Water Air Soil Pollut (2013) 224:1561

DOI 10.1007/s11270-013-1561-x

Review of Ecological Engineering Solutions for Rural

Non-Point Source Water Pollution Control in Hubei Province,
China
Min Wu & Xianqiang Tang & Qingyun Li &
Wenjun Yang & Feng Jin & Minzhe Tang &
Miklas Scholz

Received: 19 November 2012 / Accepted: 2 April 2013 / Published online: 21 April 2013
# Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Abstract Rural non-point source (RNPS) water pol-
lution control is problematic in Hubei Province, which
is a typical agricultural region with abundant rainfall and
a developed natural surface water network. The concept
of best management practices (BMP) originating from
the USA has already been introduced with the aim to
reduce the application of chemical fertilizers and pesti-
cides, and water and soil loss. However, a comprehen-
sive evaluation of rural wastewater and nutrient
reutilization to benefit the rural communities and the
environment has not been attempted. To fill this gap,
this review paper explores the major contributors of
RNPS water pollution in Hubei Province, assesses the
status of watercourses and discusses the prevalent eco-
logical engineering techniques including vegetated filter
strips (VFS), ecological ditches (ED), constructed wet-
lands (CW), and biogas plants (BP) with respect to
aspects such as water purification, energy generation,
and nutrient reduction and recirculation. Findings indi-
cate that RNPS water pollution continuously increased
M. Wu : X. Tang (*) : Q. Li : W. Yang : F. Jin : M. Tang
Key Lab of Basin Water Resource and Eco-Environmental
Science in Hubei Province, Changjiang River Scientific
Research Institute, Wuhan 430010, China
e-mail: tomxqq@gmail.com
M. Scholz (*)
Civil Engineering Research Group, School of Computing,
Science and Engineering, University of Salford,
Newton Building, Salford M5 4WT, England, UK
e-mail: m.scholz@salford.ac.uk
for the past 10 years. Chemical fertilizers, poultry and
livestock breeding, aquaculture, and rural living are the
major sources of elevated chemical oxygen demand,
ammonia–nitrogen, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus
loads discharged to receiving watercourses. Finally, eco-
logical engineering technologies such as VFS, ED, CW,
and BP are proposed for villages and communities to
combat RNPS water pollution. BMP are a promising
approach to create a sustainable agricultural system,
improve the rural energy consumption structure and
living conditions, decrease wastewater discharges, and
reduce chemical fertilizer application rate.
Keywords Agroecosystems . Best management
practice . Energy generation . Nitrogen . Phosphorus
Recycling
1 Introduction
1.1 General Introduction to Non-point Source
Pollution and Best Management Practices
Non-point source pollution control with best manage-
ment practices is a new concept in China. In 2010, the
Chinese national pollution census included agricul-
ture’s contribution to total pollution load for the first
time. Statistical findings suggested that rural nonpoint
source (RNPS) pollution comprises about half of the
total water pollution with 43.7 % of chemical oxygen
demand (COD), 57.2 % of total nitrogen (TN) and
1561, Page 2 of 18
67.4 % of total phosphorus (TP) according to Zhang
(2010). RNPS pollution of soil and water can lead to
serious ecological, environmental as well as economic
consequences. Improved understanding of such prob-
lems and their solutions are urgently needed to protect
and enhance soil and water quality, increase resource
utilization rates, and improve rural production and life
conditions.
RNPS water pollution comes mainly from chemical
fertilizer and pesticides, which are widely used for pur-
suing high crop yield and economic interests. Rural
waste consists mainly of crop residue, animal urine,
and feces, domestic sewage, aquaculture wastewater,
and atmospheric deposition (Rao et al. 2012; Yang et
al. 2012). Moreover, in the arid and rainless North China
Plain, atmospheric nitrogen deposition contributes less
than 3.9 % to the total RNPS nitrogen total loads with a
proposed deposition rate of 50 kg/ha/year (Yang et al.
2012). RNPS water pollution occurs when rainfall,
snowmelt, and irrigation water runs over land or through
the ground, and inefficiently treated rural wastewater is
discharged to receiving waters. Flowing water picks up
pollutants and deposits them into streams, rivers, reser-
voirs and lakes, or introduces them into groundwater
(Arnold et al. 1993). Hassen et al. (2004) suggested that
water movement plays the role of an “engine” in the
formation and development process of RNPS water
pollution while agricultural land use acts as the “fuel”.
As a diffuse pollution source, RNPS contamination has
random and intermittent occurrence characteristics and
is associated with complex mechanisms and processes;
uncertain discharge channels and amounts; variable spa-
tial and temporal pollution loads; and dispersion, invis-
ibility, and considerable difficulty in monitoring,
simulation, and control (Rao et al. 2012; Shen et al.
2012). There characteristics and features bring great
challenges and difficulty in RNPS water pollution con-
trol and management.
In order to scientifically manage and treat RNPS
water pollution, a preliminary study to assess the current
status of RNPS water pollution has been conducted
(Maillard and Santos 2008; Smith 2009; Ongley et al.
2010; Ouyang et al. 2009; Rao et al. 2012; Shen et al.
2012; Yang et al. 2012). Ongley et al. (2010) reviewed
the RNPS pollution statistics and assessments in China.
They reported that the following methods (and subse-
quently their modifications alone or in combination with
each other) have been commonly used to estimate the
RNPS load: total measured load in a section minus
Water Air Soil Pollut (2013) 224:1561
reported point source loads, unit load, and export coef-
ficient modeling, hydrograph separation method, deter-
ministic modeling, and mathematical representation.
The application of the aforementioned methodologies
(originating from the USA) in China, however, is asso-
ciated with challenges because they have been devel-
oped subject to very different conditions and limited
empirical research. It follows that these methods may
not provide an adequate basis neither for calibrating
models nor deriving export coefficients. Similar chal-
lenges have also been reported in the Chinese RNPS
simulation and estimation research field. Shen et al.
(2012) concluded that most of the RNPS water pollution
modeling methods used are derived directly from for-
eign developed countries and may not be suitable to the
