Abstract
Abstract Globally, wastewater is a vital resource and requires appropriate treatment management strategies. Wastewater has become a major source of irrigation in the peri-urban areas of developing nations. With the increasing amount of wastewater generation, there are several complications in using treatment systems in terms of installation, operation and maintenance, and size in developing countries. Recently, natural treatment systems are gaining popularity due to less cost and maintenance and have been preferred in peri-urban settings. In this study, the working efficiency of the natural systems was assessed from case studies from Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, India. The nutrient (Phosphorous and Nitrogen content) and organic matter removal efficiency of four natural treatment systems (NTS) having different operation, maintenance and loading rates were investigated. The study showed that natural treatment systems have good potential for peri-urban wastewater treatment. It was also observed that waste-stabilization based systems perform better than those based on duckweed and hyacinth plants. Regularly maintained and operated systems show removal efficiency on the order of 80% for organic and nutrients and performed better than others. The study indicates that decentralized, adequately maintained Waste Stabilization Ponds (WSP) offer a viable, self-sustaining and eco-friendly alternative for wastewater treatment to supply irrigation water in rural areas.
Highlights
The water supply-demand is increasing globally, and as a result, wastewater generation has been proportionately increasing in the last few decades
This study aims to study the efficacy of these natural treatment systems in the real world and the factors affecting their working efficiency
It is evident from the figures that for natural treatment systems (NTS)-1, NTS-2 and NTS-4 (Figure 2), there are no significant changes in the surface area
Summary
The water supply-demand is increasing globally, and as a result, wastewater generation has been proportionately increasing in the last few decades. Much untreated wastewater is used for agriculture in India’s peri-urban and rural areas (Raschid-Sally & Jayakody 2009; Qadir et al 2010; Sonkamble et al 2018). Studies like those of Amarasinghe et al (2009), Li et al (2017) and Ensink & Van Der Hoek (2009) have shown the impact of sewage disposal on ecosystem water quality and aquatic life. Long-term sewage application for irrigation reduces soil quality and results in groundwater contamination and health hazards
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