ABSTRACT
Despite several regulations and treatment methods being applied, water pollution is a serious global problem. As about 1% of available freshwater is accessible to humans, different unregulated point and nonpoint sources are a major reason behind the deterioration of water quality, including freshwater and marine ecosystems. Discharge of effluents from chemical and pharmaceutical industries, municipal waste dumped in landfills leaching into groundwater, agricultural runoffs, oil spills, accidental release of radioactive waste from nuclear facilities and more are contaminating water sources, depleting nutrients and ultimately affecting human health, causing lethal diseases like cancer and deteriorating the whole ecosystem. Control measures taken by regulatory bodies and government agencies are not enough to curb the ever-increasing water pollution problems. New and efficient methods are needed in modern times to tackle water pollution and protect the aquatic ecosystem. Biotechnology can provide efficient as well as economical methods/technologies to treat contaminated water and restore the ecosystem. Specific microbial species can be employed to remove inorganic and organic pollutants like PAHs from contaminated water. Methods like activated sludge and upflow anaerobic sludge blanket have proven to be efficient water treatments. Further, nano-biotechnology can be applied to remove toxic heavy metals from contaminated water to make it fit for drinking. These technologies have the potential to be scaled up for field-scale applications, thus opening up new channels in wastewater treatment.
