Agricultural Reuse of Wastewater and Global Water Management

Abstract

Agricultural reuse of wastewater has to be integrated into comprehensive land and water management plans taking into account water supply, wastewater collection, reclamation, and reuse. It may be incorporated, as a land treatment system, to the treatment cycle and considered as the nutrient recycling part of the loop. However, the water used for irrigation purposes has to meet the public health and agronomic quality requirements. Therefore, the treatment objectives and standards need to be clearly defined. This leads to reconsidering the treatment approach, the required treatment levels and processes, and the indicators that should be taken into account. A common approach to wastewater treatment and agricultural reuse has to be developed in order to define a reclaimed water quality that would be safe for each intended end use of the effluent, and acceptable in economic terms as well as the quality of the products coming from these wastewater reuse operations. Among the challenges that agricultural reuse operations have to overcome, planning and management are still major ones the require careful attention.