Aerial view of wastewater treatment lagoons, illustrating biological treatment processes used to reduce pollution before water is returned to the environment (Image: Cortec)
The safety of drinking water and sanitation systems remains closely linked to public health outcomes. While some countries maintain high standards of water and sanitation services, approximately forty percent of countries recorded an Environmental Performance Index score below fifty out of one hundred, indicating persistent challenges in water quality and environmental management.
Untreated or inadequately treated wastewater continues to pose risks to surface water bodies such as rivers and lakes that serve as sources of drinking water. In addition, temporary or remote settings, including military installations, mining operations and humanitarian camps, often rely on wastewater reclamation systems to support on-site populations, increasing the importance of effective treatment performance.
Biological wastewater treatment processes depend on the activity of microorganisms that convert organic and nutrient pollutants into stable end products, including carbon dioxide, nitrogen gas, water and biomass. Treatment efficiency is influenced by factors such as retention time, oxygen availability and system design. Operational issues including high biochemical oxygen demand loads, foaming, sludge accumulation or slow start-up can indicate that existing microbial populations are insufficient to manage incoming loads.
Bioaugmentation refers to the introduction of selected microorganisms to supplement existing biological communities in treatment systems. It is applied in situations where natural microbial populations require support to restore or stabilise treatment performance. Different microbial formulations are used depending on operational conditions, system scale and the specific pollutants present.
In new or rapidly deployed wastewater systems, bioaugmentation has been used to accelerate biological start-up by establishing microbial activity more quickly. In existing systems, it has been applied to address issues such as excess sludge accumulation or elevated ammonia concentrations. These applications aim to improve treatment stability rather than replace conventional process design and operation.
Improving wastewater treatment performance supports broader efforts to protect receiving water bodies and improve downstream drinking water quality. As countries work towards water and sanitation targets for 2026 and beyond, bioaugmentation is one of several tools being considered to support biological treatment processes, particularly in resource-constrained or operationally challenging environments.
