TY - JOUR
T1 - Mitigating risks and maximizing sustainability of treated wastewater reuse for irrigation
AU - Yalin, David
AU - Craddock, Hillary A.
AU - Assouline, Shmuel
AU - Mordechay, Evyatar Ben
AU - Ben-Gal, Alon
AU - Bernstein, Nirit
AU - Chaudhry, Rabia M.
AU - Chefetz, Benny
AU - Fatta-Kassinos, Despo
AU - Gawlik, Bernd M.
AU - Hamilton, Kerry A.
AU - Khalifa, Leron
AU - Kisekka, Isaya
AU - Klapp, Iftach
AU - Korach-Rechtman, Hila
AU - Kurtzman, Daniel
AU - Levy, Guy J.
AU - Maffettone, Roberta
AU - Malato, Sixto
AU - Manaia, Célia M.
AU - Manoli, Kyriakos
AU - Moshe, Orah F.
AU - Rimelman, Andrew
AU - Rizzo, Luigi
AU - Sedlak, David L.
AU - Shnit-Orland, Maya
AU - Shtull-Trauring, Eliav
AU - Tarchitzky, Jorge
AU - Welch-White, Venus
AU - Williams, Clinton
AU - McLain, Jean
AU - Cytryn, Eddie
N1 - Funding Information:
This manuscript was the product of the symposium “Understanding and mitigating effects of treated wastewater reuse in agriculture: From risks to policy and new opportunities (treWAG2022)”, which was supported by the United States – Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund (Workshop No. WS-122–2021 ), and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program project DSWAP under the PRIMA program under grant agreement 1822 . Further support was provided by the US EPA Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP Action 1.6) . We especially thank Dr. Sharon Nappier, the National Program Leader for Water Reuse at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for critical review and important comments that enabled us to improve the manuscript.
Funding Information:
This manuscript was the product of the symposium “Understanding and mitigating effects of treated wastewater reuse in agriculture: From risks to policy and new opportunities (treWAG2022)”, which was supported by the United States – Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund (Workshop No. WS-122–2021), and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program project DSWAP under the PRIMA program under grant agreement 1822. Further support was provided by the US EPA Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP Action 1.6). We especially thank Dr. Sharon Nappier, the National Program Leader for Water Reuse at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for critical review and important comments that enabled us to improve the manuscript.
Funding Information:
Currently, only ∼20 % of the global treated wastewater produced is reused ( Jones et al., 2021 ), with the rest being discharged into the environment. The long term experience of countries such as Israel, where ∼85 % of the generated TWW is reused for agricultural irrigation ( Cohen et al., 2020 ), can promote widespread use of this untapped resource. Despite its advantages, it bears noting that widespread TWW irrigation poses challenges to agricultural production, the environment, and public health that need to be addressed ( Levy et al., 2011 ; Ofori et al., 2021 ; Tal, 2016 ). The primary objective of this manuscript is to provide a roadmap for researchers, stakeholders, and policymakers to understand current and emerging challenges associated with agricultural TWW use, drawing upon the vast experience gained in Israel, Europe and the US. By contextualizing present-day research, policy and practical experience, this publication aims to inspire the expansion of agricultural TWW reuse. This work was the product of a four day international symposium (TreWAg 2022), supported by the United States-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund, the European Union's Horizon 2020 PRIMA program, and the US EPA Water Reuse Action Plan ( WRAP Action 1.6 ), which brought together a multidisciplinary group of scientists, stakeholders and policymakers.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s)
PY - 2023/12/1
Y1 - 2023/12/1
N2 - Scarcity of freshwater for agriculture has led to increased utilization of treated wastewater (TWW), establishing it as a significant and reliable source of irrigation water. However, years of research indicate that if not managed adequately, TWW may deleteriously affect soil functioning and plant productivity, and pose a hazard to human and environmental health. This review leverages the experience of researchers, stakeholders, and policymakers from Israel, the United-States, and Europe to present a holistic, multidisciplinary perspective on maximizing the benefits from municipal TWW use for irrigation. We specifically draw on the extensive knowledge gained in Israel, a world leader in agricultural TWW implementation. The first two sections of the work set the foundation for understanding current challenges involved with the use of TWW, detailing known and emerging agronomic and environmental issues (such as salinity and phytotoxicity) and public health risks (such as contaminants of emerging concern and pathogens). The work then presents solutions to address these challenges, including technological and agronomic management-based solutions as well as source control policies. The concluding section presents suggestions for the path forward, emphasizing the importance of improving links between research and policy, and better outreach to the public and agricultural practitioners. We use this platform as a call for action, to form a global harmonized data system that will centralize scientific findings on agronomic, environmental and public health effects of TWW irrigation. Insights from such global collaboration will help to mitigate risks, and facilitate more sustainable use of TWW for food production in the future.
AB - Scarcity of freshwater for agriculture has led to increased utilization of treated wastewater (TWW), establishing it as a significant and reliable source of irrigation water. However, years of research indicate that if not managed adequately, TWW may deleteriously affect soil functioning and plant productivity, and pose a hazard to human and environmental health. This review leverages the experience of researchers, stakeholders, and policymakers from Israel, the United-States, and Europe to present a holistic, multidisciplinary perspective on maximizing the benefits from municipal TWW use for irrigation. We specifically draw on the extensive knowledge gained in Israel, a world leader in agricultural TWW implementation. The first two sections of the work set the foundation for understanding current challenges involved with the use of TWW, detailing known and emerging agronomic and environmental issues (such as salinity and phytotoxicity) and public health risks (such as contaminants of emerging concern and pathogens). The work then presents solutions to address these challenges, including technological and agronomic management-based solutions as well as source control policies. The concluding section presents suggestions for the path forward, emphasizing the importance of improving links between research and policy, and better outreach to the public and agricultural practitioners. We use this platform as a call for action, to form a global harmonized data system that will centralize scientific findings on agronomic, environmental and public health effects of TWW irrigation. Insights from such global collaboration will help to mitigate risks, and facilitate more sustainable use of TWW for food production in the future.
KW - Agronomic and environmental risks
KW - Contaminants of emerging concern
KW - Policy and outreach
KW - Treated wastewater irrigation
KW - Wastewater treatment processes
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85172793614&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.wroa.2023.100203
DO - 10.1016/j.wroa.2023.100203
M3 - Article
C2 - 38098886
AN - SCOPUS:85172793614
SN - 2589-9147
VL - 21
JO - Water Research X
JF - Water Research X
M1 - 100203
ER -
