Impact of Treated Wastewater Reuse on Agriculture and Aquifer Recharge in a Coastal Area: Korba-Mida Case Study Cap Bon (Tunisia) (original) (raw)
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Water Resources Management, 2011
Treated wastewater (TWW) reuse has increasingly been integrated in the planning and development of water resources in Tunisia. The present study aimed the evaluation of the environmental and health impact that would have the reuse of TWW for crops direct irrigation or for the recharge of the local aquifer in Korba (Tunisia). For this purpose water analyses were carried on the TWW intended for the aquifer recharge and on underground water of this area. As for underground water before recharge, no contamination by organic matter or heavy metals is shown but high salinity, nitrate, potassium and chloride concentrations are detected. The bacteriological analyses show the occurrence of faecal streptococcus, thermo-tolerant coliforms, total coliforms and E coli, but absence of salmonella. These results indicate that this water is not suitable for irrigation worse still for drinking purpose. The monitoring of TWW pollutants has demonstrated that oxygen demands (COD and BOD) do not exceed the Tunisian standards for TWW used in agriculture (NT 106.03) except for August when samples reach high values (COD = 139 mg O 2 L −1 , BOD = 34). It is also the case for temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), salinity and pH. Heavy metal concentrations are under the detection limit. The
Egyptian Journal of Chemistry, 2017
groundwater) and their impact on human health as well as evaluate these water resources for different purposes at Atfih area which occupies the southern portion of Giza governorate. To achieve the aim of the present study, fifty water samples (surface water and groundwater samples) are collected during March (2016) and chemically analyzed for detection of inorganic and bacteriological pollutants. Drinking and agriculture in this area depend mainly on the water of Nile River and two main canals namely El Khashab and Masjid Musa canals as well as groundwater. The results indicated that, El Khashab and Masjid Musa canals are subjected to pollution from different sources. Also, the shallow groundwater tapped from the near surface quaternary deposits is also subjected to pollution. The socalled El Saff wastewater canal represents one of the main sources of pollution for the water resources in the study area. This canal runs longitudinally for about 50km along the foot slopes of the eastern Eocene escarpment. All the detected pollutants are considered very serious to people's health. The most important pollution problem sources include the wastewater produced from the industrial complex at Helwan area in addition to the wastewater discharged from El Saff wastewater canal into the Nile River and its canals. On the other hand, the excessive seepage of drainage water rich in fertilizers and pesticides causes pollution for groundwater. Majority of surface water (El Khashab and Masjid Musa canals) samples and groundwater samples in the study area are unsuitable for drinking as they have Fe, Sr, B and NO 3 more than that of the permissible limit.In conclusion, most of the surface water and groundwater samples in the study area are suitable for irrigation.
Desalination and Water Treatment, 2015
A quantitative and qualitative analysis was performed on treated wastewater to see if it can be used for irrigation, using as a case study the effluent from a wastewater treatment plant in Chlef, Algeria. The results showed that the average removal efficiencies of suspended solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) were 88, 94, and 98%, respectively. The average effluent concentrations ranged from 3 to 29 mg/L for TSS, 30 to 57 mg/L for COD, and 3 to 8.9 mg/L for BOD5. All were within the World Health Organization standards. Furthermore, the total coliform concentration of the treated wastewater was also within the national and international standards. There was an absence of toxic micro-pollutants such as heavy metals, which suggests that treated water can be used as an alternative water resource for irrigation. The reuse of treated wastewater is both a political and socioeconomic challenge. However, this route may help to alleviate water shortages by better conserving natural resources and also contributing to the development of integrated water management systems.
