The main goal of DSWAP is to develop modular cost- and energy-efficient wastewater treatment systems specifically designed for wastewater reuse in the context of crops irrigation that safeguard public health, environmental and soil quality and long-term agronomic sustainability. This goal encompasses five specific objectives:

Objective I

Optimization and evaluation of energy-efficient secondary treatment modules specifically designed for integration to decentralized wastewater reuse systems.

Objective II

Development and evaluation of novel advanced treatment (tertiary) modules for integration into decentralized wastewater reuse systems for reduction of microbial pathogens, mobile genetic elements (MGEs), antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and contaminants of emerging concern (CECs).

Objective III

Development and evaluation of modules for reduction of effluent salinity to prevent soil salinization, which under certain conditions cause deterioration of soil quality and crop decline overtime.

Objective IV

Evaluation of the individual performances of different integrated modular configurations (using the modules described above) that meet the needs and criteria of specific stakeholders based on local infrastructure, geography, influent load, installation and energy costs and maintenance availability.

Objective V

Development and application of decision support tools that integrate and evaluate data generated by a myriad of state-of-the-art diagnostic tools for holistic evaluation of microbial, chemical, phyto-toxicological and ecosystem functioning-associated parameters in effluents and in corresponding irrigated soils.