Abstract:
The reclaimed water from soil aquifer treatment (SAT) column was reused for irrigation as the source
water, pollutants’ removal and health risk assessment was analyzed via the comparison with
secondary and tertiary effluents. The effect of the SAT pre-treatment on the qualities and growth of
different crops (Lachca sativa – lettuce, Brasica rapa var chinensis – pak choi, Cucumis sativus –
cucumber, Brassica oleracea – cabbage, and Zea mays – maize) were evaluated. Experimental results
demonstrated that the tertiary and SAT treatments had no significant effect on the crop qualities, and
could efficiently decrease the accumulation of heavy metals (especially for SAT pre-treatment).
Moreover, the carcinogenic risk of the chemical carcinogens for the 1.5 m SAT effluent irrigation
declined roughly an order of magnitude as compared with the secondary effluent, and three to four
orders of magnitude decreasing of the virus risk. These findings are significant for the safe and cheap
reuse of secondary effluent for irrigation purposes.
