GROWING CROPS WITH RECLAIMED WASTEWATER

GROWING CROPS WITH RECLAIMED WASTEWATER

This comprehensive work examines the fundamentals required for reclaimed water schemes to deliver sustainable farming operations that achieve the yield and quality of produce necessary for acceptance in the market. Editor: Daryl Stevens Growing Crops with Reclaimed Wastewater reviews the historical background of water treatment, its use and disposal from Australian wastewater treatment facilities and the technologies now utilised to treat our wastewater for reuse. The major concerns of chemical, physical and pathological qualities of reclaimed water are addressed, ensuring that the environmental, economic and social requirements of today’s society are met. It reviews the state and national regulatory requirements and guidelines that have made Australia a world leader in the management of reclaimed water and also Stevens Editor: Daryl examines the guidance in the United States of America (Federal) and in California, the World Health Organization guidance and the situation in Israel. This is the first time such a definitive review has been produced on the use of wastewater for horticulture and it will be a key tool for decision makers, researchers and practitioners to understand the main issues and constraints. It will be of particular interest to agricultural scientists, waste and horticulture consultants, engineers, planners, state agencies, environmental officers and students.

GROWING CROPS WITH RECLAIMED WASTEWATER

GROWING CROPS WITH RECLAIMED WASTEWATER

Editor: Daryl Stevens, Arris Pty Ltd Associate Editors: Jim Kelly, Arris Pty Ltd Mike McLaughlin, CSIRO Land and Water Murray Unkovich, University of Adelaide Growing Crops_prelims_final.fm Page iv Wednesday, April 5, 2006 11:47 AM

© CSIRO 2006 All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Australian Copyright Act 1968 and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, duplicating or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Contact CSIRO PUBLISHING for all permission requests.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Growing crops with reclaimed wastewater. Includes index. ISBN 0 643 06625 X. 1. Water reuse – Australia. 2. Water quality management – Australia. 3. Irrigation farming – Australia. I. Stevens, Daryl. II. Kelly, Jim. III. McLaughlin, Mike. IV. Unkovich, Murray.

363.72840994

Available from CSIRO PUBLISHING 150 Oxford Street (PO Box 1139) Collingwood VIC 3066 Australia

Telephone: +61 3 9662 7666 Local call: 1300 788 000 (Australia only) Fax: +61 3 9662 7555 Email: [email protected] Web site: www.publish.csiro.au

Cover photo credits: Front: Vegetable production, South Australia (Photo: Stafford Trowse, Arris Pty Ltd). Back (clockwise from top right): (Photo: istockphoto); Fodder production, Tasmania (Photo: Daryl Stevens, Arris Pty Ltd); Forestry irrigation, Victoria (Photo: Stafford Trowse, Arris Pty Ltd).

Set in Minion and Optima Cover and text design by James Kelly Typeset by Barry Cooke Publishing Services Index by Russell Brooks Printed in Australia by Ligare

This book is an outcome from a project funded by Horticulture Australia Limited, titled ‘National Coordinator for Reclaimed Water Development in Horticulture’. The delivery of research and development outcomes from this project to the horticultural industry is made possible by the Commonwealth Government’s 50 per cent investment in all Horticulture Australia’s research and development initiatives. Growing Crops_prelims_final.fm Page v Wednesday, April 5, 2006 11:47 AM

