Abstract
As the most important resource for life, water has been a central issue on the international agenda for several decades. Yet, the world’s supply of clean freshwater is steadily decreasing due to extensive agricultural demand for irrigated lands. Therefore, water resources should be used with greater efficiency, and the use of non-traditional water resources, such as Treated Wastewater (TW), should be increased. Reusing TW could be an alternative option to increase water resources. Thus, many countries have decided to turn wastewater into an irrigation resource to help meet urban demand and address water shortages. However, because of the nature of that water, there are potential problems associated with its use in irrigation. Some of the major concerns are health hazards, salinity build-up, and toxicity hazards. The objectives of this comprehensive literature review are to illuminate the importance of using TW in irrigation as an alternative freshwater source and to assess the effects of its use on soil fertility and other soil properties, plants, and public health. The literature review reveals that TW reuse has become part of the extension program for boosting water resource utilization. However, the uncontrolled application of such waters has many unfavorable effects on both soils and plants, especially in the long-term. To reduce these unfavorable effects when using TW in irrigation, proper guidelines for wastewater reuse and management should be followed to limit negative effects significantly.
Highlights
In the park and farmland soils irrigated with Treated Wastewater (TW), [149] the soil EC values increased by 12.4% and 84.2%, while the Sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) increased by 64.5% and 145.8% compared to the control treatments, respectively
Ref. [213] measured the chemical characteristics of silty clay soils irrigated with low-quality water, and the study showed that the CaCO3 contents, organic matter (OM) contents, pH value, EC value, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) were relatively higher than in the soils irrigated with non-polluted water
Ref. [327] demonstrated that when the broccoli and tomatoes were irrigated with food-industry TW, the outcomes revealed that no contamination with pathogenic bacteria was detected when examining the microbial content of soil and water, and no pathogens were noticed in any plant edible part
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. There are dangers with reusing the wastewater in agriculture; for example, its use led to a rise in the soil salinity, as well as the existence of microbial microorganisms and pollutants [41] This water can carry pathogens that affect human health, besides raising the risk for parasitic, viral, and bacterial diseases in consumers of crops irrigated with this water [42,43]. The negative impact of TW can be reduced significantly by selecting a proper irrigation system, an appropriate cropping pattern with appropriate and effective irrigation management, as well as continuous examination of water, soil, and plant quality, and by taking careful and precautionary actions against pathogens The aim of this writeup is to cast light on the importance of using TW in irrigation as an alternative freshwater source. This includes a review of the irrigation systems used with TW
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
