewater quality, however they do
not regulate pathogenic bacteria and emerging contaminants. Information is lacking
on the levels of risk to public health associated with these factors, the efficiency of
conventional treatment strategies in removing them, and on wastewater treatment
in Saudi Arabia in general. In this study, a municipal wastewater treatment plant in
Saudi Arabia is investigated to assess the efficiency of conventional treatment in
meeting regulations and removing pathogens and emerging contaminants. The
study found pathogenic bacterial genera, antibiotic resistance genes and antibiotic
resistant bacteria, many of which were multi-resistant in plant discharges. It was
found that although the treatments are able to meet traditional quality guidelines,
there remains a risk from the discussed contaminants with wastewater reuse. A
deeper understanding of this risk, and suggestions for more thorough guidelines
and monitoring are needed.
| Date of Award | Dec 2013 |
|---|
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|
| Awarding Institution | - Biological, Environmental Sciences and Engineering
|
|---|
| Supervisor | Peiying Hong (Supervisor) |
|---|
- Antibiotic
- Resistance
- Activated Sludge
- Tetracycline Genes