Work

An innovative risk assessment framework for water reuse: The case study of Corleone (Italy)

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Water reuse practices still need to be consistently implemented across Europe and globally, primarily due to insufficient social trust and the complexities of governance surrounding water reuse techniques. Additionally, the need for uniformity in water reuse regulations is a significant factor. To address these challenges, the European Parliament recently published Regulation 2020/741, which establishes minimum requirements for water reuse to standardise legal obligations for reclaimed wastewater. This Regulation also mandates the development of Water Reuse Risk Management Plans (WRRMPs) for all Union reclamation facilities. In view of simplifying the risks (both environmental and health) management, this manuscript has the novelty of proposing a new framework based on a semi-quantitative approach. The new framework allows for assessing health and environmental risks according to the EU Regulation 2020/741. The proposed framework, for the first time, connects the severity of risk with water quality. The framework was applied to the case study of Corleone (Sicily, Italy), which considered Class A water according to 2020/741/EU. The obtained results using the proposed framework are very encouraging regarding the future agricultural reuse of water. Indeed, the health risk score and environmental risk score were equal to 4 and 2, respectively, corresponding to low risk. This result aligns with the water quality of ultrafiltration Corleone's plant, which can be classified as Class A/Class B according to 2020/741/EU. • A method for assessing health and environmental risk of water reuse was proposed. • The method was applied to Corleone (Italy) ultrafiltration plant. • Corleone (Italy) ultrafiltration plant was monitored for two months. • For BOD 5 water was classified as Class B according to 2020/741/EU regulation. • E.coli , total suspended solids and turbidity respected Class A quality of 2020/741/EU.

Source: Journal of Environmental Management

DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.125090

Authors: Marika Carnesi, Alida Cosenza, Davide Calantoni, Mario Ferrante, Giorgio Mannina

Institution: University of Palermo

Language: English

Topic: Wastewater Treatment and Reuse

Subfield: Waste Management and Disposal

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Clean water and sanitation, Responsible consumption and production, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,750