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Multi-objective models of waste load allocation toward a sustainable reuse of drainage water in irrigation

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Abstract

The present study proposes a waste load allocation (WLA) framework for a sustainable quality management of agricultural drainage water (ADW). Two multi-objective models, namely, abatement-performance and abatement-equity-performance, were developed through the integration of a water quality model (QAUL2Kw) and a genetic algorithm, by considering (1) the total waste load abatement, and (2) the inequity among waste dischargers. For successfully accomplishing modeling tasks, we developed a comprehensive overall performance measure (E wla ) reflecting possible violations of Egyptian standards for ADW reuse in irrigation. This methodology was applied to the Gharbia drain in the Nile Delta, Egypt, during both summer and winter seasons of 2012. Abatement-performance modeling results for a target of E wla = 100 % corresponded to the abatement ratio of the dischargers ranging from 20.7 to 75.6 % and 29.5 to 78.5 % in summer and in winter, respectively, alongside highly shifting inequity values. Abatement-equity-performance modeling results for a target of E wla = 90 % unraveled the necessity of increasing treatment efforts in three out of five dischargers during summer, and four out of five in winter. The trade-off curves obtained from WLA models proved their reliability in selecting appropriate WLA procedures as a function of budget constraints, principles of social equity, and desired overall performance level. Hence, the proposed framework of methodologies is of great importance to decision makers working toward a sustainable reuse of the ADW in irrigation.

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Acknowledgments

The first author would like to thank the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) for providing him the financial support (Ph.D. scholarship) for this research as well as the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST) for offering the facility and tools needed to conduct this work. This study was partially supported by the Core-to-Core Program (B. Asia-Africa Science Platforms) of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Kafr Elsheikh University, Kafr El-Shaikh, Egypt

    Ayman Allam

  2. Environmental Engineering Department, Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST), Alexandria, Egypt

    Ayman Allam & Ahmed Tawfik

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8552, Japan

    Chihiro Yoshimura

  4. Irrigation Engineering and Hydraulics Department, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, El-Horia St, Alexandria, 21544, Egypt

    Amr Fleifle

Authors
  1. Ayman Allam
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  2. Ahmed Tawfik
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  3. Chihiro Yoshimura
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  4. Amr Fleifle
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Correspondence to Ayman Allam or Ahmed Tawfik.

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Allam, A., Tawfik, A., Yoshimura, C. et al. Multi-objective models of waste load allocation toward a sustainable reuse of drainage water in irrigation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 11823–11834 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6331-z

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