Wastewater reuse in agriculture: Prospects and challenges

Al‐Hazmi, Hussein E.; Mohammadi, Ali; Hejna, Aleksander; Majtacz, Joanna; Esmaeili, Amin; Habibzadeh, Sajjad; Saeb, Mohammad Reza; Badawi, Michaël; Lima, Éder C.; Mąkinia, Jacek

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.116711

Cited by 87 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 263 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Indeed, the lack of good territorial and crop-tailored regulations is a major driver of the increase in soil and crop damage. With the aim of maximizing the availability of water for farmers, policy makers and local actors have to consider not only natural boundaries and water quality [40], but also economic factors, such as infrastructure costs and the determination of water prices [41]. The provision of high-quality water provided by so-called direct reuse may result in higher prices, which can be unsustainable for farmers, especially those that cultivate low value-added crops.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Irrigation Water Requirements Affect Crops’ Economic Values?

Scatolini,

Vaquero-Piñeiro,

Cavazza

et al. 2023

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The irrigation water requirements of different crops are becoming a pivotal driver for the governance strategies of water allocation and management. This paper estimates the impact of irrigation water requirements on economic value in terms of the yields and gross saleable production of 13 different crops cultivated in the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy) over the 2010–2020 period by exploiting a generalized propensity score matching approach. Results show that the overall irrigation water requirements affect crops’ economic value. There is a causal effect of water irrigation on economic value: positive only for high levels of water irrigation in the case of yields, while it reverses and assumes a concave shape for gross saleable production. However, the effect is mediated by the irrigation water requirements of different crops. In water scarcity conditions, the allocation of water to arboreal crops, given the effect of water irrigation on gross saleable production, is also positive for small quantities of water. This paper can help guide the design of more sustainable water management strategies and agricultural development policies to face climate change.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Irrigation Water Requirements Affect Crops’ Economic Values?

Scatolini,

Vaquero-Piñeiro,

Cavazza

et al. 2023

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This makes it more compacted. Therefore, monitoring the quality of TSE is important to ensure that it meets appropriate standards for use in agriculture, does not compromise soil quality, and does not represent a risk to human health and to the environment [97][98][99].…”

Section: Tse and Srw Can Be Used To Irrigate Sugarcane Without Affect...mentioning

confidence: 99%

How Does Irrigation with Wastewater Affect the Physical Soil Properties and the Root Growth of Sugarcane under Subsurface Drip?

Lopes Sobrinho,

Santos,

Teixeira

et al. 2024

Agronomy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Studies on the development of the root system can provide important information about responses to different management strategies, such as the use of lower quality water, also evaluating the interaction between plants and the physical properties of the soil. This study tested the hypothesis that irrigation with treated sewage effluent (TSE) supplies the water needs of sugarcane plants, increasing root growth and improving the physical properties of the soil. We evaluated the effects of subsurface dripping with TSE or surface reservoir water (SRW) on the root development of first ratoon cane (Saccharum officinarum L.) and the physical properties of dystrophic red latosol. Irrigation treatments were applied at 20 and 40 cm and soil properties were evaluated at soil depth layers of 0–20, 20–40, 40–60, and 60–80 cm. We verified that under irrigation with TSE and SRW, shallower soil layers present better porosity, soil aggregation, and aggregate stability conditions, parameters that improve the root system development and plant growth. On the other hand, deeper soil layers have lower macroporosity and higher total clay volume, indicating the possibility of compaction and greater limitations for sugarcane root growth. These results are important for understanding soil quality and provide significant information for agricultural management and for the implementation of sustainable soil conservation practices. This study shows the efficiency of TSE as an alternative water source for sugarcane crops.

show abstract

“…Organic contaminants are increasingly reported in sludges, manures, and wastewater which are then released into the environment following application to land. , Although select compounds can be degraded or volatilized in soils, chemicals with high molecular weight can persist such as polychlorinated naphthalenes and perfluorinated surfactants and potentially affect soil microbial community and function . Comparatively, emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals have relatively short half-lives but their continual release, resulting in pseudopersistence, and their retained biological potency presents a risk to soil and plant health at environmentally relevant concentrations .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitigating Contaminant-Driven Risks for the Safe Expansion of the Agricultural─Sanitation Circular Economy in an Urbanizing World

Carter,

Dennis,

Allen

et al. 2024

ACS EST Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The widespread adoption of an agricultural circular economy requires the recovery of resources such as water, organic matter, and nutrients from livestock manure and sanitation. While this approach offers many benefits, we argue this is not without potential risks to human and environmental health that largely stem from the presence of contaminants in the recycled resources (e.g., pharmaceuticals, pathogens). We discuss context specific challenges and solutions across the three themes: (1) contaminant monitoring; (2) collection transport and treatment; and (3) regulation and policy. We advocate for the redesign of sanitary and agricultural management practices to enable safe resource reuse in a proportionate and effective way. In populous urban regions with access to sanitation provision, processes can be optimized using emergent technologies to maximize removal of contaminant from excreta prior to reuse. Comparatively, in regions with limited existing capacity for conveyance of excreta to centralized treatment facilities, we suggest efforts should focus on creation of collection facilities (e.g., pit latrines) and decentralized treatment options such as composting systems. Overall, circular economy approaches to sanitation and resource management offer a potential solution to a pressing challenge; however, to ensure this is done in a safe manner, contaminant risks must be mitigated.

show abstract

Wastewater reuse in agriculture: Prospects and challenges

Cited by 87 publications

References 263 publications

Do Irrigation Water Requirements Affect Crops’ Economic Values?

Do Irrigation Water Requirements Affect Crops’ Economic Values?

How Does Irrigation with Wastewater Affect the Physical Soil Properties and the Root Growth of Sugarcane under Subsurface Drip?

Mitigating Contaminant-Driven Risks for the Safe Expansion of the Agricultural─Sanitation Circular Economy in an Urbanizing World

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About