How can sewage water be used for irrigation?

Question

i just wanna know if sewage water can be used for growing plants.how?why?

Answer 1

Grey water, that is water NOT from the toilet (and in some municipalities shower and clothes washer....fear of fecal contamination from bathing and clothes washing)  is OK for irrigation if it is not the sole water source.  The reason is the soaps may be too alkaline for your plants.  If the grey water is an occassional source, yes, it's fine.  

Black water, that is sewage water needs to be treated, at least with a primary water treatment and should not be used on edible crops or where people and kiddies will be flopping around on the ground.  

The elementary school in our area build a Constructed Wetlands to treat their sewage water and create a natural habitat for the school.  

There's a good book on the topic, "Constructed Wetlands for Waste Water Treatment by Michael Hammer

http://books.google.com/books?id=BCdPHXm...

http://www.toolbase.org/Technology-Inven...

Answer 2

Municipal Recycling Survey in California

The State Water Resources Control Board in California has recently conducted a comprehensive statewide survey of facilities where recycled water was used.

Water Reuse Association

This American association lobbies for state and federal legislation to increase the availability of funding for water recycling. It also promotes the adoption of laws, regulations, and public policies that support water recycling.

City of San Diego Recycled Water Program

Details on San Diego's recycling plants that treat effluent to a level suitable for irrigation, manufacturing and other non-drinking purposes.

Frequently Asked Questions



1. What is recycled water?

2. Is recycled water presently in use?

3. Can households use recycled water?

4. Why is recycled water being used?

5. What are the benefits of using recycled water?

6. How can recycled water be used?

7. Where does recycled water come from?

8. What happens to treated effluent at present?

9. Is recycled water safe?

10. Are there guidelines for recycled water use?

11. How is recycled water defined?

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1 What is recycled water?

Stormwater, greywater, rainwater and treated effluent are all alternative water supplies that, when treated as required, are suitable for a range of purposes. This can include irrigating grazing land and crops, in horticulture, industrial processing, in residential dual pipe schemes, and to keep our public and recreational spaces green. On this website, "recycled water" generally refers to fully treated effluent from sewage treatment plants. Recycled water is a valuable resource. It contributes to conservation of drinking quality water, improves the reliability of our water supplies, frees up water for the environment or growth, and reduces the amount of treated effluent discharged into our bays and oceans.

2. Is recycled water presently in use?

Recycled water is already being used in a wide range of applications, including the irrigation of agriculture, parklands and golf courses.

3. Can households use recycled water?

There are a number of residential developments planned for Melbourne, which will have dual pipe facilities enabling the use of recycled water for non-drinking applications such as toilet flushing and garden watering.

4. Why is recycled water being used?

Water is a precious resource, yet less than 10% of Australia's urban and industrial water is recycled. Melburnians use about 485,000 million litres of potable (drinking) water each year. Much of this is for uses that do not require drinking quality water, and could be substituted with recycled water. Water recycling is a socially, environmentally and economically viable solution to help preserve our drinking water supplies.

5. What are the benefits of using recycled water?

Recycled water has many benefits. It reduces the demand on fresh water and makes use of a precious resource that currently goes to waste. Water recycling schemes protect the environment by reducing the discharge of treated effluent to bays and the ocean.

6. How can recycled water be used?

In general terms, Class C recycled water can be used for crops such as tree plantations, vineyards and general agriculture, and irrigation of golf courses and parklands under controlled conditions. With further treatment to Class A, recycled water can be used on an unrestricted basis for horticulture, irrigation of market gardens and open space recreation, and for garden watering and toilet flushing through dual pipe residential development schemes.

7. Where does recycled water come from?

In most cases around metropolitan Melbourne, the source for recycled water is one of Melbourne Water's two sewage treatment facilities - the Eastern Treatment Plant at Bangholme and the Western Treatment Plant at Werribee, which provide large amounts of recycled water all year round. However, in some cases local treatment plants run by the metropolitan retail water companies also provide recycled water.

Another potential source of recycled water involves extracting and treating sewage along existing pipelines (sewer/water mining). The sewage is treated on location (away from an existing treatment plant) using a localised treatment plant. This solution provides another option for recycling, which can reduce the requirement for new pipelines and therefore increase the viability of some recycling proposals.

Stormwater recycling offers another on-site recycling option, with treated recycled rainwater used for non drinking water domestic applications.

8. What happens to treated effluent at present?

The majority of Melbourne's sewage is treated at Melbourne Water's Eastern and Western sewage treatment plants and discharged as treated effluent into Bass Strait and Port Phillip Bay. Approximately 11.3% of the total flow is recycled at present. In addition, large flows from the Western Treatment Plant are used for environmental flows for complex onsite wetland habitats.

Through the increased use of recycled water, we will be able to further reduce the volume of water discharged and use it in applications beneficial to the environment and the community.

9. Is recycled water safe?

Yes. Recycled water undergoes high standards of treatment to ensure it is fit for its intended purpose. There are standards that apply for its use. Regular monitoring and reporting is required to ensure the quality of water being supplied is fit for use.

10. Are there guidelines for recycled water use?

Yes. Recycled water can be safely used for a variety of purposes appropriate to the level of treatment it has undergone, in accordance with EPA Victoria's Guidelines for Environmental Management: Use of Reclaimed Water.

These standards are in line with interstate and international practice and permit a wide range of applications. Individual water recycling projects each require an Environment Improvement Plan, which complies with the requirements of EPA Victoria Visit www.epa.vic.gov.au  for more information.

11. How is recycled water defined?

Recycled water is defined as water that has been treated to a 'fit for purpose' standard for a specific application. The following water classes can all be used to replace potable water and, if used in an EPA-approved fit-for-purpose application, can be classified as recycled water:

Class  Range of uses (uses include all lower class uses)  

A Urban (non-potable): with uncontrolled public access.

Agricultural: eg human food crops consumed raw.

Industrial: open systems with worker exposure potential.

B Agricultural: eg dairy cattle grazing.

Industrial: eg wash down water.

C Urban (non-potable) with controlled public access.

Agricultural: eg human food crops cooked/processed, grazing/fodder for livestock.

Industrial: systems with no potential worker exposure.

D Agricultural: non-food crops including instant turf, woodlots, flowers.

EPA Victoria: Guidelines for Environmental Management, Use of Reclaimed Water, September 2002

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Recycling Water for a Greener Future

Quality of Recycled Water

Eastern Region

Western Region

Other Recycling Initiatives

Supply of Recycled Water

Links and FAQS

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Answer 3

This is considered a grey water system.  Where holding takes store the water from your shower, washer etc. filters it and pumps it into your toilet for flushing or out into your yard for irrigation.  A typical system is about $5000 to install.    I just saw a show on tv about this the other night : P

Answer 4

I dont know about that- it's a BIO HAZARD!!!!

It's not something to experiment with!!!