ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH RISK ASSOCIATED WITH

WASTE WATER FOR IRRIGATION

There are agronomic and economic benefits of wastewater use in agriculture. Irrigation
with wastewater can increase the available water supply or release better quality
supplies for alternative uses. In addition to these direct economic benefits that conserve
natural resources, the fertilizer value of many wastewaters is important. FAO (1992)
estimated that typical wastewater effluent from domestic sources could supply all of the
nitrogen and much of the phosphorus and potassium that are normally required for
agricultural crop production. In addition, micronutrients and organic matter also provide
additional benefits.

Types of pathogens present in wastewater

Bacteria.

The faeces of a healthy person contains large numbers of bacteria (> 10 /g), most of
10

which are not pathogenic. Pathogenic or potentially pathogenic bacteria are normally
absent from a healthy intestine unless infection occurs. When infection occurs, large
numbers of pathogenic bacteria will be passed in the faeces thus allowing the spread of
infection to others. Diarrhoea is the most prevalent type of infection, with cholera the
worst form. Typhoid, paratyphoid and other Salmonella type diseases are also caused
by bacterial pathogens.

Viruses.

Numerous viruses may infect humans and are passed in the faeces . Five groups of
pathogenic excreted viruses are particularly important: adenoviruses, enteroviruses
(including polioviruses), hepatitis A virus, reoviruses and diarrhoea-causing viruses
(especially rotavirus).

Protozoa.

Many species of protozoa can infect humans and cause diarrhoea and dysentery.
Infective forms of these protozoa are often passed as cysts in the faeces and humans
are infected when they ingest them. Only three species are considered to be
pathogenic: Giardia lamblia, Balantidium coli and Entamoeba histolytica. An
asymptomatic carrier state is common in all three and may be responsible for continued
transmission.
Helminths.

Pathogens that reach the field or crop

All the pathogens discussed in the previous section have the potential to reach the field.
From the time of excretion, the potential for all pathogens to cause infection usually
declines due to their death or loss of infectivity. The ability of an excreted organism to
survive outside the human body is referred to as its persistence. For all the organisms,
survival is highly dependent on temperature with greatly increased persistence at lower
temperatures.

The first exposure of excreted pathogenic organisms outside the body is usually in
water. This blend with freshwater is often referred to as sewage. This sewage is then
either subjected to treatment prior to discharge, used directly for crop production or
discharged to a watercourse where indirect use then occurs downstream. There are
many studies on the survival or persistence of excreted organisms in water and
sewage.

A summary is shown in the Table

Pathogen Survival time (days)

Virusesa
Enterovirusesb <120 but usually <50
Bacteria
Faecal coliforma <60 but usually <30
Salmonella spp.a <60 but usually <30
Shigella spp.a <30 but usually <10
Vibrio cholerac <30 but usually <10
Protozoa
Entamoeba histolytica cysts <30 but usually <15
Helminths
Ascaris lumbriocoides eggs Many months

a. In seawater, viral survival is less, and bacterial survival is very much less than in freshwater.

b. Includes polio-, echo-, and coxsackie viruses.

c. V. cholera survival in aqueous environments is still uncertain.

Protozoal cysts are poor survivors in any environment. A likely maximum in sewage or
polluted water would not exceed that shown in Entamoeba histolytica. Helminth eggs
 Soil factor Effect on bacterial survival
Antagonism from soil Increased survival time in sterile soil
microflora
Moisture content Greater survival time in moist soils and during times of high rainfall
Moisture-holding capacity Survival time is less in sandy soils than in soils with greater water-holding
capacity
Organic matter Increased survival and possible regrowth when sufficient amounts of organic
matter are present
pH Shorter survival time in acid soils (pH 3-5) than in alkaline soils
Sunlight Shorter

TABLE : Survival times of selected excreted pathogens in soil and on crop

surfaces at 20-30°C

Survival time
Pathogen
In soil On crops
Viruses
Enterovirusesa <100 but usually <20 days <60 but usually <15 days
Bacteria
Faecal coliform <70 but usually <20 days <30 but usually <15 days
Salmonella spp. <70 but usually <20 days <30 but usually <15 days
Vibrio cholera <20 but usually <10 days <5 but usually <2 days
Protozoa
Entamoeba histolytica cysts <20 but usually <10 days <10 but usually < 2 days
Helminths
Ascaris lumbricoides eggs Many months <60 but usually <30 days
Hookworm larvae <90 but usually <30 days <30 but usually <10 days
Taenia saginata eggs Many months <60 but usually <30 days
Trichuris trichiura eggs Many months <60 but usually <30 days

Effectiveness of enteric pathogens to cause infections through wastewater

irrigation related to their epidemiological characteristics

Enteric Persistence in Minimum Immunity Concurrent routes Latency/soil

pathogens environment infective dose of infection development
stage
Viruses Medium Low Long Mainly home No
contact and food or
water
Bacteria Short/Medium Medium/High Short/Medium Mainly home No
contact and food or
water
Protozoa Short Low/Medium None/Little Mainly home No
contact and food or
water
Helminths Long Low None/Little Mainly soil contact Yes
outside home and
 food

Whether a person becomes infected actually depends on a number of additional factors,

each of which adds to or diminishes the actual risk of infection. Feachem et al. (1983)
and Shuval et al. (1986b) reviewed these factors and found several that are important
for determining the relative health risk during wastewater use:

Excreted load.
This refers to the concentration of pathogens passed by an infected person and
represents the total number of pathogens.

