Accumulation of Cr, Pb, Cu, Ni, Zn and Cd in soil following irrigation with treated urban effluent in Australia

Abstract

The effect of irrigation with secondary treated municipal effluent on the accumulation of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) was investigated by monitoring sites that had been irrigated with effluent for 4 and 17 years. At Wodonga, seven tree species were sprinkler irrigated with effluent at an average application rate of 1347 mm per annum from 1980 to 1984. The other site at Canberra was a large grass playing field (9 ha), half of which had been effluent irrigated since 1977. The non-effluent irrigated area served as the control area and provided reference ‘background’ concentration to assess the extent of contamination due to 17 years of effluent irrigation. Archived soil samples collected before the commencement of effluent irrigation were compared with those taken in 1984 at Wodonga to assess the extent of contamination. The concentration of labile metals was determined by extraction with EDTA because this method provides a quantitative measure of bioavailable metals. Irrigation with effluent did not increase the EDTA-extractable metals concentration at either site. Furthermore, the EDTA-extractable metal values were within the natural ‘back-ground’ range reported for Australian soils. These data suggest that it may take between 50 and 100 years for heavy metal levels (mainly Cd) in effluent-irrigated soil to reach the currently proposed threshold values for environmental concern. The potentially harmful effects of long-term accumulation of heavy metals on plant growth cannot be ignored and could affect the sustainability of land-based disposal of effluent.