actual situations in Chinese regions.
In comparison to the debate on water pollution load
statistics and estimation methods, much more attention
should be paid on RNPS wastewater treatment. In
order to reduce pollution, researchers, and government
officers encourage the application of best management
practices (BMP) for minimizing pollution and improv-
ing rural ecological environments. Commonly used
BMP to control or treat rural runoff include no till
systems, vegetative cover establishment, and improve-
ment, erosion and water control structures, animal
waste stack houses, ecological ditches, constructed
wetlands, hedgerows, and others (MacDonald et al.
1998; Dowd et al. 2008; Bhattarai et al. 2009; Díaz
et al. 2012). BMP are commonly used in the USA.
However, capital investment limitation and infrastruc-
ture weaknesses significantly restrain RNPS water
pollution treatment and optimized water resources
management utilization in Chinese rural regions.
Furthermore, only few studies reported on the afore-
mentioned engineering techniques such as ecological
ditches (ED), constructed wetlands (CW), and vege-
tated filter strips (VFS) as techniques to filter RNPS
wastewater, to promote sedimentation of suspended
particles and other pollutants bound to them, as well
as to enhance the wastewater recycling rate (Jiang et
al. 2004; Li et al. 2010; Chen et al. 2010a).
Currently available RNPS water pollution control
technologies are mostly developed and applied for final
treatment (Wu et al. 2011). For instance, ED are widely
used for rural irrigation drainage management (Jiang et
al. 2004), and CW and ecological ponds are applied for
minimizing the wastewater nutrient loads before the
treated wastewater is discharged into receiving water
Water Air Soil Pollut (2013) 224:1561
bodies such as rivers, reservoirs, and lakes (Li et al.
2009). The complex characteristics of RNPS water pol-
lution indicate that a single technology is often insuffi-
cient to tackle the multiple sources of RNPS water
pollution produced at different and variable spatial and
temporal scales.
A discussed above for RNPS water pollution load
statistics and evaluation methods, the successful BMP
application in developed western countries may also
not be appropriate for directly informing Chinese
RNPS water pollution elimination and ecological en-
vironment improvement strategies. Thus, it is neces-
sary to explore alternative methods and strategies to
manage RNPS water pollution in typical Chinese ag-
ricultural areas.
1.2 Background Information for the Study Area
Hubei Province, a typical agricultural region, is locat-
ed in the central part of China. Hubei Province has
developed water networks that consist of nearly 1,000
lakes and many rivers. Moreover, Changjiang River
and its major tributary called Hanjiang River flow
through the province (Fig. 1). Changjiang River and
Hanjiang River are large rivers with relatively high
flow and water exchange rates; e.g., the mean flow
rate for Changjiang River is 32,200 m3/s. Their diffuse
pollution problems are minor compared to those of
some relatively stagnant water bodies in the same
province. The RNPS source pollution proportion, for
example, of Danjiangkou Reservoir is more than 50 %
of the total nutrient load (Tang et al. 2012).
Hubei Province covers an area of 185,900 km2 and
has population of 60 million of which 66 % live in
rural areas. Mountainous areas account for more than
56 % of the total province, whereas hilly area and
plain area cover 24 and 20 % (Jiang and Tan 2005),
respectively. Sub-tropical monsoon climate with plen-
tiful sunshine, heat, and water characterize this prov-
ince. The annual mean temperature is usually between
15 and 17 °C, the annual mean precipitation is be-
tween 800 and 1,700 mm, the annual average sunshine
time is between 1200 and 2200 hours and the annual
frostless duration is between 230 and 307 days.
Hubei Province is one of the most important agri-
cultural production bases of China: 3.3 million ha
cultivated land of which 1.79 million ha is paddy
while the remaining 1.58 million ha are dry land.
The primary occupations in the agricultural area are
Page 3 of 18, 1561
cultivation, livestock production, and aquaculture.
Hubei Province has less than 2 % of the national land
area. However, it supplies 8.4 % rice, 6.3 % cotton,
10.3 % oil seeds, 5.3 % pork and 18.0 % freshwater
products for the country (Hu et al. 2009), respectively.
From 1978 to 2003, the planting to breeding ratio in
Hubei Province has changed from 85:15 to 58:42
(Jiang and Tan 2005). An increasing consumption of
chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and feeds guarantees
the augmentation of agricultural productivity. As a
consequence, nutrients including nitrogen and phos-
phorus are released from rural living areas and agri-
cultural land. Aquaculture practices significantly
contaminate the receiving watercourses. Pollution, es-
pecially RNPS water pollution, has led to serious
shortages of water with sufficiently high quality.
An issue of increasing importance to policymakers,
researchers and farmers in Hubei Province is how to
manage and treat RNPS water pollution. Overuse and
misuse of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and dis-
charge of untreated wastewater from rural estates,
and the livestock and aquaculture industries cause
more and more rural areas to suffer from soil fertility
decline and water quality deterioration. This leads to
the deterioration of agricultural product quality and
rural water resources. Since the 1980s, various at-
tempts have been made to reduce point source water
pollution. However, the corresponding lessons learned
cannot be directly and efficiently applied to RNPS
water pollution management. Though the ratio of
RNPS loads to total pollution loads is a riddle in
Hubei Province, pollution from RNPS now constitutes
the major source of pollution in Chinese waterways,
with agriculture being the single largest contributor.
Comprehensive research on watercourse self-
purification with respect to RNPS pollution in Hubei
Province has not been published. However, the appar-
ent shift to higher trophic states of rivers and lakes
within the province indicates eutrophication most like-
ly due to high nutrient loads from the agricultural
sector. It follows that there is a need to assess the
pollution status of watercourses in order to select
appropriate technologies and methods to reduce the
nutrient input.
1.3 Rationale, Scope, and Objectives
In Hubei Province, intensive agricultural practices and
abundant rainfall cause serious RNPS water pollution
1561, Page 4 of 18 Water Air Soil Pollut (2013) 224:1561