CONTENTS

Preface xi South Australian reclaimed water schemes 9 Bolivar WWTP (The Virginia Pipeline Scheme) 9 Christies Beach WWTP (The Willunga Basin 1 Reclaimed water use in Scheme) 11 Aldinga WWTP and reuse scheme 12 Australia Urban reuse 12 An overview of Australia and Aquifer storage and recovery research 12 reclaimed water Background 12 Bolivar Reclaimed Water ASR project 12 John Anderson and Chris Davis 1 Country WWTP reuse schemes 13 The country 1 Summary 13 Water resources 1 References 14 Development of sustainable water management policies 2 Future directions 3 Reclaimed water use in Victoria Trends in Australia 3 Ken Peverill and Robert Premier 15 Decentralised treatment and recycling 3 Historical perspective 15 Community education 3 Recycled water products and grades 4 Changing environmental and health standards Economics and sustainability 4 and guidelines 15 National guidelines for water recycling 4 Future of reclaimed water use in Victoria 16 Conclusions 5 Research into reclaimed water use in Victoria 17 Frankston Vegetable Research Station 17 References 5 Black Rock Sewerage Treatment Plant, Bellarine Peninsula 17 Reuse in South Australia Buckland Valley 18 Commercial adoption of horticultural production Robert Thomas 6 using reclaimed water 18 Municipal wastewater management 6 Summary 18 Background to reuse (1880s to 1990s) 7 References 19 The last decade (1995 to 2005) 8 Environmental drivers 8 Economic drivers 9 Social drivers 9 Growing Crops_prelims_final.fm Page vi Wednesday, April 5, 2006 11:47 AM

vi Contents

Reclaimed water use in Reclaimed water use in Western New South Wales Australia John Anderson and Chris Davis 20 Nick Turner 29 Regulatory pressures 21 Drivers for reclamation and reuse 30 Water reclamation and reuse projects in New Barriers for reclamation and reuse 30 South Wales involving agriculture 21 Reuse schemes: past and present 31 Shoalhaven Regional Effluent Management Future developments in reuse 31 Scheme 21 Summary 32 Wagga Wagga 22 References 33 Dubbo 22 Armidale 22 Reclaimed water use in Tasmania Albury 23 David Dettrick 34 Narrabri 23 Sydney 2000 Olympics WRAMS (Water Recycling Drivers for reuse in Tasmania 34 and Management Scheme) 23 Community and environment sector 34 Coffs Harbour 23 Councils 34 Taronga Zoo 23 Agriculture 35 Ulan Mine Wastewater 23 State and Federal policies and funding 35 Emu Plains Correctional Centre Dairy 23 Regulation and management of wastewater reuse Albury Paper Mill 24 in Tasmania 35 References 24 Constraints to reclamation and reuse in Tasmania 36 Reclaimed water use in Future developments in reuse 36 Queensland Summary 37 References 37 Greg Jackson and Ted Gardner 25 Drivers for reuse 25 Regulation 25 2 Australian and Reuse schemes, past and present 26 international reclaimed Gold Coast 26 water guidelines: Hervey Bay 26 Maryborough 26 the fundamentals Mackay 26 Hamish Reid and Suzie Sarkis 39 Stanthorpe 26 Regulatory frameworks 39 Gatton 26 Australian regulatory frameworks 39 Toowoomba 26 National regulatory framework 39 Lockyer Valley and Darling Downs 27 Victoria’s regulatory framework 39 Other proposals 27 South Australia’s regulatory framework 40 Queensland’s regulatory framework 40 Research projects in Queensland 27 Tasmania’s regulatory framework 41 WC Fields effluent irrigation project 27 New South Wales’ regulatory framework 41 Amenity horticulture 27 Australian Capital Territory’s regulatory framework 41 Turf 28 International regulatory framework 41 Urban reuse schemes 28 United States’ regulatory framework 41 California’s regulatory framework 41 Summary 28 Israel’s regulatory framework 42 References 28 World Health Organization 42 Growing Crops_prelims_final.fm Page vii Wednesday, April 5, 2006 11:47 AM

