Abstract
This study evaluated various industrial effluents’ effect on irrigation water quality and farm soil near Kombolcha town. Several industries such as brewery, steel iron, textile, and tannery have been installed near the Borkena River that crosses Kombolcha town. Representative samples of irrigation water and farm soil were collected from the upper and down part of Borkena river. The upper site was used as a control as it was not contaminated by industrial effluents. The analysis for selected parameters showed that the downstream irrigation water quality had mean concentrations of pH = 8.54, magnesium (Mg+2) = 5.27 mg/l, carbonate (CO3−2) = 1.25 mg/l, bicarbonate (HCO3−) = 9.10 mg/l, copper (Cu) = 0.21 mg/l, chromium (Cr) = 0.31 mg/l, and cadmium (Cd) = 0.03 mg/l which were above the permissible limit of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO’s) irrigation water quality standard. The mean concentrations of electric conductivity (EC) = 0.96 ds/m, sodium (Na+) = 3.35 mg/l, chloride (Cl−) = 7.67 mg/l, and total dissolved solids (TDS) = 612.98 mg/l were slightly and moderately restricted for irrigation. Moreover, the concentration of heavy metals, calcium (Ca+2) = 16.61 mg/l, iron (Fe) = 4.25 mg/l, manganese (Mn) = 0.18 mg/l, and lead (Pb) = 0.47 mg/l, was below the permissible limit of the FAO and nonrestricted. However, the mean concentration of EC, HCO3−, Cu, Cr, Cd, and TDS for downstream-irrigated farm soil samples was above the permissible limit of the FAO. The concentration of most selected parameters in downstream farm soil was also decreasing along with depth except pH, CO3−2, and HCO3-. Generally, there is a significant quality difference (at P ≤ 0.05) between the upstream and downstream irrigation water quality on the parameters of Mg+2, Cl−, Pb, and Cu.
Highlights
Water is one of the most important natural resources essential for the survival of all living things including human beings
Irrigation by effluents containing high salinity made soil secondary salinization easy and enhanced total alkalinity and sodium alkalinity sharply in the soil, causing soil hardening and soil permeability decrease [8]. e problem seems to exacerbate in the town, where farmland soil type is clay, compared to other types which state low-quality irrigation water is hazardous on clay soil [9, 10], while the same water could be used satisfactorily on the sand and/or permeable soils
Physicochemical characteristics of downstream Borkena water quality in different irrigation phases and during the dry and wet season are reported in Tables 2 and 3, respectively
Summary
Water is one of the most important natural resources essential for the survival of all living things including human beings. In many parts of Ethiopia, there is a practice to use wastewater which is disposed to wells, ponds, streams, and treatment plants as a source of irrigation water [4, 5]. Due to the rapid population growth and the uncertainty over climate change, wastewater use in the agricultural sector may face many challenges. Long-term irrigation with poor-quality water damages the balance of nature, causing ecological deterioration on farmland [6]. E problem seems to exacerbate in the town, where farmland soil type is clay, compared to other types which state low-quality irrigation water is hazardous on clay soil [9, 10], while the same water could be used satisfactorily on the sand and/or permeable soils Irrigation by effluents containing high salinity made soil secondary salinization easy and enhanced total alkalinity and sodium alkalinity sharply in the soil, causing soil hardening and soil permeability decrease [8]. e problem seems to exacerbate in the town, where farmland soil type is clay, compared to other types which state low-quality irrigation water is hazardous on clay soil [9, 10], while the same water could be used satisfactorily on the sand and/or permeable soils
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