Fig. 1 Scheme for the major rivers, lakes and reservoirs, and developed water network of Hubei Province

within water network regions that have ineffective energy generation, and nutrient reduction and
pollution control systems. Regional RNPS water pol- recirculation
lution control strategies are insufficient in Hubei & to identify trends in sources for water pollution
Province. Therefore, this review paper analyses the & to assess the key water pollution indicators
RNPS water pollution sources and the watercourse & to propose ecological solutions to watercourse
pollution status in Hubei Province and explores the pollution on a village and/or community scale
key RNPS water pollution approaches and control
principles. Then, engineering technologies are sum-
marized and discussed with the aim to reduce RNPS
2 RNPS Water Pollution Source and Status
water pollution and increase rural wastewater resource
reuse rate. Finally, inexpensive, easily to operate,
2.1 RNPS Water Pollution Source
highly efficient, sustainable, and ecologically benign
technologies are recommended.
Water quality variables including COD, ammonia–ni-
The scope of this study is limited in terms of RNPS
trogen (NH3–N), TN, and TP have been selected to
control engineering technologies and geographical rel-
characterize RNPS water pollution. COD and NH3–N
evance. For example, it is not within the remit to
are the principal water quality indicators that are na-
discuss RNPS water pollution management strategies
tionally controlled. Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)
involving modeling and policy. Readers may wish to
are nutrients that closely relate to agricultural pollution
refer to relevant papers elsewhere (Dowd et al. 2008;
and may trigger eutrophication of surface waters. Most
Shen et al. 2012). This paper combines original re-
of the RNPS pollution assessment conducted in China
search with a critical review of previous research
may misuse the Soil and Water Assessment Tool and
undertaken by the Changjiang River Scientific
Export Coefficient Models because of a lack of em-
Research Institute and its partners on a large catch-
pirical data (Ongley et al. 2010). Thus, the research
ment scale in Hubei Province, China. The objectives
findings may only inadequately describe the different
of this study are as follows:
local field infrastructure, agronomic practices, and
& to identify the major contributors for RNPS water natural characteristics. In Hubei Province, currently
pollution in Hubei Province recorded investigations and experiments are too few
& to assess the pollution status of major watercourses to obtain an accurate picture of the actual pollutant
& to discuss the key ecological engineering techniques production rates. For this reason, data from the offi-
including VFS, ED, CW, and biogas plants (BP) cially issued “Hubei Rural Statistical Yearbook”
with respect to issues such as water purification, (Statistics Bureau of Hubei Province, 2001 to 2010)
Water Air Soil Pollut (2013) 224:1561
were used to analysis the RNPS water pollution
sources and watercourse status.
RNPS water pollution mainly originates from agri-
cultural production activities and residential living.
According to the agricultural planting–breeding struc-
ture, it is easy to conclude that rural sewage, agricultural
planting, poultry and livestock breeding, and aquacul-
ture are the major load sources for RNPS water pollution
in Hubei Province. After conducting an RNPS water
pollution survey for a representative agricultural city,
Hu et al. (2009) extrapolated the data to the whole
Hubei Province and roughly calculated the major
RNPS water pollutant annual production loads as well
as the corresponding discharge loads. However, there
are very different production and living conditions with-
in various rural regions. For the purpose of this paper,
the authors assume that the calculations are reasonable
as no other reliable data are available.
In 2007, the total pollutant loads for NH3–N, COD,
TN, and TP with respect to the rural area of Hubei
province were 348,700, 1,321,000, 830,600, and
169,800 tons, respectively (Hu et al. 2009). In general,
the ranking order for the load source contribution is as
follows: poultry and livestock breeding>agricultural
planting>aquaculture>rural sewage. Poultry and live-
stock breeding is the largest pollution source in rural
areas, generating NH 3 –N, COD, TN, and TP of
170,400, 852,200, 427,800, and 115,900 tons, respec-
tively, and account for 49, 65, 52, and 69 % of the total
loads, respectively (Table 1). Agricultural planting is
the second largest contributor to NH3–N and COD
production, while aquaculture is the second most im-
portant source for rural TN and TP output (Table 1).
Although there are approximately 40 million rural
residents in Hubei Province, rural living contributes
least to the TN and TP loads (9 and 4 %, respectively).
Table 1 Annual production of major pollutants in the rural regions of Hubei Province in 2007 (after Hu et al. 2009)
Source Ammonia–nitrogen Chemical oxygen
demand
Weight (ton) Ratio (%) Weight (ton) Ratio (%) Weight (ton) Ratio (%) Weight (ton) Ratio (%)
Rural sewage 57,893 17 237,360
Agricultural planting 120,369 35 231,436
Poultry and livestock breeding 170,438 49 852,190
Aquaculture 6,519 2 76,143
Total 348,700 100 1,320,986
Page 5 of 18, 1561
Rural pollutants usually do not directly enter re-
ceiving watercourses. Contaminants can be reduced
by retention, filtration, sedimentation, and biodegra-
dation processes. In Hubei province, nearly 77 % of
the pollutants (mainly NH3–N, COD, TN, and TP)
originating from agricultural planting practices are
assimilated by plants or decomposed by microbes.
The majority of animal feces and human excrements
is used as farmyard manure. About 12–24 % of the
total waste (animal feces and human excrements) will
eventually enter nearby water bodies. In comparison,
between 52 and 61 % of the total pollution load will be
removed or retained in aquaculture waters, while the
remaining waste directly enters into the receiving wa-
tercourses (Hu et al. 2009).
Hu et al. (2009) calculated the pollutant discharge
loads for Hubei Province (Table 2). NH3–N, COD, TN,
and TP discharges equate to 47,400, 242,800, 190,900,
and 33,100 tons, respectively. Compared to the data
given in Table 1, poultry and livestock breeding produce
the highest NH3–N and COD loads in rural areas of
Hubei Province. However, aquaculture is the largest
discharge source for TN and TP (Table 2). The total
RNPS pollutants discharge amounts to 714,200 tons,
which exceeds the provincial industrial pollution dis-
charge. Moreover, RNPS discharge of NH3–N and
COD is 2.09 and 1.40 times higher, respectively, than
the industrial discharge within the same period. Rural
areas contribute only 16 % to the provincial gross do-
mestic product. However, they discharge more than
50 % of the total pollution load (Hu et al. 2009).
2.2 RNPS Water Pollution Status
Since the 1980s, Hubei Province has been subjected to a
revolution in agricultural science and technology, which
Total nitrogen Total phosphorus
18 72,366 9 6,368 4
18 61,397 7 7,605 4
65 427,799 52 115,898 68
6 269,058 32 39,881 23
100 830,620 100 169,752 100
1561, Page 6 of 18 Water Air Soil Pollut (2013) 224:1561

Table 2 Annual production of major pollutants in the rural regions of Hubei Province in 2007 (after Hu et al. (2009))

Source Ammonia–nitrogen Chemical oxygen Total nitrogen Total phosphorus

demand

Weight (ton) Ratio (%) Weight (ton) Ratio (%) Weight (ton) Ratio (%) Weight (ton) Ratio (%)

Rural sewage 13,315 28 54,593 22 15,486 8 1,108 3

Agricultural planting 10,170 21 52,409 22 14,547 8 1,665 5
Poultry and livestock breeding 21,125 45 105,627 43 53,025 28 14,365 43
Aquaculture 2,805 6 30,207 12 107,882 57 15,991 48
Total 47,415 100 242,836 100 190,941 100 33,129 100

