Application of domestic greywater for irrigating agricultural products: A brief study

In the last twenty years, house onsite wastewater management systems have been increasing in the West Bank’s rural areas. The aim of this research was to reveal, in the context of providing onsite Grey Water Treatment Plants (GWTPs) for wastewater management in the rural communities in Palestine, the local population’s perceptions, in the sense of acceptance of and barriers towards such a type of wastewater management, so as to figure out successes, failures and lessons. The data collection tool was a questionnaire that targeted the households served with GWTPs. The findings show that 13% of the total constructed treatment plants were not operative. The most important barrier as mentioned by 66.5% is odor emission and insect infestation. Then, 25.1% of the implementing agencies never monitor or check the treatment plants, and 59.3% of them monitor and check the plants only during the first 2–3 months. The next barrier is inadequate beneficiary experience in operation and maintenance. Health concerns regarding quality of crops irrigated by treated grey water were another barrier. The results revealed that the reuse of treated grey water in irrigation was the main incentive for GWTPs as stated by 88.0% of beneficiaries. The second incentive was the saving of cesspit discharge frequency and its financial consequences, as stated by 71.3%. Finally, 72.5% of the beneficiaries stated that they had a water shortage before implementing GWTPs, and the GWTPs contributed to solving it. The highest percentage (82.6%) of beneficiaries accepted the treatment units because of their willingness to reuse treated water for irrigation and agricultural purposes. Education level has an impact on GWTP acceptance, with 73% of not educated beneficiaries being satisfied and 58.8% of educated people being satisfied. Islamic religion is considered a driver for accepting reuse of treated grey water in irrigation, according to the majority of people (70%). Women play a major role on GWTP management; 68.9% of the treatment systems are run by men side-by-side with women (fathers and mothers), and 24% are run completely by women. The majority of GWTP beneficiaries (70.4%) are satisfied with GWTPs. Little effort is required for operation and maintenance, with only an average of 0.4 working hours per week. Therefore, house onsite grey water management systems are acceptable in rural communities, but attention should be given to the reasons of acceptance and barriers highlighted in this research.

Section: General Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reasons of Acceptance and Barriers of House Onsite Greywater Treatment and Reuse in Palestinian Rural Areas

Thaher

Mahmoud

Al‐Khatib

et al. 2020

“…Results for irrigating seasonal plants with raw or treated greywater vary among species. However, it should be noted that using greywater for irrigation purposes could have positive effects on the growth of plant biomass when compared to nutrient-free tap water [73]. Furthermore, only a minor uptake of micropollutants (e.g., heavy metals) in the plants, and no presence of pathogens on the plant surface, were found [74].…”

Section: Technical Facilities For Greywater Treatment At the Building Scalementioning

confidence: 99%

Closing Water Cycles in the Built Environment through Nature-Based Solutions: The Contribution of Vertical Greening Systems and Green Roofs

Pearlmutter

Pucher

Calheiros

et al. 2021

Water in the city is typically exploited in a linear process, in which most of it is polluted, treated, and discharged; during this process, valuable nutrients are lost in the treatment process instead of being cycled back and used in urban agriculture or green space. The purpose of this paper is to advance a new paradigm to close water cycles in cities via the implementation of nature-based solutions units (NBS_u), with a particular focus on building greening elements, such as green roofs (GRs) and vertical greening systems (VGS). The hypothesis is that such “circular systems” can provide substantial ecosystem services and minimize environmental degradation. Our method is twofold: we first examine these systems from a life-cycle point of view, assessing not only the inputs of conventional and alternative materials, but the ongoing input of water that is required for irrigation. Secondly, the evapotranspiration performance of VGS in Copenhagen, Berlin, Lisbon, Rome, Istanbul, and Tel Aviv, cities with different climatic, architectural, and sociocultural contexts have been simulated using a verticalized ET0 approach, assessing rainwater runoff and greywater as irrigation resources. The water cycling performance of VGS in the mentioned cities would be sufficient at recycling 44% (Lisbon) to 100% (Berlin, Istanbul) of all accruing rainwater roof–runoff, if water shortages in dry months are bridged by greywater. Then, 27–53% of the greywater accruing in a building could be managed on its greened surface. In conclusion, we address the gaps in the current knowledge and policies identified in the different stages of analyses, such as the lack of comprehensive life cycle assessment studies that quantify the complete “water footprint” of building greening systems.

“…The reusing of wastewater is determined by economic factors as it is often either used for the recirculation of organic matter, to act as natural fertilizers, or due to a shortage of water resources [27,28]. For instance, wastewater and greywater (households' wastewater with no fecal contamination) were used for irrigation of agricultural products, as well as indoor activities involving toilet flushing and even for potable use [17][18][19][20][21]. However, intensive treatment measures are required to meet the suggested wastewater reuse guidelines and, in particular, for greywater in which significant coliform loads may exist.…”

Section: Reuse Of Treated Watermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…People are frequently exposed to wastewater via surface water usage, toilet flushing, recreation water, and wastewater-or greywater-dependent irrigation [17][18][19][20][21]. Most commonly occurring enteric viruses are self-limiting, whereas their infection risk is determined by the prevalence of infectious viral particles in the appropriate environmental condition, since some enteric viruses are significantly influenced by seasonal variation (e.g., rotavirus favoring late autumn and early winter [22]) or their prevalence in water environments that people are exposed to.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insights into Gastrointestinal Virome: Etiology and Public Exposure

Nour

Hanif

Ryan

et al. 2021

Recycled wastewater is widely used owing to the potential shortage of water resources for drinking purposes, recreational activities, and irrigation. However, gut microbiomes of both human beings and animals negatively affect this water quality. Wastewater contamination is continuously monitored, using fecal contamination indicators or microbial source tracking approaches, to oppose arising enteric infections. Viral gastroenteritis is considered a principal manifestation of waterborne pathogenic virome-mediated infections, which are mainly transmitted via the fecal-oral route. Furthermore, acquired enteric viromes are the common cause of infantile acute diarrhea. Moreover, public exposure to wastewater via wastewater discharge or treated wastewater reuse has led to a significant surge of public health concerns. In this review, we discussed the etiology of waterborne enteric viromes, notably gastrointestinal virus infections, and public exposure to municipal wastewater. Conclusively, the early human virome is affected mainly by birth mode, dietary behavior, and maternal health, and could provide a signature of disease incidence, however, more virome diversification is acquired in adulthood. A multi-phase treatment approach offered an effective means for the elimination of wastewater reuse mediated public risks. The insights highlighted in this paper offer essential information for defining probable etiologies and assessing risks related to exposure to discharged or reused wastewater.