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Recycled Water for Irrigation of Edible Crops Cover Design by Lauren Christensen Recycled Water for Irrigation of Edible Crops Cover design by Lauren Christensen Cover photo by Heidi Oberman White Paper Recycled Water for Irrigation of Edible Crops prepared for November 2015 prepared by Bahman Sheikh, PhD, PE www.bahmansheikh.com (this page is intentionally blank) Table of Contents List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................... ii List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................... ii ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................................................................... iii GLOSSARY .............................................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................................. v INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Public Health, Food Safety, and Sustainability of Recycled Water ......................................................... 1 Reclaimed, Recycled, Reused ............................................................................................................... 2 PUBLIC HEALTH FRAMEWORK FOR FOOD SAFETY USING RECYCLED WATER FOR IRRIGATION.................. 3 REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS FOR IRRIGATION WITH RECLAIMED WATER ............................................... 5 ORGANIC FARMING AND RECYCLED WATER ............................................................................................ 8 FOOD SAFETY AND IRRIGATION WITH RECYCLED WATER ......................................................................... 9 Safety of Children Exposed to Recycled Water.................................................................................. 12 The Extent and Relevance of Microconstituents in Recycled Water ................................................. 13 Exposure of Agricultural Workers, Children on Playgrounds, Golfers, and Landscapers .................. 14 Decomposition of Microconstituents in the Topsoil.......................................................................... 17 Potential for Uptake of PPCP/EDCs in Leafy Vegetables ................................................................... 19 Long-Term Irrigation with Recycled Water........................................................................................ 19 AGRONOMIC CRITERIA FOR SUSTAINABLE IRRIGATION WITH RECYCLED WATER ................................... 20 Salinity, Sodicity, Boron, Metals, Nutrients ....................................................................................... 20 Research Results on Long-Term Salt Accumulation in Soils ............................................................... 21 Colorado-Specific Research Results ................................................................................................... 22 TREATMENT PROCESSES ENSURING SAFETY OF RECYCLED WATER ........................................................ 24 DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF RECYCLED WATER FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF CROPS ................................... 27 Farmers’ Experience with Recycled Water ............................................................................................ 30 Orange County, Florida ..................................................................................................................... 30 King County, Washington (condensed from USEPA, 2012, p. D-169).................................................. 30 Monterey County, California ............................................................................................................. 31 Santa Cruz County, California ............................................................................................................ 32 Sonoma County, California................................................................................................................ 32 COMMUNITY GARDENS USING RECYCLED WATER ................................................................................. 33 Guadalupe Gardens in San Jose, California ....................................................................................... 33 Monterey Road, Glendale, CA Community Garden ........................................................................... 34 King County, WA, Reclaimed Water and Biosolids Demonstration Garden ....................................... 35 Precautionary Measures to Further Ensure Safety ............................................................................ 35 ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF IRRIGATION WITH RECYCLED WATER.............................................................. 36 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WATER REUSE FOR IRRIGATION OF EDIBLE CROPS IN COLORADO ................ 38 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................... 40 APPENDIX A—ALLOWED USES OF RECYCLED WATER; CALIFORNIA ........................................................ 42 APPENDIX B - CALCULATION OF EXPOSURE TO DIFFERENT CECs UNDER VARIOUS ACTIVITY SCENARIOS 44 APPENDIX C—SAN JOSE, CA COMMUNITY GARDENS PROGRAM 2014 RULES AND REGULATIONS.......... 45 APPENDIX D—USEPA’S SUGGESTED GUIDELINES FOR USE OF RECYCLED WATER FOR IRRIGATION ........ 46 Recycled Water for Irrigation of Edible Crops List of Tables Table 1. Treatment Trains Prescribed and Numerical Standards Specified for Irrigation of Food Crops with Recycled Water .............................................................................................................................. 7 Table 2 Comparison of Colorado Category 3 Recycled Water Treatment and Quality with the Treatment and Quality of MWRSA Recycled Waters ............................................................................................... 10 Table 3 Parks, Playgrounds, and Schoolyards Irrigated with Reclaimed Water....................................... 12 Table 4 Colorado Parks, Playgrounds, and Schoolyards Irrigated with Reclaimed Water ........................ 13 Table 5 Recycled Water Exposure Scenario—Agriculture Worker in Field Irrigated with Filtered and Disinfected Recycled Water ................................................................................................................... 15 Table 6 Recycled Water Exposure Scenario—Child Playing in Playground Irrigated with Filtered and Disinfected Recycled Water ................................................................................................................... 16 Table 7 Recycled Water Exposure Scenario—Golfer Playing on Golf Course Irrigated with Filtered and Disinfected Recycled Water ................................................................................................................... 16 Table 8 Recycled Water Exposure Scenario—Landscape Worker Maintaining Landscapes Irrigated with Filtered and Disinfected Recycled Water ............................................................................................... 17 Table 9 Summary of Applied and Percolate Water Quality—Oahu Soils on Permeable Volcanic Parent Materials ............................................................................................................................................... 18 Table 10 Summary of Benefits of Typical Water Reuse Projects—Using 1998 Valuations ...................... 37 Table 11 Shift in Crop Areas and Values of Artichokes and Strawberries Grown in the Area where Recycled Water Is Used for Irrigation in Monterey County, CA ............................................................... 37 List of Figures Figure 1 Quality of Denver Water’s recycled water in the spectrum of potential restriction for irrigation use ........................................................................................................................................................ 22 Figure 2 Treatment Process Train at the Denver Water Recycling Plant ................................................. 26 Figure 3 Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) Typical Configuration ................................................................. 27 Figure 4 Risk vs. Treatment Level for Five Uses of Recycled Water ........................................................ 28 Figure 5 Results of Five-Year Microbial Monitoring on 8 Sites on Cache La Poudre River ....................... 29 Page ii Recycled Water for Irrigation of Edible Crops ABBREVIATIONS AF Acre-feet AFY Acre-feet per year CEC Constituents of Emerging Concern (also, microconstituents) MBR Membrane bioreactor (combination of membrane filtration and biological treatment) mgd Million gallons per day mg/L Milligrams per liter (parts per million) μg/L Microgram per liter (parts per billion) MWRSA Monterey Wastewater Reclamation Study for Agriculture ng/L Nanogram per liter (parts per trillion) SAR Sodium Adsorption Ratio TDS Total Dissolved Solids TM Technical Memorandum USEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency GLOSSARY Acre-foot Volume of water equal to 325,850 gallons Absorption Process of movement of water and dissolved substances from the soil solution into the plant root system. Adsorption Electrical attraction between negatively charged soil clay particles and positively charged ions (cations such
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