has led to increases in irrigated areas, and chemical

fertilizer and pesticide applications. As a result, ecologi-
cal and traditional agricultural practices are gradually a
transformed into modern agricultural production
methods, resulting in high yields, quality, and efficiency.
However, these modern practices rely on chemical fertil-
izers and pesticides instead of conventional farmyard
manure to ensure good grain growth (Rao et al. 2012).
Variations in planting and irrigated areas, and fertilizer
application rates in Hubei Province are shown in Figs. 2
and 3. Accompanying the significant increases in total
planting and irrigated areas, total chemical fertilizer
(N+P+K) usage constantly increased from 2.6 million
tons to 3.67 million tons with more than one million
tons net increment during the past 10 years at an
annual mean growth rate of 3.8 % (Fig. 2a). A fast
increase of fertilizer application occurred in 2008 and
2010. A possible reason could be that peasant
workers migrated from urban areas to the countryside b
to engage in farming practices at a time when the
economic situation was not good in towns.
The average fertilizer application rate tends to grad-
ually rise with a mean annual growth rate of 18.40 kg/ha.
The maximal value reached 893.15 kg/ha in 2010. The
chemical fertilizer application dosage exceeded the
common internationally recommended safety threshold
of 225 kg/ha (Tang et al. 2012) and the average national
value of 444 kg/ha (National Bureau of Statistics of
China 2009, 2010). Excessive fertilizer application
combined with a low utilization rate is a serious chal-
lenge in Hubei Province. Plentiful rainfall and tradition-
al irrigation after fertilizer application will increase
fertilizer loss through field runoff.
In recent years, poultry and livestock (chicken, ducks,
Fig. 2 Total chemical fertilizer application pure amount (a), and
goose, pigs, cattle, and sheep) production has expanded average chemical fertilizer application rate (b) in Hubei Province
in Hubei Province (Statistics Bureau of Hubei Province between 2001 and 2010, data derived from the Hubei Rural Statis-
2010). Compared to 2001, the number of slaughtered tical Yearbook (after Statistics Bureau of Hubei Province 2010)
Water Air Soil Pollut (2013) 224:1561 Page 7 of 18, 1561

Economic interests are the main driver for aquaculture

Fig. 3 Variation in total planting area, total irritation area, and
total aquaculture area in Hubei Province between 2001 and
2010, data derived from the Hubei Rural Statistical Yearbook
(after Statistics Bureau of Hubei Province 2010)
pigs, cattle, and sheep increased by 27 % (43 mil-
lion), 50 % (1.43 million) and 19 % (5.61 million),
respectively, in 2010. Between 2001 and 2010, the
slaughtered poultry number gradually raised from 440
to 535 million with an annual mean increment of
0.95 million (Table 3).
In Hubei Province, village/community poultry and
livestock breeding accounts for the majority of the total
stock. There are only a few poultry and livestock waste
treatment facilities. Nearly 80 % of the feces are subject
to outdoor composting in unprotected areas with the aim
to generate farmyard manure (Hu et al. 2009). The
corresponding liquid waste is flushed into nearby water-
courses. In addition, composting manure is often washed
off during severe rainfall, subsequently entering water-
courses. However, no statistics regarding the real pollut-
ant loads are available (Statistics Bureau of Hubei
Province 2001).
The total area used for aquaculture is an indicative
parameter for fishery production and pollution.
production in Hubei Province. The aquatic farming area
has increased from 1.04 million ha in 2001to 1.36 million
ha in 2010 (Fig. 3), representing an annual mean growth
rate of 3.1 % (Statistics Bureau of Hubei Province 2010).
In Hubei Province, aquaculture activities are directly
carried out in many natural watercourses without any
pollution prevention measures. This has led to serious
water pollution. Waste includes uneaten fish food and
feces. The accurate estimation of nutrient loss rates to
watercourses during fishery processes is controversial
because of differences in feeding conditions, culturing
targets, and watercourse boundaries (Hargreaves 1998;
Guo and Li 2003). However, there is no doubt regarding
this case study that aquaculture produces more and more
RNPS water pollutants since 2001.
Finally, rural population figures can be used to
estimate the rural living wastewater production. In
Hubei Province, the rural population constantly de-
clined over the past 10 years. More and more rural
residents become city citizens during the urbaniza-
tion process. Moreover, the rural permanent resi-
dents figure decreased from 33.49 to 28.77 million
(Fig. 4). It follows that nearly five million rural
people are no longer engaged in agriculture and
the production of rural sewage. However, there are
currently no official statistics. Nevertheless, local
officials estimate that less than 10 % of rural sewage is
treated by private biogas facilities or other technologies.
It is virtually impossible to directly measure rural runoff
and calculate actual treatment rates.
3 RNPS Water Pollution Approaches and Control
Principles
In general, RNPS water pollution is closely related to
regional rainfall processes (Yin and Mao 2002). This

Table 3 Poultry and livestock slaughtered (in million) in Hubei Province (after Statistics Bureau of Hubei Province (2001 to 2010))

