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Wastewater reuse potential for irrigated agriculture

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Abstract

This study analyzed the effects of population and urban growth on water demand for irrigation and other water users, as well as municipal wastewater quantity changes, by developing a new mathematical model. The model was developed to consider the potential for reuse of treated wastewater for agricultural irrigation, by analyzing the increasing quantity of wastewater production in an urban area. It was applied to a case study in Logan, Utah, whereby results from the model showed a total water demand of 0.7 and 1.27 m3/s in 2020 and 2050, respectively, while the model predicted that the average wastewater influent for Logan City would be more than double from 2010 to 2050. Accordingly, a model-predicted increase of 16% in the annual production of wastewater was observed from 2010 to 2025. The amount of wastewater production in 2030 was estimated to be 14.2 million m3/year, which is enough to produce food from irrigated agriculture for 11% of the future population of Logan City. This emphasizes the potential importance of reusing wastewater for irrigated agriculture. Water conservation was also studied and it showed that a 5% conservation of water volume could cover the needs of an additional 4.2 thousand people in 2030.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Utah Water Research Laboratory, Logan, UT, USA

    Leila Ahmadi

  2. Natural Resources Consulting Engineers, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Gary P. Merkley

Authors
  1. Leila Ahmadi
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  2. Gary P. Merkley
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Correspondence to Gary P. Merkley.

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Communicated by E. Fereres.

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Ahmadi, L., Merkley, G.P. Wastewater reuse potential for irrigated agriculture. Irrig Sci 35, 275–285 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-017-0539-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-017-0539-7

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