Latency.

Latency refers to the interval between the time that a pathogen is excreted and
the time that it can infect a new host.

Persistence.

Viability of a pathogen in the environment or persistence is a measure of how

quickly it dies after leaving the human body.

Multiplication.

A measure of whether a pathogen can multiply outside the human body.

Infective dose.

Number of organisms needed to cause infection (this is not easy to predict).

Host response.

A measure of the response (immunity) once an individual has received a dose of

an infective agent.

Non-human hosts.

Some infections are confined strictly to humans while others may need an
intermediate host prior to reinfection.

long persistence in the environment;

low minimal infective dose;

 short or no human immunity;

minimal concurrent transmission through other routes such as food, water and poor
personal or domestic hygiene; and

long latent period and/or soil development stage required.

The bacterial and protozoan diseases rank between these two extremes. The
pathogens in the following descending order of risk:

1. High: Helminths (the intestinal nematodes - Ascaris, Trichuris, hookworm and Taenia)

2. Lower: Bacterial infections (i.e. cholera, typhoid and shigellosis) and Protozoan
infections (i.e. ameobiasis, giardiasis)

3. Least: Viral infections (viral gastroenteritis and infectious hepatitis)

Low(est) risk to consumer but field worker protection still needed

1. Crops not for human consumption (for example cotton, sisal).

2. Crops normally processed by heat or drying before human consumption (grains,

oilseeds, sugar beet).

3. Vegetables and fruit grown exclusively for canning or other processing that effectively
destroys pathogens.

4. Fodder crops and other animal feed crops that are sun-dried and harvested before
consumption by animals.

5. Landscape irrigation in fenced areas without public access (nurseries, forests, green
belts).

Increased risk to consumer and handler

1. Pasture, green fodder crops.
2. Crops for human consumption that do not come into direct contact with wastewater,
on condition that none must be picked off the ground and that spray irrigation must not
be used (tree crops, vineyards, etc.).

3. Crops for human consumption normally eaten only after cooking (potatoes, eggplant,
beetroot).

4. Crops for human consumption, the peel of which is not eaten (melons, citrus fruits,
bananas, nuts, groundnuts).

5. Any crop not identified as high-risk if sprinkler irrigation is used.

Highest risk to consumer, field worker and handler

1. Any crops eaten uncooked and grown in close contact with wastewater effluent (fresh
vegetables such as lettuce or carrots, or spray-irrigated fruit).

2. Landscape irrigation with public access (parks, lawns, golf courses).

Another path of infection is from direct contact with the crop or soil in the area where
wastewater was used. This path is directly related to the level of protection needed for
field workers. The only feasible means of dealing with the worker safety problem is
prevention. The following are a few of many low and high risk situations:

Low risk of infection

Mechanized cultural practices
Mechanized harvesting practices
Crop is dried prior to harvesting
Long dry periods between irrigations

High risk of infection

High dust areas
Hand cultivation
Hand harvest of food crops
Moving sprinkler equipment
Direct contact with irrigation water

A Irrigation of crops likely Workers, 1  1000d A series of stabilization ponds

to be eaten uncooked, consumers, designed to achieve the
sports fields, public public microbiological quality indicated,
parksd or equivalent treatment
B Irrigation of cereal crops, Workers 1 No standard Retention in stabilization ponds
industrial crops, fodder recommended for 8-10 days or equivalent
crops, pasture and treese helminth and faecal coliform
 removal
C Localized irrigation of None Not Not applicable Pretreatment as required by the
crops in cat. B if applicable irrigation technology, but not less
exposure of workers and than primary sedimentation
the public does not occur
a
In specific cases, local epidemiological, socio-cultural and environmental factors should be
taken into account, and the guidelines modified accordingly.

b
Ascaris and Trichuris species and hookworms.

c
During the irrigation period.

