IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/operea/v25y2025i3d10.1007_s12351-025-00937-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Treated wastewater reuse practices, under a holistic approach at the city scale

Author

Listed:
  • Sotirios M. Michalopoulos

    (Hellenic Open University)

  • Ioannis K. Kalavrouziotis

    (Hellenic Open University)

Abstract

This study examines the sustainable incorporation of treated wastewater into urban water management frameworks, tackling the severe issues of water scarcity in cities that are intensified by rapid urban growth and climate change. The research aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), promoting a comprehensive strategy to guarantee universal access to clean water and sanitation. Through a cohesive management framework, the study presents Priority Objectives (PO) such as improving governance structures, creating green infrastructure, and promoting digitalization in urban environments. These objectives are backed by practical Optimization Objectives (OO) that transform strategic plans into actionable solutions aimed at strengthening urban water resilience. The analysis reveals that the integration of treated wastewater can greatly diminish the need for freshwater, enhance urban resilience and diversify water supply systems. The study underscores the essential role of sophisticated treatment technologies, including membrane bioreactors, reverse osmosis, and advanced oxidation processes, while also highlighting the necessity for adaptive policies that can support and encourage the widespread implementation of these systems. The study also emphasize on the necessity of Operations Research and Management Science (OR/MS) methodologies, like multi-objective optimization, system dynamics modeling and structured decision analysis, to enhance strategic decision-making. These quantitative approaches could enable robust scenario planning, effective resource allocation, and comprehensive performance assessment in urban wastewater reuse systems. Moreover, the core requirements for a suggested pilot action aimed at achieving over 90% efficiency in treated wastewater reuse, is presented. This pilot illustrates the significant potential for improving water resource management, showing how such solutions can be crucial in enhancing urban water security and sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Sotirios M. Michalopoulos & Ioannis K. Kalavrouziotis, 2025. "Treated wastewater reuse practices, under a holistic approach at the city scale," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 1-22, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:operea:v:25:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s12351-025-00937-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s12351-025-00937-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12351-025-00937-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12351-025-00937-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:operea:v:25:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s12351-025-00937-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.