Stakeholders’ attitude towards the reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation in Mediterranean agriculture

Abstract

Reuse of treated wastewater could provide a key solution to address sustainable water resources management in agriculture. However, the success of this practice depends on public acceptance and involvement, which require careful assessement and evaluation. In order to promote treated wastewater reuse in a Mediterranean context, in the present work the opinion of key stakeholders was analyzed by eliciting and structuring their attitudes and willingness towards the reuse of treated wastewater. Results demonstrated a high level of acceptance of wastewater reuse among the Apulian stakeholders, Southeastern region of Italy, both farmers and citzens/consumers, respectively 59 and 87%. Central to the discussion is that the majority of farmers does not always choose to use treated wastewater but is willing to exploit its benefits occasionally. The negative attitude of some stakeholders towards wastewater stemmed from the health risks related to chemical toxic substances as well as to diseases. Results from the consultation process highlighted that no change in water quality can be expected without infrastructure investments and wastewater management changes, which are slow in coming due to the lack of institutional awareness about the complexity of the problem. The importance of informing the public about the reuse aspects through a formalized mechanism, as improved communication and awareness campaigns, was confirmed in the study by the consultation process’ results. Such process made also clear the importance to integrate any measure of enhancement of wastewater reuse as a major part within a more comprehensive water management policy.