This is a method of water and wastewater treatment for removal of pollutants in at least two-step process comprising (a) treatment of water producing at least partially treated intermediate effluent, (b) treatment of the intermediate effluent with a sacrificial metal and producing ions of said sacrificial metal, and providing very thoroughly treated effluent, (c) recuperating sacrificial metal ions generated in the step (b) and recycling the recuperated ions in the step (a), the recuperated and recycled ions from the step (c) improve treatment efficiency of step (a) by additionally removing pollutants from the intermediate effluent using recuperated ions, resulting in cleaner intermediate effluent, and, therefore, the pollutant loading rate in step (b) is reduced, intermediate effluent is further treated more thoroughly, and the demand for the sacrificial metal in step (b) is reduced. Step (a) can preferably be a biological, biological-abiotic, physical chemical, or combination of these steps. Step (b) is preferably a spontaneous cementation-driven electrochemical process. The combination of said steps (a), (b) and (c) produces a synergistic effect resulting in improved removal of said pollutants and in reduced need in said sacrificial metal. For example, a drinking quality water can be very economically and reliably obtained from wastewater. In addition to the superb treatment efficiency and reduced reagent requirements, the waste sludge from the system is beneficially disposed in-sewers, in sanitary landfills or on land.