Contents vii

Microbiological water quality and horticultural Preliminary processes 66 uses 42 Primary processes 66 Criteria for direct irrigation of human food crops Secondary processes 66 consumed raw 43 Lagoons and wetlands 68 National guidelines 43 Trickling filters 68 Australian State guidelines 43 Activated sludge 68 United States and Californian guidelines 43 Tertiary processes 69 World Health Organization 44 Nitrogen and phosphorus removal 69 Israeli guidelines 44 Solids removal 70 Monitoring 45 Disinfection 70 Comparison of criteria 45 Sludge treatment, disposal and reuse 70 Reclaimed water quality with use restrictions 49 Process trains for reclamation of wastewater 71 Managing worker and public safety 49 Typical effluent quality achieved in process trains 72 Managing nutrients 49 Evaluation and selection of process trains 73 Managing nutrients in Australia 50 Case studies 74 Nitrogen trigger values 52 Bolivar, South Australia 74 Phosphorus trigger values 52 Hervey Bay, Queensland 75 Managing nutrients from an international Brighton, Tasmania 76 perspective 53 Mt Barker, South Australia 76 United States and Californian guidelines 53 Reclaimed water quality monitoring 77 Israeli guidelines 53 Microbiological parameters 77 Managing salinity and sodicity 53 Physical parameters 77 Managing salinity and sodicity in Australia 53 Chemical parameters 78 Salinity assessment 54 Sodicity assessment 54 Future trends in wastewater reclamation 78 Major ions of concern for irrigation water quality 55 Conclusions 78 Managing salinity and sodicity from an References 79 international perspective 55 United States and Californian guidelines 55 Israeli guidelines 55 4 Opportunities for Metal contaminants 56 Managing metal contaminants in Australia 56 reclaimed water use in Managing metal contaminants from an international perspective 56 Australian agriculture Anne-Maree Boland, Andrew Hamilton, Managing organic contaminants 58 Daryl Stevens and Angelika Ziehrl 81 Summary 59 References 60 Water consumption in Australia 81 Water use in Australian agriculture and horticulture 81 3 Wastewater reclamation Reclaimed water use in Australia 82 processes Reclaimed water use in Australian agriculture and horticulture 84 Nirmala Dinesh, Lester Sickerdick and Agricultural and horticultural water use in the Cliff Liston 63 context of value of production 86 Wastewater composition and characteristics 63 Assessing suitability for reclaimed water use in Need for treatment of wastewater 64 horticulture 87 Reclaimed water guidelines 65 Conclusion 88 Wastewater reclamation processes 66 References 90 Growing Crops_prelims_final.fm Page viii Wednesday, April 5, 2006 11:47 AM

viii Contents

Drip irrigation 114 5 Crop nutrition Background 114 considerations in The principles of drip irrigation 114 Advantages and disadvantages of drip irrigation 115 reclaimed water irrigation Soil wetting patterns and deep percolation 117 systems Clogging 117 Jim Kelly, Murray Unkovich and Daryl Stevens 91 Soil and water properties 117 Seed germination and rooting depth 117 Water use and loadings 92 Chemigation 118 Nutrient management 93 Irrigation scheduling with drip irrigation 118 Nutrient uptake, and crop yield and quality 96 Irrigation management and scheduling 119 Turf culture nutrition 97 Matching crops, soils, reclaimed water quality Nitrogen in soils and reclaimed waters 97 and irrigation methods 119 Nitrogen and crop management 99 Water quality – Salinity 120 Pathogens and aerosols 120 Phosphorus in soils and reclaimed waters 100 Clogging, precipitation and corrosion factors 120 Phosphorus and crop management 102 Environmental management 120 Summary 102 Deep percolation 120 References 103 Agronomic factors 121 Soil water properties 121 Crop establishment 121 6 Design and management Disease 121 of reclaimed water Summary 121 irrigation systems Conclusions 121 Evan Christen, Jim Ayars, John Hornbuckle References 122 and Tapas Biswas 107 Recommended reading 123 Irrigation water requirements 107 Crop water requirement 107 7 Soil salinity and sodicity Determination of evapotranspiration 108 Pichu Rengasamy 125 Crop water requirements in irrigation planning 109 Water quality 109 Soil salinity 125 Effects of contaminants on irrigation equipment 110 Salt accumulation in the landscape 125 Corrosion 110 Salinity induced by a shallow watertable Fouling 110 (seepage salinity) 126 Water quality for drip irrigation 110 Transient salinity in sodic subsoils 127 Effect of water quality on crops 111 Osmotic effect on subsoil water availability 1