The Department of Microbiology of Quaid-i-Azam University on Friday organised a seminar “waste water treatment and its reuse” in collaboration with the George Washington University, Washington DC, with an aim to create awareness about the efficient methods for the treatment of sewage and share the experiences of foreign expert and local scientists in the field of waste water treatment.
While addressing the inaugural session, Prof Dr Masoom Yasinzai said that water shortages and access to safe drinking water in developing countries has become serious issue and unfortunately Pakistan is not an exception.
He said according to a World Bank report, Pakistan is among 17 countries that may face severe water shortages by 2025. Per capita water availability has dropped dramatically over the past 60 years and could fall to less than 1000 cubic meters by 2012. Reuse of wastewater following proper treatment would be one option for reducing the water shortage.
“Quaid-i-Azam University has best productive scientists, scholars and students, but at the same time we also have a responsibility. We must realise that all our research must be targeted, providing solutions to our indigenous problems”, he added. He urged the young scientists to go in to the society, identify the problems and solve them. He also appreciated the organisers of the seminar for such an important issue.
Department of Microbiology Chairperson Prof Dr Safia Ahmed in her detailed presentation briefed the audience about the Pak–US Project “small scale sewage treatment and wastewater reuse system for Pakistan. The objective of the project is to develop an efficient method for the treatment of sewage and reuse of wastewater and biosolids.
Dr Safia said her group at the varsity has spent the past months conducting investigations on the three different wastewater treatment systems regarding evaluating and optimizing additional parameters, techniques and experimental setups. She said initial lab-scale studies had proved that constructed wetlands, dual digestion system and trickling filter system technologies can treat domestic wastewater to such an extent that it can be used for irrigational purposes.“Although results from the experiments were promising, further improvement needs to be made to make these treatment strategies perform efficiently at experimental sites selected for the treatment of domestic wastewater at Quaid-i-Azam University” she added.
Researchers at the Department of Microbiology have spent the past one year conducting lab-scale trickling filter, constructed wetland, and dual digestion system experiments to determine the efficiency of various means of wastewater treatment and pathogen removal.
Pakistan may face severe water shortage by 2025