Poultry and livestock Year

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Pig 33.97 34.13 34.61 35.13 35.32 36.15 38.24 39.57 41.91 43.00
Cattle 0.95 0.97 0.99 1.01 1.09 1.12 1.23 1.23 1.36 1.43
Sheep 4.70 4.72 4.70 4.61 4.66 4.71 4.91 5.02 5.52 5.61
Poultry 440.13 451.24 456.53 460.12 472.10 483.32 499.73 521.30 533.09 535.10
1561, Page 8 of 18
Fig. 4 Variation in rural permanent resident number in Hubei
Province between 2001 and 2010, data derived from the Hubei Rural
Statistical Yearbook (after Statistics Bureau of Hubei Province 2010)
type of pollution is linked to ground runoff, irrigation
drainage, and wastewater discharge (Novotny and
Chesters 1981). Contaminants originate from fertil-
izers, poultry and livestock feces, aquaculture waste-
water, and rural sewage.
Two RNPS water pollution approaches are catego-
rized according to the pollution source states: solid
and liquid pollution pathways. For solid pollution
sources such as excessive fertilizer applied to soil,
and human and animal feces, pollutants migrate into
receiving waters via runoff and/or leaching (Scholz
2010). For liquid pollution sources, pollutants can
directly contaminate the receiving natural water bodies
through wastewater discharge. Phosphorus loss via
surface runoff mainly occurs at the banks of rivers,
ditches, reservoirs, and lakes when the migration dis-
tance is short. In comparison, nitrogen loss via surface
and subsurface runoff can often be observed for the
entire watershed (Gburek and Sharply 1999; Gburek et
al. 2000; Pionke et al. 2000; Scholz 2010).
Increasing agricultural production targets, a lack
of efficient agricultural water pollution policies (Ma
2010), increasing economic pressure on households,
short-sighted agricultural operation behavior (Zhang
et al. 2005), an absence of environmental protection
awareness (Jiang and Tan 2005) and a shortage of
environmental funding support are the main factors
responsible for serious RNPS water pollution in
Hubei Province. As a consequence, economic, high
efficient, and affordable RNPS water pollution con-
trol and treatment measures are urgently required in
Water Air Soil Pollut (2013) 224:1561
addition to more effective management strategies
and policies.
After consideration of economical, social, and techni-
cal conditions, the development of inexpensive, easily to
operate, highly efficient, sustainable, and ecologically
benign technologies to address RNPS water pollution
should be promoted. Ecological engineering innovations
are the fundamental approaches to control and reduce
RNPS water pollution (Novotny and Olem 1994;
Scholz 2010). Ecological techniques used for RNPS
control can be classified into three types: source control,
process reduction, and terminal treatment. Source control
is useful to reduce the potential pollution loads and
pollutants production. Process reduction strategies rely
on runoff retention and flow path increase. Terminal
treatment is the final process, which will directly remove
pollutants by utilizing ecological engineering facilities. In
order to explore the best combination of techniques to
deal with RNPS water pollution in Hubei Province, sev-
eral commonly used ecological techniques including
VFS, ED, CW, and BP are briefly discussed below.
4 Critical Review of RNPS Water Pollution
Treatment Techniques
4.1 Suitability of Treatment Techniques
Hubei Province is an agricultural region with tradi-
tional water systems such as ponds and ditches.
Ecological RNPS water pollution treatment techniques
including VFS, ED, CW, and BP are currently being
tested in Hubei Province. Section 4 can be used as a
decision support tool for selecting VFS, ED, CW, and
BP. Table 4 shows a brief summary of the key advan-
tages and disadvantages of these different treatment
techniques and there feasibility on local level in Hubei
Province. The following sub-sections discuss the indi-
vidual techniques in greater detail.
4.2 Review of Vegetated Filter Strips
The definition of VFS is not unified in academia. There
are several terms including buffer strips or buffer zone,
filter strips or filter zone, riparian vegetation zone, or
riparian buffer zone may have the same or similar con-
notation with VFS (Srivastava et al. 1996; Blanco-
Canqui et al. 2004; Bhattarai et al. 2009). In America,
VFS including grassed filter strips, filter strips, and
Water Air Soil Pollut (2013) 224:1561
Table 4 Summary of the key advantages and disadvantages of different treatment techniques and their feasibility on local level in
Hubei Province
Technique Advantages
Vegetated filter strip Water quality enhancement; sediment
reduction; increased retention time
and capacity; efficient in retaining
fertilizers; easy to construct
Ecological ditch Drainage of excess water; links farmland Conveyance of pollutants (potential Retrofitting is easy due to the
with water source; nutrient capture;
water quality improvement (if fully
vegetated); easy to construct; no
particular requirements for plants
and substrate
Constructed wetland Very high water quality enhancement;
nutrient capture
Biogas plant Inexpensive, clean and easily obtainable Gas leakage; insufficient feedstock; Already established technology
renewable energy source; waste and
(indirect) runoff reduction; biogas
slurry and residue are fertilizers
grassed filters are defined as vegetated surfaces that are
designed to treat sheet flow from adjacent surfaces. Filter
strips have excellent performance in filtering and reduc-
ing sediment and other pollutant by slowing runoff ve-
locities, promoting suspended solids sedimentation, and
increasing retention time and capacity. VFS can trap
sediments containing nutrients and other contaminants
transported in runoff water before they reach adjacent
watercourses (Duchemin and Hogue 2009; Scholz 2010;
Table 4). VFS used to control RNPS pollution involve
complex processes such as retention of sediments and
other pollutants, nutrient uptake by plants, contaminant
adsorption by soil, microbial degradation of pollutants,
and contaminant transformation and fixation (Wang and
Wang 2008).
Various published studies have clearly demonstrat-
ed the effectiveness of VFS in reducing RNPS water
pollution (Srivastava et al. 1996; Blanco-Canqui et al.
2004; Bhattarai et al. 2009; Table 4). With proper
design and maintenance, filter strips can provide rela-
tively high pollutant (especially nutrient) removal un-
der shallow and sheet flow conditions, avoiding short-
circuiting of concentrated flow. Brief reviews of some
relevant and recent studies are summarized in Table 5.
Previous studies indicate that sediment concentration,
pollutant features, hydrological conditions (Simpkins
et al. 2002), physical and chemical soil characteristics
such as the redox potential, the organic matter and clay
content, and grain size distribution (Vidon and Hill
Page 9 of 18, 1561
Disadvantages Suitability in Province
Relatively large space requirements; High potential to remove
short water residence time; pollutants in the runoff
difficult to distribute water
homogenously
nutrient source for receiving presence of existing ditches;
watercourse); high water losses rural landscape application
(leakages and evaporation)
Very large space requirements; high High potential to remove
retention rates; sediment disposal pollutants in the runoff;
problem remote rural areas; remote
rural locations
blockages; lack of maintenance; in some areas on a household-
temperature control needed in cold scale; household and village
season applications
2004), impact on the RNPS water pollution control
performance.
In terms of engineering construction and operation,
the treated width is considered as the most import
design parameter for VFS systems. Srivastava et al.
(1996) demonstrated a first-order exponential nitrogen
and phosphorus concentration decline with increasing
VFS treated width. Lee et al. (2000) also confirmed
that additional buffer width with high infiltration ca-
pacity provided by the deep-rooted woody plant zone
was effective in trapping clay and soluble nutrients.
Moreover, Blanco-Canqui et al. (2004) reported that
the effectiveness of filter strips (FS) increased with
distance. An excessive increase in filter width may
have a negligible positive contribution to the removal
of pollutants (particularly sediment). Schmitt et al.
(1999) reported that doubling the VFS width from
7.5 to 15 m does not improve sediment settling, but
substantially increase infiltration and dilution of run-
off. Similar findings were also reported by Duchemin
et al. (2002), who demonstrated that there are little
differences in sediment removal when the VFS width
is increased from 6 to 9 m.
4.3 Review of ED
Agricultural ditches are often designed and constructed
as the main component of an irrigated system, which
aims to drain excess water from the farm land, especially
 1561, Page 10 of 18

Table 5 Sediment and nutrient removal on a concentration basis for various vegetated filter strip (VFS) studies

Source VFS parameter Mean percent removal (on concentration basis; mg/l)

Treated width (m) Soil Vegetation Sediment Ammonia– Nitrate– Total Total Orthophosphate
nitrogen nitrogen nitrogen phosphorus phosphorus

