The EU-funded R&D project DEMEAU addresses the fate of emerging pollutants in water and waste water treatment, e.g. Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR). For MAR the objectives are to mobilize existing experience from different European study sites and to develop a systematic approach for the authorization of new recharge schemes in compliance with the European water and groundwater directives. The activities will cover the issue of infiltrating and injecting treated wastewater as well as developing guidance on optimum design and operation of infiltration facilities. In order to demonstrate the effects of typical existing European MAR systems onto groundwater availability and groundwater quality with specific focus on trace organics, a comprehensive relational database (catalogue) on European MAR systems was created to ensure efficient management of available data. By means of the built-in user forms, queries, and reports, database users are enabled to not only view and enter records but also to quickly process the data to extract needed information. In total, 59 different parameters were selected in order to describe about 270 documented MAR sites in 23 countries in Europe. These parameters were then divided up into four main groups (general information, technical data, hydrogeological parameters and monitoring activities) plus references. The database was created using standard software (MS ACCESS) and references were managed by open source software (JABREF). The compiled data on European MAR sites was taken from a variety of different source types, including scientific articles, books, PhD, diploma and master's theses, presentations, technical documents, reports from previous national and EU research projects, personal communication with specialists, operators and water authorities, community and operator websites, newspaper articles, and Google Earth (for geographic coordinates to create overview maps). On the basis of this database a classification system for the MAR sites found in Europe will be developed that can be used for deriving site-specific pre-requisites and design criteria as guidance for the authorization of for new sites.

Chennai is the largest city in South India located in the eastern coastal plains. Water supply to the Chennai city is met by reservoirs and by groundwater. Most of the groundwater is pumped to the city from the well fields located in the Araniyar and Korttalaiyar River (A-K River) catchment north of Chennai.

The EU-funded R&D project DEMEAU addresses the fate of emerging pollutants in water and waste water treatment, e.g. Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR). For MAR the objectives are to mobilize existing experience from different European study sites and to develop a systematic approach for the authorization of new recharge schemes in compliance with the European water and groundwater directives. The activities will cover the issue of infiltrating and injecting treated wastewater as well as developing guidance on optimum design and operation of infiltration facilities. In order to demonstrate the effects of typical existing European MAR systems onto groundwater availability and groundwater quality with specific focus on trace organics, a comprehensive relational database (catalogue) on European MAR systems was created to ensure efficient management of available data. By means of the built-in user forms, queries, and reports, database users are enabled to not only view and enter records but also to quickly process the data to extract needed information. In total, 59 different parameters were selected in order to describe about 270 documented MAR sites in 23 countries in Europe. These parameters were then divided up into four main groups (general information, technical data, hydrogeological parameters and monitoring activities) plus references. The database was created using standard software (MS ACCESS) and references were managed by open source software (JABREF). The compiled data on European MAR sites was taken from a variety of different source types, including scientific articles, books, PhD, diploma and master's theses, presentations, technical documents, reports from previous national and EU research projects, personal communication with specialists, operators and water authorities, community and operator websites, newspaper articles, and Google Earth (for geographic coordinates to create overview maps). On the basis of this database a classification system for the MAR sites found in Europe will be developed that can be used for deriving site-specific pre-requisites and design criteria as guidance for the authorization of for new sites.

Groundwater exploitation in India has increased rapidly over the last 50 years as reflected by the growth of the number of groundwater abstraction structures (from 3.9 million in 1951 to 18.5 million in 1990) and shallow tube wells (from 3000 in 1951 to 8.5 million in 1990) (Muralidharan, 1998; Singh & Singh, 2002).Today groundwater is the source for more than 85 % of India’s rural domestic water requirements, 50 % of urban water and more than 50 % of irrigation demand. The increase in demand in the last 50 years has led to declining water tables in many parts of the country. For example, 15% of the assessment units (Blocks/Mandals/Talukas) have groundwater extraction in excess of the net annual recharge (Central Ground Water Board, 2007). According to Rodell et al. (2009), the extent of groundwater depletion between 2002 and 2008 was 109 km3, which is about half the capacity of India’s total surface-water reservoirs.

Chennai is the largest city in South India located in the eastern coastal plains. Water supply to the Chennai city is met by reservoirs and by groundwater. Most of the groundwater is pumped to the city from the well fields located in the Araniyar and Korttalaiyar River (A-K River) catchment north of Chennai.

Zum Klärwerk Berlin-Münchehofe, in dem Phosphor mittels chemischer Fällung entfernt wird und zum Klärwerk Berlin-Waßmannsdorf, in dem eine Bio-P-Elimination eingesetzt wird, wurden eine vergleichende Ökobilanz und ein Wirtschaftlichkeitsvergleich durchgeführt. In die Untersuchung einbezogen wurde die Phosphorrückgewinnung mit dem MAP-Verfahren, die im Klärwerk Waßmannsdorf zur Anwendung kommt. Ziel der Arbeit ist es, anhand der Referenzsysteme das aus ökologischer und ökonomischer Sicht vorzuziehende Verfahren der Phosphorentfernung zu bestimmen. Es wurde eine statische Modellierung der einzelnen Prozesse der betrachteten Klärwerke anhand einer großen Datengrundlage durchgeführt. In der Wirkungsabschätzung wurden für verschiedene Wirkungskategorien wie Treibhauspotential oder Eutrophierungspotential die negativen Auswirkungen der Klärwerke auf die Umwelt ermittelt. Außerdem wurden Investitions- und Betriebskosten der Klärwerke ermittelt und gegenübergestellt. Es zeigt sich, dass das Bio-P-Verfahren in Kombination mit der MAP-Rückgewinnung geringere negative Umweltwirkungen verursacht als das Verfahren der chemischen P-Fällung mit der Herstellung konventionellen Mineraldüngers. Es ist für die Umwelt das verträglichere Verfahren. Die Investitionskosten des KW Waßmannsdorf sind höher als die des KW Münchehofe. Die Betriebskosten sind vergleichbar.

Risk-based management approaches are more and more used in the water sector and are promoted by the WHO. As a first step towards an overall risk-based management approach of the agricultural wastewater reuse concept of Braunschweig this thesis conducts quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) and quantitative chemical risk assessment (QCRA) of heavy metals. Scenarios for microbial risks are conducted for fieldworkers, nearby residents and children ingesting soil using a 1000 trial Monte Carlo Simulation. As a tolerable value of risk an additional disease burden of 1 µDALY is set following the current WHO guidelines. For heavy metals impacts on the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems as well as on human health are assessed using the methods outlined in the European Union Technical Guidance Document on Risk Assessment (TGD). Concerning microbial risks risk-based targets are set in terms of additional required pathogen reduction in the STP Steinhof. Based on the model results an additional reduction of 1.5log units is derived for viruses, for which the highest annual risks of infection per person per year (pppy) is calculated in all scenarios. Concerning heavy metals the model indicates an increasing tendency of soil concentrations over time and identifies Cd as the only metal which is currently of concern. Risk reduction measures should be considered for this metal. Recommendations are given concerning necessary validation and additional monitoring for eliminating uncertainties within the model.