Assessing the use of treated waste water for irrigation agricultural lands by using soil quality indices

V. Arcenegui, A. Morugán, F. Garcia-Orenes, R. Zornoza, J. Mataix-Solera, M.A. Navarro, C. Guerrero and J. Mataix-Beneyto
(1) GEA (Grupo de Edafología Ambiental). Departamento de Agroquímica y Medio Ambiente, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Avenida de la Universidad s/n, 03202-Elche, Alicante, Spain. fuensanta.garcia@umh.es

INTRODUCTION

The use of treated wastewater for the irrigation of agricultural soils is an alternative to utilizing better-quality water, especially in semiarid regions where water shortage is a very serious problem. However, this practise can modify the soil equilibrium and affect its quality. In this work two soil quality indices (models) are used to evaluate the
effects of long-term irrigation with treated wastewater in soil. The models were developed studying different soil properties in undisturbed forest soils in SE Spain, and the relationships between soil parameters were established using multiple linear regressions. Model 1, that explained 92% of the variance in soil organic carbon (SOC)
showed that the SOC can be calculated by the linear combination of 6 physical, chemical and biochemical properties (acid phosphatase, water holding capacity (WHC), electrical conductivity (EC), available phosphorus (P), cation exchange capacity (CEC) and aggregate stability (AS)). Model 2 explains 89% of the SOC variance, which
can be calculated by means of 7 chemical and biochemical properties (urease, phosphatase, and ß-glucosidase activities, pH, EC, P and CEC). We use the residual (difference between calculated SOC by models and real SOC) as soil quality indices. The soil will be equilibrated if residuals are near 0 or inside confidence intervals of the
models (95%).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The study is developing in two agricultural areas:

Zone A: Cultivated area with citric crop, the soil is being irrigatated with waste water from 40 year ago and the irrigation is by floodind system Zone B: Cultivated area with grape crop, the soil is being irrigated with waste water from 30 year ago and the irrigation is by trickle.
In both zones there are control plots that have been
irrigated with fresh water during the same period. Six
soil samples were taken from every zone (waster water
irrgation plot and fresh water irrigation plots) and in all
the samples were determined the water holding
capacity, electrical conductivity, organic matter,
exchange cation capacity and as enzimatic activities:
Urease, glucosidase and phosphatase. With these
parameters two idices of soil quality were aplied in
every sampled area, to discriminate the level of
pertubatuion of the soils under irrigation.

INTRODUCTION
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

All the sampled soils show a pH lightly alkaline, mainly due to the location of studied areas in southern of Spain and this parameter is not affected by type of irrigation, fresh or waste water. The results show that use of waste water for the irrigation of soils, has incremented the electrical conductivity of the same in both studied zones,
as well the level reached for this parameter (500 µS/cm) is not dangerous for the soil and it is not a limiting for the use of this water. At it is expected the irrigation with waste water has incremented the organic matter content of the soils because waste water contributes organic matter to soil with the irrigation. Also we have observed a
mayor concentration of available P in soils irrigated with waste water. About the stability of aggregates, the graphs show that the behaviour of this parameter is different in both studied zones. In zone A the irrigation with waste water has incremented the stability of aggregates probably due to the increment of organic matter that
improves the structure of the soil. However in the zone B this effect is not observed even the stable aggregates are high in soil irrigated with fresh water, at the moment we can not explain this behaviour and we need study the evolution this parameter in next sampling. The application of the models indicates that all the scenarios are
out of the confidence intervals for the models because these soils are submitted to a perturbation as it is the agricultural use. However, there are not big differences in the deviation for the models between soils irrigated with either waste or fresh water, even in one of the chosen areas (zone A) the residual value obtained is less for the
soil irrigated with wastewater than the soil irrigated with fresh water.

Electrical Conductivity (µs/cm) % Water Holding Capacity % Organic Matter Urease (µmolesNH4+/g/h) Glucosidase (µmolPNP/g/h)
700 70 7 2,5
12

600 60 6
10 2
500 50 5
8
1,5
Model 1 Model 2
400 40 4
6
300 30 3
1
0,8 Zone A Zone B
4
200 20 2 1,2

2
0,5 0,7 1,1
100 10 1
1
0 0 0 0 0 0,6
0,9
WA CA WB CB WA CA WB CB WA CA WB CB WA CA WB CB WA CA WB CB
Sampled area Sampled area Sampled area Sampled area 0,5 0,8
Sampled area
0,7
0,4
0,6

Exchange Cation Capacity (cmol/Kg) Available Phosporus (mg P/100 g soil) % Agreggate Stability Phosphatase (µmolPNP/g/h) 0,3 0,5
0,4
14 80 0,2
12 3 0,3
70
10
12
2,5 0,1 0,2
10
60
0,1
8 2
50 0 0
8
6
6
40 1,5
WA CA WB CB WA CA WB CB
30
4 1
4
Sampled area Sampled area
20
2 0,5
2 10

0 0 0 0

WA CA WB CB WA CA WB CB WA CA WB CB WA CA WB CB
Sampled area Sam pled area Sampled area Sampled area

Fig 1. Parameters studied EC, WHC, OM, ECC, P, and Enzimatic activities in diferent sampled areas WA: Sampled area from zone A irrigated with waste water; FA: Sampled area area from zona A irrigated Fig. 2. Values of two soil quality indicides on diferent sampled areas: estimated organic carbon by
with fresh water; WB: Sampled area from zone B irrgated with wate water; FB sampled area from zone B irrigated with fresh water the model less real organic carbon. The confiance interval for model 1 is: ± 0.21 and for model 2 is: ± 0.23

Conclusions:

•The irrigation with waste water has incremented the electrical conductivity in the soils of both studied zones, as well the level reached is not dangerous for the soil.

•Waste water irrigation contributes organic matter to soil that has increment significantly the organic content of soils.

•The application of the models indicates that all the scenarios are out of the confidence intervals for the models because these soils are submitted to a perturbation as it is the agricultural use, but there are not big differences in the deviation for the models
between soils irrigated with either waste or fresh water.

Aknowledgements: This research was supported by “Entidad pública de saneamiento de aguas residuales de la Comunidad Valenciana” and "Proaguas Costablanca" . EGU 2009. European Geosciences Union. General Assembly 2009.