Srivastava et al. 6.1–18.3 Silt loam soil Festuca arundinacea – 12–75 – – 21–66 22–82
(1996)
Lee et al. (2000) 7.1 Silty clay loam Panicum virgatum – – 41 50 46 28
16.3 Panicum virgatum (woody) – – 68 73 81 35
Duchemin et al. 3.0 Loam Festuca rubra, Agrostis alba and 89.7 44 85 69 86 −57
(2002) Lolium perenne
6.0 51.3 43 93 75 85 −57
9.0 56.3 38 96 76 87 −41
Blanco-Canqui et al. 0.7 Silt loam Festuca arundinacea – 22 35 – – 43
(2004) 4.0 – 71 70 – – 77
8.0 – 86 83 – – 86
Duchemin and Hogue 5.0 Loam Festuca rubra, Agrostis alba and 87 57 33 – 86 64
(2009) Lolium perenne
5.0 Grass and poplar tree 85 47 30 – 85 57
Bhattarai et al. (2009) 14.0 – Bromus inermis and Lolium perenne – – – – 75 70
Li et al. (2010) 10.0 – Hippophae rhamnoides and grass – – – 91 97 81
15.0 – – – 98 99 96
Water Air Soil Pollut (2013) 224:1561
Water Air Soil Pollut (2013) 224:1561 Page 11 of 18, 1561

NH3–N NO3–N COD TN TP TDP

during or immediately after times of heavy rain, melting

78

99
97

48

62
Mean percent removal (on concentration

–
snow, or irrigation. Ditches usually include intake and

61

86
95
82
56

24
63
drainage channels, incorporated pond systems and sea-
sonal rivers, and play an important role in redistributing

48

54
52

30
50
–
–
water and nutrients within farmland and link fields with
receiving watercourses (Herzon and Helenius 2008;

58

18
27

NH3–N ammonia–nitrogen, NO3–N nitrate–nitrogen, COD chemical oxygen demand, TN total nitrogen, TP total phosphorus, TDP total dissolved phosphorus
–
–
–
–
Table 4).
Agricultural ditches are important pathways for loss

70

74
78

53

60
of excessively used chemical fertilizers and also spe-

basis; mg/l)

–
cial ecosystems with dual characteristics of wetlands
and rivers (Needelman 2007), where macrophytes sea-

67

Typha latifolia, Sparganium americanum and Juncus effusus 61

71

58

62
15
–
sonally grow and bottom sediment is subjected to
alternative flooding and exposure, facilitating nitrogen

Acorus calamus, Zantedeschia aethiopica, Arrowhead and

Scirpus tabernaemontani, Canna indica, Zizania latifolia,

removal. Abundant storage of nutrients within ditch

Ipomoea aquatica, Oryza.sativa and Oenanthe javanica

Juncus minimus, Cyperus alternifolius, Zantedeschia

sediments guarantees and promotes plant and biomass
growth. As a drainage channel, however, agriculture
ditches transport great pollutant loads from farmland
ecosystems to receiving water bodies, which signifi-

Cyperus alternifolius and Iris tectorum

cantly affects the surface water circulation, and the

Natural plant cover unaltered (control)

Natural plant cover unaltered (control)

water chemical and biological constituents (Wang

aethiopica, and Acorus calamus

2009). It follows that agricultural ditches are not only
sinks for RNPS water pollutants, but also nutrient
sources for receiving rivers and lakes (Table 4).

Oenanthe javanica
In recent years, researchers have tried to minimize
the harmful effect of conventional agricultural ditches
and transformed them into ecological ditches, which
Vegetation

show amazing RNPS control performances.

Ecological ditches consist of water discharging chan-
nels, substrate, vegetation, and flow control facilities.
The removal of nutrients including nitrogen and phos-
and bamboo charcoal

phorus is promoted via runoff and sediment retention,

Gravel, Ceramistie

Soil and ceramiste

Gravel and sand

plant uptake, and microbial metabolic activities (Hu et
Table 6 Pollutants removal within various ecological ditches

al. 2010). Moreover, agricultural pollutants can also be

Length (m) Width (m) Substrate

degraded by the sun (Beltman et al. 2004; Mankin et

al. 2007). Vegetation inside ditches and on banks can
Soil

Soil

Soil

directly slow down the water flow velocity, and in-

crease agrochemical retention and degradation
(Beltman et al. 2004; Table 4).
Vegetation is regarded as the most import design
6.0

0.5
2.5

1.0
–

–
ED parameter

parameter for an ED system. Brief reviews of some

typical and recent studies concerning ED are summa-
rized in Table 6. Yin et al. (2008) have tested the
Moore et al. (2010) 320

230

100
76

30

78

efficiency of ED treating a mixture of domestic and

farmland sewage, and found that the presence of veg-
Wang et al. (2010)

etation resulted in an average increase in nutrient

Yin et al. (2008)

Wu et al. (2011)

He et al. (2012)

