Aquaculture is the fastest-growing sector of global food production. The continued growth and long-term sustainability require abundant water of sufficient quality. Reuse of wastewater is becoming an increasingly important consideration for aquaculture. Yet, safety issues emerge for water reuse in aquaculture. Among other anthropogenic pollutants, pharmaceuticals represent an important concern. They are ubiquitously present in urban wastewater due to wide consumption and incomplete removal during conventional wastewater treatment. The consequent continuous discharge is affecting aquatic life.
In the current study, we tested the efficiency of a biological pond to remove pharmaceuticals from treated wastewater and assessed the risks of using the reclaimed water for fish production. Based on the results, the system appears useful as a tertiary wastewater treatment step to reduce present pharmaceuticals. The potential ecotoxicological hazards, including antibiotic resistance, were significantly decreased, benefiting consequent reuse in aquaculture.
Detail information can be found in the original article: Fedorova, G., Grabic, R., Grabicová, K., Turek, J., Van Nguyen, T., Randák, T., Brooks, B.W., Žlábek, V., 2022. Water reuse for aquaculture: Comparative removal efficacy and aquatic hazard reduction of pharmaceuticals by a pond treatment system during a one year study. Journal of Hazardous Materials 421: 126712.
Schematic overview of the studied ecosystem.
