Elsevier, 22 March 2021
World Water Day is an annual United Nations Observance focusing on the importance of freshwater and raising awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. On March 22, 2021, World Water Day will be celebrated in an online event. The World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the global water crisis, and a core focus of the observance is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.
Originally started in 1993, this year’s theme of World Water Day 2021 is valuing water. The value of water is about much more than its price – water has enormous and complex value for our households, food, culture, health, education, economics and the integrity of our natural environment. If we overlook any of these values, we risk mismanaging this finite, irreplaceable resource. SDG 6 is to ensure water and sanitation for all. Without a comprehensive understanding of water’s true, multidimensional value, we will be unable to safeguard this critical resource for the benefit of everyone. Today, water is under extreme threat from a growing population, increasing demands of agriculture and industry, and the worsening impacts of climate change.
To raise awareness of the value of water, Elsevier presents a curated list of free access journal articles and book chapters. At Elsevier, we are advancing #SDG6 research and ensuring that #Everydrop counts.
Elsevier, International Journal of Critical Infrastructure Protection, Volume 31, December 2020
Early and accurate anomaly detection in critical infrastructure (CI), such as water treatment plants and electric power grid, is necessary to avoid plant damage and service disruption. Several machine learning techniques have been employed for the design of an effective anomaly detector in such systems. However, threats such as from insiders and state actors, introduce challenges in the design of an effective anomaly detector. This work presents a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) based anomaly detector that uses an unsupervised approach to safeguard CI from the adverse impacts of cyber-attacks.
Urbanisation is increasing in many countries, leading to the establishment of 33 megacities, representing huge water demand which is increasingly difficult to supply, exemplified by the recently avoided Day Zero event in Cape Town (2018) and the ongoing water crisis in Chennai, India. The ongoing growth of megacities could lead to the potential for further Day Zero events in countries ill-equipped to deal with such a situation. This study analyses the water supply and demand situations in 12 megacities hosting 194 million people.
Elsevier, Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 62, November 2020
Deterioration of water quality due to economic development, climate change and other factors has become a challenge to human beings and the ecosystem. Most countries have recognized this problem and have resorted to actions for improving water quality. However, the effect on water quality improvements due to these actions is uncertain due to the plausibility of multiple scenarios like climate change scenarios and socio- economic scenarios.
Elsevier, Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, Volume 22, December 2020
The reported number of cases of Acanthamoeba amebic keratitis (AK) is continually increasing. Molecular diagnosis has become the first choice of ophthalmologists for identifying and confirming this clinically problematic diagnosis. However, in-house molecular diagnostic procedures are time-consuming and may not be compatible with the urgency of the situation. In this study, a previous in-house AK-PCR technique was adapted for use on BD MAX (Becton Dickinson, Heidelberg, Germany), a fully integrated, automated platform for molecular biology, for the rapid routine diagnosis of AK.
Elsevier,
Sustainable Water Engineering, 2020, Pages 99-120
This book chapter advances SDG 3 by explaining how water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) essentially address healthy living through intelligent management of human behaviour and the production of wastes so that the environment and ecosystems are not negatively impated. This chapter describes WASH in low resource countries and the role of the engineer in enabling the approach.
Elsevier,
Biopolymer Membranes and Films, 2020, pages 359-382
This chapter advances SDG 6, 11, and 14 by providing avenues for the application of sustainable bio-based polymers in wastewater treatment and their role in removing pesticides, to support clean water, a healthy ecosystem, and sustainable consumption.
Elsevier,
Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Water and Wastewater Advanced Treatment Processes, 2020, Pages 139-176
This book chapter advances SDG 3 and 6 by presenting state-of-the-art design and use of adsorbents, membranes, and UV/oxidation processes, along with the challenges that will need to be addressed to close the gap between development and implementation in water/wastewater treatment applications.
Elsevier,
Sustainable Water Resource Development Using Coastal Reservoirs, 2020, Pages 33-59
This book chapter advances SDG 3 and 6 by exploring the feasibility/design implications for coastal reservoirs based on estimation of runoff, detailed assessment of water demand and estimation of water quality.
Elsevier,
International Encyclopedia of Public Health (Second Edition), 2017, Pages 350-360
This chapter advances SDG 6 by explaining a multidisciplinary approach to drinking water from a public health perspective and how it is important as poverty, with its associated unsanitary living conditions and lack of access to water, proper nutrition, health care, and education, is the overwhelming determinant of infection and malnutrition.
Elsevier,
International Encyclopedia of Public Health (Second Edition), 2017, Pages 148-158
This chapter advances SDG 6 by summarizing water contaminants (that have been included in current promulgated regulations) and emerging agents (that have been considered as contaminant candidates which may require further regulation), current regulations, and treatment options.
Elsevier,
Water Conservation and Wastewater Treatment in BRICS Nations, 2020, Pages 187-211
This chapter advances SDG 6 and 11 by reporting on the various laws and policy governing water supply in South Africa as well as the current state of water and wastewater infrastructure in South Africa.
Elsevier,
Drought Early Warning and Forecasting, 2020, Pages 1-21
This chapter advances SDG 6, 11, and 13 by explaining how droughts have long played a major disruptive role in history, threatening the stability of human society. Here, we briefly review the relationship between civilizations and drought, stressing the link between agriculture and drought impacts.
