Risk analysis of wastewater reuse in agriculture

Jacques Ganoulis

doi:10.1186/2251-7715-1-3

Abstract

Two of the main concerns for wastewater reuse in agricultural irrigation are environmental and human security. Different research studies and practices have been developed recently in order to quantify the risk of possible environmental contamination of surface and groundwater resources as well as the risk to public health from enteric viruses. Other, far from negligible, related issues are largely of a socio-economic and technical character. For example, the social acceptance, especially by farmers, of wastewater reclamation and reuse in agriculture is influenced by specific local cultural, religious and socio-economic conditions. Economic and technical factors should also be taken into consideration, such as the water and wastewater treatment costs, the cost of maintenance, the employment of rural labour, the structure of irrigation networks and crop patterns. In this paper, the concept of sustainability in wastewater reclamation and reuse is formulated by using a general risk analysis framework and by taking into account all the above factors. The paper suggests a methodology for sustainable wastewater reuse in agriculture by considering not only technical and economic factors, but also environmental and social risks. Alternative strategies based on different treatment and irrigation technologies are evaluated using the multicriteria decision analysis technique. The methodology is illustrated in a case study of wastewater reclamation and agricultural reuse in the city of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece.

Highlights

In wastewater reclamation and reuse, the advanced treatment of municipal wastewater has been largely accepted as sufficient in order to satisfy public health and environmental concerns
Risk analysis is an integrated framework for wastewater reclamation and reuse consisting of risk assessment, and risk management
The main advantage of this approach is the combination with a MCDA methodology, in order to take into account different criteria of wastewater reuse

Summary

Background

In wastewater reclamation and reuse, the advanced treatment of municipal wastewater has been largely accepted as sufficient in order to satisfy public health and environmental concerns. (1) Collection of existing data Data concerning wastewater reuse and the behaviour of major water pollutants and These methodologies will allow the health risk to be evaluated for different exposure scenarios. Wastewater reuse involves alternative technologies for sewage treatment (biological oxidation, nitrificationdenitrification, use of lagoons and aquifer recharge), different states of nature (climatic conditions, type of soils, irrigated crops, irrigation systems, socio-economic environments) and various preferences or criteria (economic, environmental, aesthetics, etc.). In the case of a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP), even if we restrict ourselves only to economic objectives, these could be in conflict, whether or not they are defined by the owner or operator of the regulatory agency This example of application should be treated as a decision-making problem under uncertainty or imprecision.

Human Health C8 Plants’ Response

Findings

Conclusions