Providing Water Quality Index for Water use in Agriculture: A Case Study

Background: Most countries face water scarcity, population growth, climate change, uneven water distribution, excessive water use, and biological, agricultural, and industrial water pollution. Using wastewater and brackish waterways for cultivation reduces pollution. Polluted water impacts human bio...

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Main Authors: Sosan Rezaei, Ebrahim Fataei
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences 2024-11-01
Series:Journal of Advances in Environmental Health Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://jaehr.muk.ac.ir/article_209639_26ca7366d9abb84aff043c0f28456cd5.pdf
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author Sosan Rezaei
Ebrahim Fataei
author_facet Sosan Rezaei
Ebrahim Fataei
author_sort Sosan Rezaei
collection DOAJ
description Background: Most countries face water scarcity, population growth, climate change, uneven water distribution, excessive water use, and biological, agricultural, and industrial water pollution. Using wastewater and brackish waterways for cultivation reduces pollution. Polluted water impacts human biology. Thus, they must be adequately studied before irrigating crops. Methods: This study used the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to assess the quality of non-conventional agricultural waters from the Karaj and Anbaj wastewater treatment plants in Iran. Water quality was evaluated based on 7 primary criteria and 52 sub-criteria. The Canadian Water Quality Index (CWQI) and the proposed model were developed from the measured parameters of the effluent from both the Anbaj and Karaj treatment plants. The data were analyzed using the Expert Choice software. Results: In this study, chloride, fecal coliforms, and intestinal parasite eggs received the highest scores, while arsenic (As) and molybdenum (Mo) were assigned the lowest scores. The findings indicated that the effluent from the Anbaj wastewater treatment plant requires extensive treatment before being suitable for agricultural use. In contrast, the effluent from the Karaj wastewater treatment plant was of moderate quality and requires minimal treatment. This study recommends applying the proposed model to evaluate wastewater quality for agricultural purposes. Conclusion: Researches of soil and wastewater interactions suggests that crops irrigated with wastewater may pose risks to both ecosystems and human health due to physical, chemical, and microbiological factors. These impacts can compromise soil fertility and productivity. Therefore, the use of wastewater in agricultural practices should be implemented with appropriate safeguards.
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spelling doaj-art-99239fc80ae046acb3fcf02ebaeeae8c2025-01-29T09:12:46ZengKurdistan University of Medical SciencesJournal of Advances in Environmental Health Research2345-39902024-11-01131263410.34172/jaehr.1362209639Providing Water Quality Index for Water use in Agriculture: A Case StudySosan Rezaei0Ebrahim Fataei1Department of Environment, Ardabil Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ardabil, IranDepartment of Environment, Ardabil Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ardabil, IranBackground: Most countries face water scarcity, population growth, climate change, uneven water distribution, excessive water use, and biological, agricultural, and industrial water pollution. Using wastewater and brackish waterways for cultivation reduces pollution. Polluted water impacts human biology. Thus, they must be adequately studied before irrigating crops. Methods: This study used the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to assess the quality of non-conventional agricultural waters from the Karaj and Anbaj wastewater treatment plants in Iran. Water quality was evaluated based on 7 primary criteria and 52 sub-criteria. The Canadian Water Quality Index (CWQI) and the proposed model were developed from the measured parameters of the effluent from both the Anbaj and Karaj treatment plants. The data were analyzed using the Expert Choice software. Results: In this study, chloride, fecal coliforms, and intestinal parasite eggs received the highest scores, while arsenic (As) and molybdenum (Mo) were assigned the lowest scores. The findings indicated that the effluent from the Anbaj wastewater treatment plant requires extensive treatment before being suitable for agricultural use. In contrast, the effluent from the Karaj wastewater treatment plant was of moderate quality and requires minimal treatment. This study recommends applying the proposed model to evaluate wastewater quality for agricultural purposes. Conclusion: Researches of soil and wastewater interactions suggests that crops irrigated with wastewater may pose risks to both ecosystems and human health due to physical, chemical, and microbiological factors. These impacts can compromise soil fertility and productivity. Therefore, the use of wastewater in agricultural practices should be implemented with appropriate safeguards.https://jaehr.muk.ac.ir/article_209639_26ca7366d9abb84aff043c0f28456cd5.pdfanalytical hierarchy process methodsewage effluentwastewaterwater reuse
spellingShingle Sosan Rezaei
Ebrahim Fataei
Providing Water Quality Index for Water use in Agriculture: A Case Study
Journal of Advances in Environmental Health Research
analytical hierarchy process method
sewage effluent
wastewater
water reuse
title Providing Water Quality Index for Water use in Agriculture: A Case Study
title_full Providing Water Quality Index for Water use in Agriculture: A Case Study
title_fullStr Providing Water Quality Index for Water use in Agriculture: A Case Study
title_full_unstemmed Providing Water Quality Index for Water use in Agriculture: A Case Study
title_short Providing Water Quality Index for Water use in Agriculture: A Case Study
title_sort providing water quality index for water use in agriculture a case study
topic analytical hierarchy process method
sewage effluent
wastewater
water reuse
url https://jaehr.muk.ac.ir/article_209639_26ca7366d9abb84aff043c0f28456cd5.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT sosanrezaei providingwaterqualityindexforwateruseinagricultureacasestudy
AT ebrahimfataei providingwaterqualityindexforwateruseinagricultureacasestudy