Elsevier,
Global Groundwater, 2021, Pages 145-162
This chapter advances SDG 6, 12, and 13 by explaining the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE Follow On (GRACE-FO) missions that have greatly benefitted the modeling and monitoring of groundwater storage changes and drought at the global scale. In this chapter, we first review environmental controls on the temporal variability of groundwater using in situ data. We then describe an approach that infuses GRACE and GRACE-FO observations into a land surface model for assessing groundwater storage changes and drought globally.
Elsevier,
Global Groundwater, 2021, Pages 347-357
This chapter advances SDG 6, 12, and 13 by examining the emergence of water sustainability aspects in recent virtual water trade (VWT) literature, highlights the recent advances and remaining issues in evaluating the water sustainability of agriculture globally, and makes recommendations for future scientific research and societal change: consider groundwater both at the local scale and at the global scale; improve our understanding of groundwater storage and dynamics with new models and data; and raise the profile of groundwater sustainability in governance frameworks to eventually end environmental damages of groundwater exploitation.
Elsevier,
Advances in Chemical Pollution, Environmental Management and Protection, Volume 6, 2020, Pages 1-31
This chapter advances SDG 6 by presenting three low-cost treatment solutions based on solar energy disinfection, phytoremediation, and a combination of biofiltration and solar energy disinfection.
Water and wastewater utilities, water and sanitation hygiene (WASH) practitioners, and regulating bodies, particularly in developing nations, rely heavily on indicator microorganisms, as opposed to pathogens, for much of their regulatory decisions. This commentary illustrates the importance of considering pathogens and not relying only on indicator organisms when making decisions regarding water and sanitation, especially with respect to meeting the current targets of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.
Elsevier, Water Research, Volume 186, 1 November 2020
Cities are wrestling with the practical challenges of transitioning urban water services to become water sensitive; capable of enhancing liveability, sustainability, resilience and productivity in the face of climate change, rapid urbanisation, degraded ecosystems and ageing infrastructure. Indicators can be valuable for guiding actions for improvement, but there is not yet an established index that measures the full suite of attributes that constitute water sensitive performance.
Reaching the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 on water and sanitation is fundamentally important and conditional to the achievement of all the other SDGs. Nonetheless, achieving this goal by 2030 is challenging, especially in the Global South. Science lies at the root of sustainable development and is a key to new solutions for addressing SDG 6. However, SDG 6-related scientific outputs are often unknown, forming disconnections between academic world and practitioners implementing solutions.
Water–Sanitation–Hygiene (WASH) remains vital for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, yet many countries have not localised the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 6, which focuses on ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Even in leading African economies such as South Africa, many communities still use the bucket system for sanitation.
Elsevier, International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, Volume 230, September 2020
Background: Access to safe sanitation and the elimination of open defecation are pre-conditions for improved child health and nutrition and wider achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While Indonesia has a solid policy framework, the country ranks third globally in terms of numbers of people practicing open defecation. Objectives: Our aim was to assess the effectiveness of a five-year strategy to reduce open defecation through accelerating implementation of the national sanitation program across districts receiving variable levels of external support.
Recent policy developments in Europe consider the importance of water ecosystems to human wellbeing and the detrimental effects that multiple pressures may have on them. Several directives and measures which culminated with the design and the implementation of the Water Framework Directive, have attempted to address the issue of sustainable water management while aligning with targets of economic development.
Elsevier, Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Volume 2, September 2020
Data in 2016 and 2017 has shown that most of Malaysia's river water quality was in Water Quality Index Class II and Class III. The implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) has restricted business activities, human movements as well as anthropogenic activities. The sudden decline in human activities has directly impacted the river water quality. Several observations conducted by reporters of local newspapers, reports released by the Department of Environment (DoE) and Ministry of Environment and Water have shown positive changes in water river quality.
As the global production of plastics continues to accelerate, the ubiquitous presence of microplastics (μPs) has emerged as a significant marine problem. To comprehend fully the potential impacts and ecological harm caused by μPs it is vital that there is an understanding of their potential sources and sinks; the processes affecting their distribution; and their uptake and exchange in ecosystems.
Elsevier, Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Volume 2, September 2020
This review goal is to reflect on the challenges and prospects for water quality in the face of the pandemic caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (COVID-19). Based on the information available so far, the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater has raised interest in using it as an early warning method, to detect the resurgence of infections and to report the risk associated with contracting SARS-CoV-2 in contact with untreated water or inadequately treated wastewater is discharged.
Water pollution is one of the serious threats in the society. More than 8 million tons of plastic are dumped in the oceans each year. In addition to that beaches are littered by tourists and residents all around the world. It is no secret that the aquatic life ecosystem is at a risk and soon the ratio of plastic/waste to the marine life particulary fish will be 1:1. Hence, in this paper, we have proposed a dataset known as AquaTrash which is based on TACO data set.
Elsevier,
Encyclopedia of Health Economics, 2014, Pages 477-482
This chapter advances SDG 6 by reviewing the evidence on health and nonhealth benefits of water and sanitation investments that are common in developing countries. It further explores evidence on valuation for these interventions and discusses the implications of the evidence on valuation for government policy to support improvements in this sector.
Elsevier,
GIS and Geostatistical Techniques for Groundwater Science, 2019, Pages 57-78
This chapter advances SDG 3 and 6 by explaining that groundwater quality is mainly affected by water-rock interactions, intensive agricultural activities, and the anthropogenic activity in the study area.
