Over the last decades, wastewater infrastructures have been under constant, increasing pressure. The growing demand for water coupled with the augmented number of anthropogenic activities has increased the global production of wastewater, resulting in the need for building new and upgrading the existing infrastructures, especially in developing countries. However, the limited availability of financial resources undermines this process, with huge amounts of wastewater, on average 80% worldwide, being released in the environment without adequate treatment, or in many cases, without treatment at all. This trend negatively impacts the environment, with enormous quantities of dangerous pollutants entering our rivers, lakes, and oceans, and heavy repercussions on human health too, especially for poor communities. The development and upgrading of wastewater infrastructures are also key to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 6.3, which targets to halve the proportion of untreated wastewater released in the environment by 2030.
Investing in sustainable wastewater infrastructures is not only ecologically, but also economically necessary: the cost of not investing and the impact this might have on job creation, gender equality, and health is far higher than the investments’ costs. When appropriately managed, wastewater can, in fact create green job opportunities, improve food security, provide energy and alleviate the existing pressure on water resources.