Pilot Review Study on the Importance of Treated Agro-Industrial Wastewater to Reuse for Irrigating Agriculture

Abstract

Anbessie Debebe Aboye

The main purpose this review study is to present fundamentals of wastewater conservation and treatment method amid at using it for irrigating agriculture in a manner understandable to those most concerned with such knowledge and also to provide the wastewater users with an insight into the many ways in which they are dependent on soil and water for survival. In most parts of Ethiopia, the water needed for crop production is provided mainly by rainfall. These days; however, the effectiveness and sufficiency of rain fall, even in high rainfall receiving areas, is interrupted by its erratic occurrence, uneven distribution, poor soil and water managements. There is also scarcity of water during dry seasons. To achieve this, integrated participation and coordinated efforts of the different institutions is highly considered. After introducing provisions and expressions of wastewater use, this study highlights their global drivers and significance using examples from various parts of the developing world. It is useful in the discussion to differentiate between unplanned use of wastewater resultant from deprived sanitation, and planned use which tries to address matters such as economic or physical water scarcity. Both types of wastewater use can have significant socio-economic benefits but also institutional challenges and risks which require various management approaches. Based on the laboratory test results and the field experimental research activities conducted on cereal crops like wheat and barley as well as the pulse crops of the field pea and Faba bean crops which planted in the agro-industrial wastewater of Asella Malt Factory have performed very well at 25%, 50% and 75% of fresh water and wastewater dilutions in favor of their intensive growth rate performance of the seeds. There is a need for the consequent study to apply the principles of wastewater management and treatment method to use it for irrigating agriculture. The author links wastewater and health to the establishment and implementation of effective, affordable and efficient options for risk reduction. Under the conditions applied in this study, the reuse of treated agro-industrial wastewater for irrigation can be considered an effective way to cope with agricultural water shortage in the Mediterranean area. We can expect the entire information quantified in this paper will influence further applied multidisciplinary research on wastewater use related risk and its alleviation.

PDF