Leveraging the water-environment-health nexus to characterize sustainable water purification solutions
Abstract Chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) pose critical threats to both public health and the environment, emphasizing the urgent need for effective water treatment measures. Yet, the implementation of such intervention technologies often results in increased energy consumption and adverse envir...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56656-6 |
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| author | Yu-Li Luo Yi-Rong Pan Xu Wang Zhao-Yue Wang Glen Daigger Jia-Xin Ma Lin-Hui Tang Junxin Liu Nan-Qi Ren David Butler |
| author_facet | Yu-Li Luo Yi-Rong Pan Xu Wang Zhao-Yue Wang Glen Daigger Jia-Xin Ma Lin-Hui Tang Junxin Liu Nan-Qi Ren David Butler |
| author_sort | Yu-Li Luo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) pose critical threats to both public health and the environment, emphasizing the urgent need for effective water treatment measures. Yet, the implementation of such intervention technologies often results in increased energy consumption and adverse environmental consequences. Here, we employ a comprehensive methodology that integrates multiple datasets, assumptions, and calculations to assess the human health and environmental implications of removing various CECs from source water. Our analysis of two treatment alternatives reveals that the integration of riverbank filtration with reverse osmosis offers a promising solution, yielding healthier and more environmentally favorable outcomes than conventional sequential technologies. By incorporating context-specific practices, such as utilizing renewable energy sources and clean energy technologies, we can mitigate the adverse impacts associated with energy-intensive water treatment services. This research advances our understanding of the water-health-environment nexus and proposes strategies to align drinking water provision with public health and environmental sustainability objectives. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d2aef9aab330490fa1a2ab3be1da1cc7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-d2aef9aab330490fa1a2ab3be1da1cc72025-02-02T12:33:14ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-02-0116111410.1038/s41467-025-56656-6Leveraging the water-environment-health nexus to characterize sustainable water purification solutionsYu-Li Luo0Yi-Rong Pan1Xu Wang2Zhao-Yue Wang3Glen Daigger4Jia-Xin Ma5Lin-Hui Tang6Junxin Liu7Nan-Qi Ren8David Butler9State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, ShenzhenResearch Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, ShenzhenState Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, ShenzhenDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of MichiganResearch Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, ShenzhenResearch Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, ShenzhenCentre for Water Systems, University of ExeterAbstract Chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) pose critical threats to both public health and the environment, emphasizing the urgent need for effective water treatment measures. Yet, the implementation of such intervention technologies often results in increased energy consumption and adverse environmental consequences. Here, we employ a comprehensive methodology that integrates multiple datasets, assumptions, and calculations to assess the human health and environmental implications of removing various CECs from source water. Our analysis of two treatment alternatives reveals that the integration of riverbank filtration with reverse osmosis offers a promising solution, yielding healthier and more environmentally favorable outcomes than conventional sequential technologies. By incorporating context-specific practices, such as utilizing renewable energy sources and clean energy technologies, we can mitigate the adverse impacts associated with energy-intensive water treatment services. This research advances our understanding of the water-health-environment nexus and proposes strategies to align drinking water provision with public health and environmental sustainability objectives.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56656-6 |
| spellingShingle | Yu-Li Luo Yi-Rong Pan Xu Wang Zhao-Yue Wang Glen Daigger Jia-Xin Ma Lin-Hui Tang Junxin Liu Nan-Qi Ren David Butler Leveraging the water-environment-health nexus to characterize sustainable water purification solutions Nature Communications |
| title | Leveraging the water-environment-health nexus to characterize sustainable water purification solutions |
| title_full | Leveraging the water-environment-health nexus to characterize sustainable water purification solutions |
| title_fullStr | Leveraging the water-environment-health nexus to characterize sustainable water purification solutions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Leveraging the water-environment-health nexus to characterize sustainable water purification solutions |
| title_short | Leveraging the water-environment-health nexus to characterize sustainable water purification solutions |
| title_sort | leveraging the water environment health nexus to characterize sustainable water purification solutions |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56656-6 |
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