Wastewater Reuse in Agriculture: A Review about Its Limitations and Benefits

For centuries, wastewater has been improperly used in agriculture, presenting potential risks to public health and the environment. In the context of scientific development, and confronted by an increasing water crisis, wastewater reuse merits consideration because the practice helps decrease water...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2017-10, Vol.9 (10), p.1734
Main Authors: Jaramillo, María, Restrepo, Inés
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural land
Agricultural wastes
Agriculture
Ecological risk assessment
Health risks
Literature reviews
Microbiota
Pollution effects
Public health
Quantitative analysis
Reviews
Soil environment
Soil properties
Soil texture
Sustainability
Texture
Wastewater
Wastewater reuse
Wastewater treatment
Water crises
Water pollution
Water reuse
Water use
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:For centuries, wastewater has been improperly used in agriculture, presenting potential risks to public health and the environment. In the context of scientific development, and confronted by an increasing water crisis, wastewater reuse merits consideration because the practice helps decrease water use pressure and moderates water pollution. Thus, this article presents a literature review that addresses the effects, both positive and negative, of wastewater use in agriculture, emphasizing the effects on the soil environment. The literature review reveals that, until the 1990s, research studies promoted the use of wastewater for irrigation purposes from a treatment approach, while proposing “end of pipe” conventional solutions. However, more recent research studies (2012–2016) reveal that agricultural reuse significantly affects soil texture properties, while also causing possible alterations of the biomass and microbiota. In addition, research in this period has been oriented to the quantitative evaluation of microbiological risk.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su9101734