removal of 18, 37, and 40 % for TN, TP, and COD,

respectively. Wang et al. (2010) showed that plants
Source

within ED contributed to 68 and 78 % reduction of

nitrogen and phosphorus, respectively, compared to
1561, Page 12 of 18
the influent loads in summer. Wu et al. (2011) reported
a mean percentage reduction of 52, 53, and 58 % for
TN, nitrate–nitrogen (NO3–N), and NH4–N, respec-
tively, for vegetated ED where the bottom part was
packed with ceramsite adsorbent.
Sufficient contact between macrophytes and water
is fundamental in mitigation of agricultural pollutants
(Bouldin et al. 2004). However, Moore et al. (2010)
found that vegetated ditches had a significantly lower
reduction of TP loads (86 %) than the non-vegetated
ditches (95 %). A possible reason may be that dense
vegetation inhibited phosphorus removal by periphy-
ton and co-precipitation mechanisms (Wen and
Recknagel 2006).
4.4 Review of CW
CW are engineered systems designed and constructed to
utilize the natural processes involving wetland vegeta-
tion, water flow, soils, and their associated microbial
assemblages to assist in treating wastewater (Vymazal
2007; Tang et al. 2009; Scholz 2010). These systems
take advantage of physical, chemical, and biological
processes occurring in natural wetlands, but do so within
a semi-controlled environment. Previous studies have
demonstrated that organic matter represented by COD
and biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids,
nitrogen, phosphorus, and bacteria can be treated well
by wetland systems (Wand et al. 2007; Vymazal 2007;
Scholz 2010; Table 4).
CW was first successfully studied for water purifi-
cation purposes in the 1960s (Seidel 1966). Scirpus
lacustris L. (common bulrush) removed organic sub-
stances such as nutrients and even toxic chemicals
such as phenols. Thereafter, an increasing number of
CW was applied for the treatment of municipal, in-
dustrial, and agricultural wastewater (Fraser et al.
2004; Vymazal 2007; Díaz et al. 2012). A better un-
derstanding of processes such as adsorption, uptake by
plants and living organisms, biodegradation and trans-
formation, and burial, led to the development of more
constructed wetlands used to remove organic matter,
nitrogen, and phosphorus from RNPS water pollution
(Díaz et al. 2012).
CW is recommended as major components of BMP
for RNPS water pollution control but they are associated
with a wide range of pollutant removal rates. Díaz et al.
(2012) reported removal efficiencies for suspended
solids ranging from 31 to 96 %. O’Green et al. (2010)
Water Air Soil Pollut (2013) 224:1561
reported that nitrate removal within CW receiving
RNPS wastewater from agricultural runoff ranged from
negative values (i.e., CW acting as a source) to figures as
high as 98 %. The average TN removal efficiency for a
North American surface flow wetland was 53 % (Kadlec
and Knight 1996). The TN removal reported by Lu et al.
(2009) and Kadlec et al. (2010) for CW treating rural
runoff were 61 and 50 %, respectively.
Removal of TP ranges from no significant net re-
moval to 80 % (Reinhardt et al. 2005). In general,
factors such as influent water quality, treating loads,
hydraulic residence time (HRT), CW components in-
cluding substrate and vegetation, water flow, vegeta-
tion management, and climate impact on CW treating
RNPS water pollutants. A detailed discussion on nu-
trient removal mechanisms within CW can be found
elsewhere (Vymazal 2007; Tang et al. 2009; Scholz
2010; Díaz et al. 2012).
Brief reviews of some typical and latest CW studies
are summarized in Table 7. The nutrient removal effi-
ciency varies depending on the wastewater type, treat-
ment capacity, substrate and plants types, and the HRT.
Substrate with high adsorption capacity, plants with
great nutrient assimilation and accumulation properties
and reasonably long HRT are the main approaches to
construct highly efficient CW. However, pollutant re-
moval within CW also depend on other factors including
climate, influent water pollutant loading rates and con-
stituents, flow modes (surface flow, horizontal flow, or
vertical subsurface flow), and plant type, density, and
harvest regimes (Vymazal 2007; O’Green et al. 2010).
Due to the diversity of RNPS water pollution sources
and complicated CW-treating mechanisms, it is difficult
to come up with universal guidelines for CW systems to
control RNPS water pollution.
4.5 Review of BP
The anaerobic digestion of various organic feedstocks
including animal manures, human excrements, kitchen
waste, weeds, and crop residues produce a methane-rich
gaseous mixture called biogas. China has a long history
of researching and applying BP, and developed more than
26.5 million BP after 2007 (Chen et al. 2010b).
Household biogas digesters are especially prevalent in
the Changjiang River Basin and the rapid growth of BP
though the country acts as an environmentally sustainable
energy resource, which is often used for cooking, heating,
lighting, and electricity generation (Table 4). Household
Table 7 Pollutants removal within various ecological ditches (ED)
Water Air Soil Pollut (2013) 224:1561

Source CW parameter Mean percent removal (on concentration

basis; mg/l)

WT TC (m3/day) HRT (d) Substrate Vegetation NH3–N NO3–N COD TN TP TDP

He et al. (2004) Pig farm 85.00 0.25–2.00 Gravel, zeolite Phragmites australis and Acorus calamus 36 – 58 43 46 46
wastewater and blast
furnace slag
Zhou et al. (2005) Drainage water ~21.75 1.00–7.00 Soil and gravel Phragmites australis and Typha latifola 59–85 – – 38–64 66–85 –
Wen and Recknagel Drainage water 0.45 5.5 Soil Phragmites australis, Schoenoplectus 70 45 – – 68 74
(2006) spp, and Typha spp
Sindilariu et al. (2007) Aquaculture 2272.32 0.29 Gravel Phragmites communis and Phalaris 87 −2 24 −2 38 −1
wastewater arundinacea
Díaz et al. (2012) Agricultural ~10,250.00 ~2.50 Soil Typha latifolia and Polygnum lapathifolium 7 11 – 7 18 –
runoff
Zhu et al. (2012) Livestock 0.01 ~5.00 Mineralized Cyperus alternifolius, Phragmites spp., 90 32 62 – 95 –
wastewater refuse Canna indica and Acorus calamus
Ye et al. (2012) Rural sewage 10,725.00 0.29–2.54 Crushed stone Phragmites australis, Cannaindica and – – 81 82 67 –
Cyperusalternifolius

WT wastewater types, TC treatment capacity, HRT hydraulic residence time, NH3–N ammonia–nitrogen, NO3–N nitrate–nitrogen, COD chemical oxygen demand, TN total nitrogen,
TP total phosphorus, TDP total dissolved phosphorus
Page 13 of 18, 1561
1561, Page 14 of 18
biogas generation has become a motivating factor to
comprehensive utilize rural waste resources (Katuwal
and Bohara 2009). In China, to combine ecological agri-
cultural strategies with biogas innovation, various agri-
cultural operation patterns such as the North “four in one
”, the South “pig-biogas-fruit”, and the North-west “five-
matching” methods have been developed (Zeng et al.
2007; Wei et al. 2009) to adjust BP technology to the
spatial and temporal characteristics of the regional farm-
ing systems.
The development of BP not only provides a clean
and obtainable renewable energy source used for rural
heating, cooking, and lighting, but also a promising
approach for reducing environmental pollution, dis-
posing of rural waste, and producing a renewable
resource of anaerobic fermentation residue including
biogas residue and biogas slurry (Tambone et al.
2010). Previous studies indicated that biogas residues
and slurry can be both used as fertilizer in agricultural
production (Ding et al. 2012; Li et al. 2012). Moreover,
Li et al. (2012) analyzed the nutrient content of biogas
fertilizer, and found that biogas fertilizer contains all the
non-degradable or insoluble organic and inorganic sub-
stances present in the original feedstock and adsorbs a
large amount of soluble and available nutrients
(Table 8). The application of biogas fertilizer is an
important process to make nutrients originating from
agricultural waste available for recirculation
(Berglund and Börjesson 2006), reducing chemical
fertilizer usage, and improving agricultural product
growth and quality. Ding et al. (2012) found that
constructing biogas digesters is an effective measure
to increase the re-use of straw and stalk as organic
fertilizers in fields, leading to a decrease of chemical
fertilizers by 50.71 %. Li et al. (2012) also reported
that biogas fertilizer used as substitute for chemical
fertilizer can increase soil organic matter by 31.6 %,
ammonia nitrogen by 28.4 %, available phosphorus
by 26.2 % and available potassium by 12.1 %.
Biogas technology promotion should be an important
Table 8 Physical and chemical components of biogas fertilizer (after Li et al. (2012))
Item Total Total Total Available
nitrogen phosphorus potassium nitrogen (mg/l)
(%) (%) (K2O) (%)
Biogas slurry 0.26 0.06 0.14 2,047.50
Biogas residue 3.87 2.39 1.11 16,714.29
Water Air Soil Pollut (2013) 224:1561
part of a RNPS water pollution control, waste reuse,
and nutrient recirculation strategy (Table 4).
Increased technical knowledge, a wide availability of
fermentation materials, a strong state policy and finan-
cial support stimulates the growth of BP in Chinese rural
areas. Nonetheless, various technical problems such as
gas leakage, insufficient feedstock, blockages, and lack
of maintenance led to a great number of household BP
being unused (He 2010; Table 4). Only approximate
60 % of the biogas digesters in China’s rural areas were
believed to be operating normally in 2007 (Chen et al.
2010b). A shortage in supply of qualified technical
support, unstable feedstock sources, and insufficient
plant maintenance are the major reason for system
failures.
5 Ecological Cycling Mode for RNPS Water
Pollution Control
RNPS water pollution should be addressed by reduc-
ing, reusing, and recycling nutrients. Ecological tech-
niques including VFS, ED, CW, and BP can be
applied for water purification, pollutant reduction,
and nutrient recirculation to improve water quality,
increase the water resources utilization rate, reduce
chemical fertilizer usage and nutrient discharge, and
enhance agricultural product quality.
Four major RNPS water pollution sources includ-
ing rural sewage, agricultural planting, poultry and
livestock breeding, and aquaculture are critically
reviewed within the context of a new ecological
cycling concept (Fig. 5), which is proposed to
villages and communities to control RNPS water
pollution. The application of the concept is inex-
pensive, easy to operate, highly efficient, sustain-
able, and ecologically benign. Within a solid–liquid
separation treatment system, wastewater is treated,
reused, and recycled with different approaches such
as irrigation, aquaculture water supplement, and
Available Available potassium Organic Humic
phosphorus (K2O) (mg/l) matter (%) acid (%)
(P2O5) (mg/l)
54.24 1,160.00 3.23 0.19
13,904.29 7,536.29 30.43 20.33
Water Air Soil Pollut (2013) 224:1561 Page 15 of 18, 1561

