Municipal Wastewater Irrigation for Rice Cultivation

Abstract

In scene of worrisome water shortage, municipal wastewater has been gradually accepted as an alternative water resource containing important nutrients for irrigation. Rice cultivation, which is one of the main crops feeding global population and requires plenty of water for its effective growth, has been often irrigated by municipal wastewater in many countries. While irrigation of municipal wastewater for rice cultivation must bring benefits for farmers mainly by increased yield with less amount of fertilizers, it also has potential to cause drawbacks to human health and the environment. This chapter discusses about these aspects based on scientific works and practical experiences of municipal wastewater irrigation for rice production as well as the introduction of our concept to cultivate rice for animal feeding with irrigation of treated wastewater, which can contribute to resource circulation between urban and rural areas. The feasibility study under this concept has demonstrated that the target value of rice yield can be achieved and protein-rich rice preferable for animal feed can be harvested with irrigation of properly treated municipal wastewater.

Rice Cultivation without Synthetic Fertilizers and Performance of Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) under Continuous Irrigation with Treated Wastewater

“…In addition, irrigation with TWW is advantageous to the improvement of soil fertility and rice productivity while reducing the use of commercial fertilizers [3] as a result of the substantial amounts of plant nutrients such as N, P, K, and organic matter available in TWW. However, these benefits are likely countered by substantial concerns about human health risks, owing to potential pathogenic microorganisms, heavy metals, and other contaminants in wastewater [4,5]. Thus, it is necessary to develop new irrigation management strategies and technologies to optimize the advantages while minimizing the aforementioned downsides.…”