Environmental Geology, 2008
Groundwater in Sfax City (Tunisia) has been known since the beginning of the century for its deterioration in quality, as a result of wastewater recharge into the aquifer. An average value of 12 • 10 6 m 3 of untreated wastewater reaches the groundwater aquifer each year. This would result not only in a chemical and biological contamination of the groundwater, but also in an increase of the aquifer piezometric level. Quantitative impacts were evaluated by examining the groundwater piezometric level at 57 surface wells and piezometers. The survey showed that, during the last two decades, the groundwater level was ever increasing in the urban area with values reaching 7 m in part; and decreasing in Sidi Abid (agricultural area) with values exceeding-3 m. Groundwater samples for chemical and microbial analysis were collected from 41 wells spread throughout the study area. Results showed significantly elevated levels of sodium, chlorides, nitrates and coliform bacteria all over the urban area. High levels (NO 3 : 56-254 mg/l; Na [1,500 mg/l; Coliforms [30/100 ml) can be related to more densely populated areas with a higher density of pit latrine and recharge wells. Alternatively results showed a very variable chemical composition of groundwater, e.g. electrical conductivity ranges from 4,040 to19,620 ls/cm and the dry residual varies between 1.4 and 14 g/l with concentrations increasing downstream. Furthermore a softening of groundwater in Set Ezzit (highly populated sector) was observed.
Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 2017
Located in the southeast of Tunisia, on the Mediterranean Sea, Jerba Island has a semiarid climate condition. The surface water scarcity has made groundwater the main source to supply the domestic, touristic, and agricultural water demand. Unconfined aquifer is a vulnerable costal aquifer system that undergoes several phenomena. This work aims at assessing the geochemical and bacteriological groundwater quality, defining groundwater pollution sources and promoting sustainable development and effective management of groundwater resources in Jerba Island. Data were collected after the wet season in 2014 from 79 wells. Electric conductivity, pH, TDS, and major and fecal tracers (total coliforms, thermotolerant coliforms, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella) were analyzed. Geochemical modeling including the relationships between geochemical tracers Na + vs. Cl − , Ca 2+ vs. Cl − , K + vs. Cl − , representative ionic ratios (Br − /Cl − , Na + /Cl − , Mg 2+ / Ca 2+), and statistical analysis were used to specify major process contributing to groundwater pollution and main factors controlling groundwater mineralization in the island. Groundwater varieties were hydrochemically classified into three types in terms of salinity values: group 1 (8.86%) to fresh water, group 2 (27.84%) to brackish water, and group 3 (63.29%) belongs to saline water. In addition, groundwater quality revealed high concentrations in chemical pollution tracers (Na + , Cl − , SO 4 2− , and NO 3 −) and fecal tracers. Besides, most of the sampled wells were contaminated with nitrate (50.63%). Also, thermotolerant coliforms and E. coli were detected in all groundwater samples (96.2% of wells). Results indicated that the Jerba shallow aquifer was under serious threat from both natural and anthropogenic contamination. However, the wild discharge of domestic effluents, septic tanks, and sewage were the main origins of underground water contamination in Jerba Island. The reduction of fecal sources, through constructing normalized latrines is thus recommended.
Irrigation with treated wastewaters and the protection of Hennaya groundwater – Tlemcen, Algeria
Journal of Water and Land Development, 2019
The Henaya Irrigated Perimeter (HIP) is an agricultural area irrigated by treated wastewater (TWW) of Ain El Hout treatment plant. Various analyses have shown that i) this water has low concentration of heavy metals and toxic elements, ii) the average values of the physicochemical parameters for 136 samples are satisfactory (29.2 mg O2∙dm−3 for chemical oxygen demands – COD, 13.14 mg O2∙dm−3 for biological oxygen demands – BOD, 14.2 mg∙dm−3 of suspended matter – SM, 1.82 mg∙dm−3 of N-NO3, 7.7 for pH and 927.74 μS∙cm−1 for electric conductivity – EC). Thirdly, it contains a high number of bacteria and nematodes (7200 CFU∙(100 dm3)−1 for faecal coliforms and 30 eggs∙dm−3 for intestinal Nematodes) which makes it dangerous for groundwater contamination.The objective in this work is to characterize the TWW and evaluate the impact of it use for irrigation on the quality of Hennaya groundwater. Before this, one has to prove that there is an amount of TWW that feeds the water table to show ...
