Sustainable innovative drinking water treatment solutions for large-scale water supply and reuse (SIDWater)

Research Project, 2022 – 2026

SIDWater is devoted to ensuring the sustainability of municipal drinking water supplies by developing new innovative treatment processes for removing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), dissolved organic matter (DOM) and other contaminants. The Swedish Food Agency recently proposed a new limit of 4 ng/L for four PFAS (∑ PFAS) in drinking water. Based on a 2021 SLV survey, over 2 million Swedish consumers receive water exceeding 4 ng/L ∑ PFAS. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop sustainable innovative drinking water treatment solutions for large-scale water supply and reuse. SIDWater aims to ensure the sustainability of municipal drinking water supplies by developing new innovative treatment processes and removing PFAS to stop the perpetual cycle of “treat and release” of contaminants back into the environment. Our specific objectives are to i) evaluate alternative innovative pretreatment processes, ii) assess innovative treatment trains to meet new strict drinking water regulations, iii) use alternative methods to treat contaminated process water for safe release or reuse, iv) evaluate the sustainability of the developed solutions using environmental life cycle assessment and costing, and v) disseminate results to the water industry, regulators and drinking water stakeholders. We have developed this project with stakeholders to provide a holistic, innovative treatment solution for drinking water by protecting drinking water quality, supply and reuse.