Framework for the Integrated Sustainability Assessment of Irrigation with Marginal Water

The use of marginal water, such as reclaimed wastewater or effluent, for irrigation can reduce the pressure on existing freshwater resources. However, this can cause contaminants to accumulate in compartments such as the soil, crop, air, surface- and groundwater, which may harm the public health and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water (Basel) 2021-05, Vol.13 (9), p.1168
Main Authors: Cornelissen, Pavan, van der Zee, Sjoerd E. A. T. M, Leijnse, Anton
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adsorption
Case studies
Climate change
Compartments
Contaminants
Environmental quality
Environmental sustainability
Fluxes
Freshwater pollution
Freshwater resources
Groundwater
Impaired water use
Indicators
Integrated approach
Irrigation
Irrigation water
Mitigation
Organic chemicals
Outdoor air quality
Permethrin
Public health
Quality standards
Soil contamination
Soil erosion
Sustainability
Sustainability management
Wastewater
Wastewater irrigation
Water
Water quality
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Summary:The use of marginal water, such as reclaimed wastewater or effluent, for irrigation can reduce the pressure on existing freshwater resources. However, this can cause contaminants to accumulate in compartments such as the soil, crop, air, surface- and groundwater, which may harm the public health and the environment. Environmental quality standards for these compartments are generally considered separately. However, the compartments are related to each other by the fluxes between them, and the concept of sustainability should hold for all compartments simultaneously. An integrated approach is therefore required for the sustainability assessment of irrigation with marginal water. Since such an approach has not been provided yet, we develop an integrated framework in this study. We provide sustainability indicators by comparing the long-term contaminant concentration and fluxes with quality standards for each environmental compartment. These indicators give comprehensible information on which contaminants will cause problems, which environmental compartments are threatened, and on what timescale this will occur. This allows for the prioritization of mitigation and preventive measures for better sustainability management. We illustrate the use of the framework by means of a case study.
ISSN:2073-4441
2073-4441
DOI:10.3390/w13091168