Fig. 5 Ecological cycling BP

Excrement and kitchen waste

mode combined with vege- Pond sediment and aquatic residues
tated filter strips (VFS),

Biogas fertilizers
ecological ditches (ED),

Crop residues

Biogas
constructed wetlands (CW),

Animal manure

Biogas
and biogas plants (BP). The
products of biogas can be
used for cooking, heating,
lighting, and electricity gen-
eration with specific utiliza-
tion purpose Farm land Rural resident Poultry and livestock Aquaculture

Wastewater discharge
Flushing water discharge
Sewage discharge
Washing water reuse

Flushing water reuse

Runoff discharge
Irrigation water reuse

Water reuse
VFS ED CW

poultry and livestock feedlots flushing. Moreover, rural (d) Recycling. Water and nutrient recycling is a distin-
waste including human excrements, animal manure, fish guished feature of the proposed concept. Although
pond sediment, and crop residues are used as raw ma- water shortage problems are not often serious in
terial for anaerobic fermentation and biogas generation. Hubei Province, an increase in RNPS water pollu-
Biogas should be used for rural lighting, heating, tion and nutrient loss has caused an environmental
cooking, and electricity generation. Biogas residues crisis. The ecological cycling mode proposes to
can be applied as fertilizer to reduce chemical fertilizer utilize water resources when water is available in
applications and develop organic agricultural prod- excess, and will help to balance regional nutrient
ucts. The major characteristics and advantages of the availability fluctuations.
ecological recycling mode based on the opinions of
the authors are as follows:
6 Summary and Future Research Needs
(a) Integrity. The new concept is taking the major
RNPS water pollution contributors into consider- Hubei Province is a typical agricultural province in
ation, which may help to control, treat, and man- Asia. The critical review indicates that intensive agri-
age the water pollution at the regional level. cultural practices and abundant rainfall have caused
Subsequently, the proposed methods will be use- serious RNPS water pollution within regional water
ful for local water pollution control. networks, which have no effective pollution control
(b) Ecology. VFS, ED, CW, and BP utilize natural strategies. The major nutrients including NH 3–N,
purification processes involving the sun, vegeta- COD, TN, and TP were selected to characterize RNPS
tion, soil, and microorganisms. These ecological water pollution contributors and to subsequently calcu-
engineering techniques are particularly suitable late annual production and discharge loads. The ranking
for rural areas. order for RNPS pollutant load contributions is as fol-
(c) Economy. All of the techniques proposed are lows: poultry and livestock breeding>agricultural plant-
low-cost, easy to operate, and highly efficient. ing >aquaculture >rural sewage. Chemical fertilizer
Therefore, their application is particularly suit- application, poultry and livestock breeding numbers,
able for rural areas. Apart from benefits such as and aquaculture areas constantly increase, which im-
pollution reduction and water resource reuse, plies a gradual deterioration of the RNPS water pollu-
electricity, and biogas fertilizer generation from tion status. Nevertheless, decreasing rural populations
BP can provide a potential income source for due to an ongoing urbanization process may be positive
rural farmers. in reducing rural sewage discharge.
1561, Page 16 of 18
BMP traditionally emphasize the reduction in water
volume and soil loss, recommend environmentally be-
nign agricultural tillage practices, highlight chemical
fertilizer and pesticide control techniques, and promote
rural runoff management measures. However, RNPS
pollutants should also be viewed as a nutrient resource
for farming activities.
VFS, ED, CW, and BP were identified as the key
source control techniques that should be combined
with an ecological recycling strategy to promote rural
wastewater reuse and nutrient recirculation within vil-
lage or community scale. This concept is suitable for
agricultural areas rich in waste resources. The reduc-
tion, recycling, and reuse of rural wastewater will
create a sustainable agricultural system, improve the
rural energy consumption structure and quality of liv-
ing, and decrease wastewater discharge and chemical
fertilizer usage, thus allowing the rural economy and
society, as well as the ecological environment to enjoy
the benefits of sustainable development.
The authors recommend that future research should
be conducted to test the technical side and adaptability
of the proposed concept using innovation-based dem-
onstration projects. Promising biogas fertilizer appli-
cation rates and innovative slurry irrigation methods
should be studied. The development of a technical
manual and corresponding training is needed to guide
end-users in the design, operation, management, and
maintenance of individual and combined techniques
and strategies.
Acknowledgments This study was supported by the National
Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 51209011 ), “948”
Imported Project of Ministry of Water Resource (no. 201208),
Technology Foundation for Selected Overseas Chinese Scholar,
Ministry of Personnel of China (no. CKSD2011695/SL), Cen-
tral Public Interest Scientific Institution Research Fund (nos.
CKSF2012020/CJ and CKSF2012056/SH), and the Ministry
of Water Resource, Public Interest Scientific Research Fund
(no. 201101027). The authors greatly appreciate the technical
support provided by Mr. Minzhe Tang regarding figure mapping
and statistical data analysis.
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