The Urban Water Cycle,including Wastewater Use in Agriculture

Urban wastewater is an exploitable water resource in water-short countries and its controlled use in agriculture will make contributions to water conservation and food production. Health risks must be understood and appropriate control measures must be introduced into effluent use schemes. Recent guidelines from the World Health and Food and Agriculture Organizations of the UN now provide authoritative advice on health control and agricultural issues. Among the measures which can be considered are wastewater treatment, restricted crop selection, careful choice of irrigation method, adoption of appropriate farm management practices, human exposure control and promotion of hygiene. The approach adopted must be consistent with local socio-cultural, environmental and institutional factors and thoroughly planned as an integrated programme of wastewater disposal and food production.