Agricultural Irrigation with Reclaimed Municipal Wastewater: Environmental Implications
摘要
Wastewater irrigation seems an inevitable way of sustainable agricultural activities because of water scarcity. While this method offers many opportunities, like conservation of clean water sources for domestic consumption, better crop yield, lower fertilizers need, there are also some drawbacks, such as accumulation of pollutants in soil, translocation of the pollutants from soil to crops, and hygienic problems in crops caused by irrigation methods that result in consumer health risk. While accumulation and translocation of heavy metals in soil and cultivated crops are well documented, fate of all synthetic organic pollutants and microplastics (MPs) in the soil ecosystem is not yet clear. Although wastewater irrigation raises concerns about sustainability of agriculture and human health, preserving domestic wastewater from industrial discharges, successful wastewater treatment methods, and selection of true irrigation methods may ensure safe and profitable application of wastewater irrigation. The aim of this review is to point at potential contaminants resourced from insufficiently treated wastewater. For this purpose, a literature review was conducted about heavy metals, synthetic organic pollutants, and MPs sourced contamination of soils from wastewater irrigation.