Wastewater and its Management – A Review

Water shortages affect over 81 countries worldwide. Also, about 2.2 million persons lack direct access to reliable sources of water, this is according to 2017 annual report by World Health Organization (WHO) & United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Data on wastewater has shown that about 2 million tons of wastewater is discharged into the world's waterways, with an approximation of 1.8 million children under five years dying and suffering annually from diseases which are water related. It is to be noted therefore, that the immense quantity of generated wastewater, if not adequately and appropriately treated or managed, will become a source for chronic diseases with long-term effects such as typhoid, cholera, stomach ulcer, tumours, cancer, Alzheimer’s, psychological disorders, hypersensitive reactions, degenerative heart disease, immune system diseases, etc. This review therefore exposes the attempts to improve on water treatment. The sources of water pollution, use of adsorbents for wastewater management and the various types of adsorbents available for use have been discussed in this review. Particularly, the place of some selected agro-waste types as adsorbents has been discussed. It is believed that the application of these agrowaste as adsorbents will boost greatly wastewater management if widely accepted.