. On the other hand, the enteric virus diseases should be the least effectively
transmitted by irrigation with raw wastewater. The bacterial and protozoan diseases
rank between these two extremes. Shuval et al. (1986b) ranked the pathogens in the
following descending order of risk:

Recommended microbiological quality guidelines for wastewater use in

agriculture a

Category Reuse Exposed Intestinal Faecal Wastewater

condition group nematodesb(arithmetic coliforms treatment expected
mean no. of eggs per (geometric to achieve the
litrec) mean no. per required micro-
100 mlc) biological quality
A Irrigation of Workers, 1  1000d A series of
crops likely to consumers, stabilization ponds
be eaten public designed to achieve
uncooked, the microbiological
sports fields, quality indicated, or
public parksd equivalent treatment
B Irrigation of Workers 1 No standard Retention in
cereal crops, recommended stabilization ponds
industrial for 8-10 days or
crops, fodder equivalent helminth
crops, pasture and faecal coliform
and treese removal
C Localized None Not applicable Not applicable Pretreatment as
irrigation of required by the
crops in cat. B irrigation technology,
if exposure of but not less than
workers and primary
 the public does sedimentation
not occur
a
In specific cases, local epidemiological, socio-cultural and environmental factors should be
taken into account, and the guidelines modified accordingly.

b
Ascaris and Trichuris species and hookworms.

c
During the irrigation period.

d
A more stringent guideline ( 200 faecal coliforms per 100 ml) is appropriate for public
lawns, such as hotel lawns, with which the public may come into direct contact.

e
In the case of fruit trees, irrigation should cease two weeks before fruit is picked, and
no fruit should be picked off the ground. Sprinkler irrigation should not be used.

Environmental risks
Environmental drivers for wastewater reuse 2.1 Over-extraction from freshwater
systems Human impacts on freshwater systems are substantial in most populated
parts of the world. Over-extraction, mainly for agriculture, has led to significant
degradation of rivers, lakes, aquifers, and dependent systems, such as wetlands.
Liberation of water for the environment through substitution with wastewater
has been widely promoted as a means of reducing anthropogenic impacts .

In Australia 26% of the surface-water management units are either fully- or over-
used, and 31% of the groundwater management units are over-allocated . About
half of Australia’s wetlands have been lost since European settlement—a
combined result of drainage and flood-mitigation/extraction actions on rivers
China paints a similar picture but arguably on a more grandiose scale. half of the
nitrogen entering the bay. The Bay is shallow with a narrow mouth allowing
relatively, most would agree that agricultural irrigation with wastewater is
pervasive and is only likely to increase.

In addition to the environmental drivers outlined above, economic and social

forces are encouraging or necessitating the practice. Such drivers include water
availability and consistency of supply, livelihood dependence, market proximity,
and the fertilising properties of wastewater . Reuse for agricultural irrigation
tends to pose a greater direct threat to the environment than other reuse
scenarios.

If one considers the agricultural landscape to be part of the environment, as is

done here, then applying wastewater to land plainly has the potential to affect
the environment through altering soil properties. Moreover, wastewater cannot
usually be collected after it has been used for irrigation, and consequently enters
the broader environment where it has potential to cause further damage. In
contrast, the discharge from many other reuse scenarios can readily be collected
and managed accordingly. For example, wastewater that has been reused for
industrial cooling, aquaculture or for flushing toilets in domestic estates (i.e.
wastewastewater can be discharged to the sewer .

In effect, such scenarios can be seen as components of a larger sewerage system.

There are of course exceptions: domestic wastewater irrigation and wetland
creation are clearly open systems. Therefore, agricultural reuse can be
simultaneously beneficial and detrimental to the environment. This can be seen
as a cruel irony, but it should be interpreted as a challenge that, if met, promises
environmental gains. Environmental risks Groundwater and surface-water
contamination Leaching of nitrates poses one of the greatest threats to
groundwater health arising from wastewater irrigation .

The risk of groundwater contamination with nitrate can be markedly reduced

through appropriately matching plant production systems to effluent
characteristics . For example, high-yielding crops with large amounts of nitrogen
in their biomass would be more effective than tree plantations at reducing nitrate
leaching. Other threats to groundwater and surface-water include contamination
with pharmaceutically-active compounds and endocrine disrupting chemicals ,
nutrients pathogens and salts . Clearly, the impacts of wastewater irrigation on
aquatic systems are largely similar to the impacts of direct disposal of effluent to
receiving waters. Water-bodies located near densely built-up areas have a high
recreation value. However, storm-water and sewer overflows contribute
significantly to water quality deterioration and reduce recreational and ecological
amenity.
Detention basins are often used in urban areas for both flood control and removal
of pollutants. But constructed wetlands may offer the additional benefit of
improving water quality by assimilating and transforming organic, inorganic and
toxic constituents through the processes such as adsorption, settling,
sedimentation and biodegradation . Constructed wetlands are ideal, low-cost,
wastewater treatment systems; they provide an efficient and an easily-operated
alternative to conventional treatment systems. In addition to treating pollutants
and waste, they may also provide important wildlife and recreational benefits
commonly associated with natural wetlands .

A recent innovative study conducted in the Taohuadao area in Hanyang, a district

of Wuhan city in Hubei province in China, illustrated the efficiency of using
constructed wetlands for treating wastewater generated in intensive urbanised
areas. Whilst the use of constructed wetlands for treating wastewater is not new,
this study was unique in a number of ways. The wastewater treatment efficiency
was remarkable, even in the freezing winter months . A dual wetland system was
adopted. The first system, comprising ponds and horizontal subsurface wetlands,
treats m