Reuse of municipal effluent with drip irrigation and evaluation the effect on soil properties in a semi-arid area

Abstract

Irrigation with municipal effluent was evaluated during 25 months in Southern Iran from 2003 to 2005 in which 14 tree species were irrigated with effluent and borehole water at an annual supply rate of 3,940 and 5,395 m(3) ha(-1), respectively. To mitigate the environmental effects, a drip irrigation system was designed and the amount of applied water based on pan evaporation was measured by flow meters and soil properties were monitored. The statistical results showed that the applied effluent had no adverse effect on soil properties. The soil salinity was reduced from 8.2, 6.8 and 7.0 dSm(-1) to 1.07, 1.12 and 3.5 dSm(-1 )in the soil layers 0-30, 30-60 and 60-90 cm, respectively. The SAR decreased significantly, while soil pH increased by 0.8 and 0.6 units in the layers 0-30 and 30-60 cm. A total application of 9,335 m(3)ha(-1 )of effluent with a nitrogen and phosphorus concentration of 7.9 and 10.3 mg l(-1), added 73 and 101 kg ha(-1) of nitrogen and phosphorus to the soil. Organic carbon also increased significantly. Twenty-five months irrigation with effluent caused a slight increase in soil bulk density and a slight decrease in mean permeability. Because of an efficient filtration and high discharge rate of bubblers (drippers), no considerable sign of clogging was observed.

Evaluation of soil chemical properties irrigated with recycled wastewater under partial root-zone drying irrigation for sustainable tomato production

“…In this study, there were no significant changes in soil EC at the lower soil depths of 15-30, 30-45 and 45-60 cm, and no interactive effect of water quality × irrigation scenario on soil salinity was observed. Similar views have been expressed by many investigators who found increases in soil salinity and sodicity in the top soil layer when irrigating with RW (Hassanli et al, 2008;Amiri et al, 2008;Laurenson et al, 2012). Also, other studies involving irrigation with desalinated seawater and RW reported increased soil salinity and sodicity, which were found to be generally higher in DI than in FI treatments (Díaz et al, 2013;Aragüés et al, 2014a).…”

“…Also, other studies involving irrigation with desalinated seawater and RW reported increased soil salinity and sodicity, which were found to be generally higher in DI than in FI treatments (Díaz et al, 2013;Aragüés et al, 2014a). As mentioned earlier, the high sodium content in RW influenced the SAR, which could lead to reductions in soil permeability and subsequent restrictions of water flow within the soil profile (Hassanli et al, 2008). Mounzer et al (2013) found that use of RW increased the SAR significantly in the upper soil layers.…”

“…affected by the high sodium content in RW, thus resulting in unsustainable environments for plant growth (Abdel-Dayem, 1999). Normally, sodium (Na + ) replaces exchangeable calcium (Ca 2+ ) and magnesium (Mg 2+ ) by mass action if its concentration is high in irrigation water, and this can cause poor aeration due to reduced permeability (Stevens et al, 2003;Hassanli et al, 2008;Muyen et al, 2011).…”

Issues concerning soils treated with wastewater: Pedotechnical management with zeolitized tuffs as an option for turning N and P pollutants into potential fertilizers

“…As seen in a previous research project [16] the behavior of NH 4 + -N was outwardly odd, depending greatly on both the type and amount of ZT present in the samples. More specifically: (i) mean [NH 4 + ] in SSs was greater than DMW and, on average, greater in OT than in CV suspensions; (ii) mean [NH 4 + ] in ZT suspensions was greater than the respective DMWs and, on average, greater in ZCL than in NYT suspensions; and (iii) SSs/ZT samples showed trends ranging from SSs alone to ZTs alone, approaching the latter as ZT content in SSs/ZTs increased. This behavior can be explained by considering that NH 4 + is preferentially absorbed and strongly retained in samples containing the investigated zeolitized tuffs.…”

“…In recent years, the use of both wastewater (WW) and treated WW in agriculture has grown considerably [1] and, as would be expected, a large number of investigations have been carried out worldwide in arid and semi-arid regions considering the advantages and disadvantages of WW application to soil irrigation/fertilization [2][3][4][5][6][7]. One of the main critical points is that WW can pose potential risks to human health and the environment [8][9][10].…”