An Assessment of Irrigation Water Quality with Respect to the Reuse of Treated Wastewater in Al-Ahsa Oasis, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Irrigation water quality is important to sustain agricultural productivity. The primary irrigation water sources in Al-Ahsa Oasis, KSA, are groundwater wells, mixed with treated wastewater and agricultural drainage. This study sought to evaluate irrigation water quality in Al-Ahsa Oasis with the aid of using irrigation water quality indices (IWQIs). One hundred and forty-eight different water samples were collected from various irrigation water resources throughout Al-Ahsa Oasis. The investigated physiochemical characteristics include pH, temperature, TDS, EC, turbidity, free chlorine, total hardness, cations (Na, K, Ca, Mg), anions (Cl, CO3, HCO3, SO4), organic matter indices (DO, BOD, COD), and nutrients (NH4, NO3, PO4). The IWQIs used in this study include salinity hazard, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), Kelly’s ratio (KR), soluble sodium percentage (SSP), Permeability index (PI), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), and magnesium hazard (MH). The results indicated that treated wastewater mixed with groundwater is acceptable for irrigation. Spatial variations in irrigation water quality throughout Al-Ahsa are associated with water resources. For instance, groundwater mixed with agricultural drainage has the highest values of TDS, cations, and anions, whereas the lowest values were reported for treated wastewater, reflecting the good efficiency of wastewater treatment plants. The IWQI results revealed that 4.1% and 62.1% of the investigated irrigation water samples were considered good (class III) and satisfactory (class IV) for irrigation, respectively, whereas 33.8% of the collected water samples fall within the severe irrigation restrictions. Moreover, 79.7% of the investigated water samples were classified to have high to very high salinity hazards (C3, C4) and medium to high sodium hazards (S2, S3). Regular monitoring and assessment of treated water quality and wastewater treatment plant efficiency are important factors in achieving the sustainability of treated wastewater reuse in irrigation and consequently food security.

Physical, chemical, and biological evaluation of domestic laundry greywater discharges to attract reclamation strategies and reuse applications in urban settings

“…Turbidity values ranged between 64 and 515 NTU in all the analyzed samples of LGW and were found to be very much higher than the maximum permissible value (5 NTU) for freshwater (IS10500, 2012). The hardness ranged between 160 and 376 mgL −1 and was observed sufficiently lower than the permissible value for drinking water (600 mgL −1 ) in the absence of an alternate source (Badr et al, 2023;IS10500, 2012).…”

Comprehensive environmental impact assessment and irrigation wastewater suitability of the Arab El-Madabegh wastewater treatment plant, ASSIUT CITY, EGYPT

“…Moreover, there was a strong correlation between each of the previously listed ions related to treated wastewater effluents. Furthermore, turbidity has an inverse relationship with organic variables such as TSS, COD, BOD 5 , and TOC, with correlation values that fluctuate from 0.85 to 0.77, 0.57, and 0.55 [ 32 ]. However, there are significant negative relationships between turbidity and sulfate.…”

“…The Ain Sefra WWTP was deemed appropriate for agricultural use, with nitrate levels below allowable limits, affirming efforts to prevent groundwater pollution. Badr et al [ 32 ] examined the quality of irrigation water in Al-Ahsa Oasis using 104 water samples. They discovered that treated wastewater combined with groundwater is suitable for irrigation with Higher levels of TDS, cations, and anions associated with spatial changes in water quality.…”

Physicochemical Analysis of Untreated Municipal Wastewater for Irrigation Purposes in Chiro Town, West Hararghe, Ethiopia

“…Permeability Index: The permeability index was determined to assess the risk of soil permeability (Badr et al, 2023). Throughout the study, an average value of PI was determined using Equation ( 4) and was found to be 51%, indicating that the wastewater sample is significant for continuous irrigation.…”