Wastewater treatment, renovation and reuse for agricultural irrigation in small communities

Abstract

The necessity for water and the risks associated with inadequate sewage treatment have stimulated attempts to reuse domestic wastewater for diverse purposes, primarily for agricultural irrigation. This strategy has now become practical. The use of wastewater in small communities depends on a series of factors, such as community size, socio-economic aspects, relative location to other communities, and land availability for effluent reuse. Two main types of small and isolated communities can be identified. One has limited water supply and land resources, and its' main problems are associated with wastewater treatment and disposal. The second has enough land for effluent reuse, but lacks the additional amounts needed for cultivation. The extra amounts of effluent can be obtained from an adjacent municipality of the first type which, for its part, needs to solve wastewater disposal problems.