Zero nutrient discharge and total reuse of nutrients

The overall objectives of this project is to develop a planning and design tool for implementation of sanitation systems with zero nutrient discharge to coastal environment by reuse of treated domestic waste(water) and other potentially available and re-utilizable waste (mainly from tourism and food production activities) in agriculture and aquaculture under consideration of future development possibilities of Caribbean Islands. The island of St. Eustatius will serve as a case study to develop, apply and validate this tool. Due to its small size St. Eustatius is well suited for this task.

Sub-objectives:

• To assess the current practice of wastewater and waste management, agriculture and aquaculture on St. Eustatius and to identify future development trends.
• To analyse and design possible development scenarios for St. Eustatius and to assess their effect in terms of improving the nutrient-water management and agricultural/aquacultural practice
• To quantify the nutrient flows within and to and from the island, including nutrient losses to the marine environment through erosion and run-off.
• To recommend the optimal mix of nutrient, energy and water recovery technologies in combination with agricultural/aquacultural practices, ensuring sustainability, self-sufficiency and protection of (aquatic) ecosystems.