Chapter, 2020
The assessment of water quality and pollution of surface water resources is crucial to maintain the integrity of aquatic environments. This study aims at characterizing water physicochemical and bacteriological quality of Biskra Wadis (northeastern Algeria). Water samples were collected monthly from three different Wadis receiving common wastewater effluents from the city of Biskra. Using standard methods, each sample underwent several analyses to determine physicochemical parameters (temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, Turbidity, biological and chemical oxygen demand “BOD5 and COD”, and concentrations of suspended materials, dissolved oxygen, phosphate, nitrites, nitrates, and ammoniacal nitrogen) and bacterial quality (total coliforms, faecal coliforms, faecal Streptococci, and sulfite-reducing Clostridia). Most of measured physicochemical parameters reached unacceptable quality limits according to FAO and WHO standards. The water of Biskra Wadis are characterized by slightly alkaline water pH (7–7.79), electrical conductivity>1500µS/cm, turbidity>5NTU, very low level of suspended solid materials (1–1.33mg/L), dissolved oxygen<5–8mg/L, phosphates>2mg/L, BOD5>5mg/L, COD>30mg/L, nitrite>0.1mg/L, and NH3-N>0.5mg/L. Our findings emphasized the high contamination load of bacterial groups studied that exceeded WHO standards: total coliforms (56917–76167 CFU/100mL), faecal coliforms (457–6100CFU/100mL), faecal Streptococci (1432–5217CFU/100mL) and sulfite-reducing Clostridia (886–5217 CFU/100mL). These results revealed an important faecal pollution in the water of study Wadis. The spatiotemporal trend of different physicochemical and bacterial parameters, as well as the relationships between bacteria densities and physicochemical parameters were tested and discussed. The discharge of untreated wastewater into natural Wadis of drylands results in high and potential pollution risk with serious health and environmental issues. Therefore, the appropriate water treatment prior wastewater discharge is needed urgently to prevent aquatic ecosystem pollution and degradation.
BMC Research Notes, 2011
Background: In many parts of the world, health problems and diseases have often been caused by discharging untreated or inadequately treated wastewater. In this study, we aimed to control physico-chemical parameters in wastewater samples. Also, microbiological analyses were done to reveal Salmonella strains and each Escherichia coli (E.coli) pathotype. Findings: Sixty wastewater samples were collected from fifteen different regions of Tunisia. All physico-chemical parameters (pH, residual free chlorine, total suspended solids, biological oxygen demand, and chemical oxygen demand) were evaluated. For microbiological analyses, samples were filtered to concentrate bacteria. DNA was extracted by boiling and subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using different pairs of primers. The mean pH values recorded for the sampling point were above the WHO pH tolerance limit. The total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations varied between 240 mg/L and 733 mg/L in entrance points and between 13 mg/L and 76 mg/L in exit points. In entrance points, the studied wastewater has an average COD concentration that varied between 795 mg/mL to 1420 mg/mL. Whereas, BOD concentration of the wastewater ranged between 270 mg/L to 610 mg/L. In exit points, COD concentration varied between 59 mg/L and 141 mg/L, whereas BOD concentration ranged from 15 mg/L to 87 mg/L. The bacteriological control of wastewaters showed that, in entrance points, Escherichia coli (E.coli) was detected at the rate of 76.6%. Three E.coli pathotypes were found: ETEC (53.3%), EAEC (16.6%) and EIEC (6.6%). Concerning the ETEC isolated strains, 8 of 16 (50%) have only the heat-labile toxin gene, 5 of 16 (31.2%) present only the heat-stable toxin gene and 3 of 16 (18.7%) of strains possess both heat-labile toxin gene and heat-stable toxin gene. In exist point, the same pathotypes were found but all detected ETEC strains present only the "est" gene. Concerning Salmonella isolated strains; percentages of 66.6% and 20% were found in entrance and exit points respectively. Conclusions: Wastewaters contain a large amount of pathogenic bacteria that present a real impact on human health. Assessment wastewater treatment stations have to consider in account enterobacterial pathogens as potential pathogens that should be correctly controlled.