Decentralization, New Approach to Wastewater Infrastructure Management

Decentralizing wastewater management is the best solution to address our present challenges—rapid population growth and urbanisation, water resource scarcity, climate change, and the expansion of the Internet—by using advances in technology and knowledge.  

Lebanese-based tech company Mrüna won the Global Infrastructure Hub’s global innovation competition award for its decentralised nature-based wastewater treatment system, BiomWeb.

BiomWeb is a solution to scale down the massive cost and resources needed to build a centralised sewer network comprising pumping stations, concrete sewer lines, precast utility holes, and an army of engineers and builders to get the job done.

This is not to mention the amount of fuel and staff hours spent transporting wastewater to treatment facilities and bringing back treated water for irrigation purposes.

Countries like Lebanon face untreated wastewater problems due to inadequate wastewater treatment capabilities and informal settlements overwhelming nearby treatment facilities. Sometimes, wastewater is dumped into their rivers and waterways, polluting ecosystems and causing health problems.

Governments and institutions worldwide spend massive amounts on wastewater infrastructure, but despite this, 90% of wastewater goes untreated. The article says it’s about time to implement a new way of addressing wastewater problems and water scarcity.

“BiomWeb offers a platform to implement a paradigm shift that addresses the design, construction, and operational requirements needed to implement a decentralized and resilient sanitation infrastructure strategy.

This solution promotes a formidable alliance among nature, IoT, and SMEs that will disrupt centralized sanitation utilities like solar and smart-grids have done to energy utilities.”

New challenges, such as climate change, rapid population growth, and urbanization, can strain and stretch our resources and require unique solutions.

BioWeb is an innovative approach that mimics how nature treats and recycles wastewater for irrigation purposes and alleviates water scarcity.

What makes it unique, aside from its decentralized nature, is that it harnesses the power of technology and the Internet, modernizing the system and making it easy for owners to monitor and control it remotely.

Lastly, because it is nature-based, the principles of sustainability are applied, which is essential as we adapt to climate change.

Watch the video below to see how BiomWeb works.