This book offers a broad and global level description of the current status of wastewater use in agriculture and then brings the readers to various places in the MENA Region and Europe to explain how some countries and regions have addressed the challenges during implementation. On a global scale, over 20 million hectares of agricultural land are irrigated using wastewater. This is one good, and perhaps the most prominent, example of the safe use potential of wastewater. Water scarcity and the cost of energy and fertilisers are among the main factors driving millions of farmers and other entrepreneurs to make use of wastewater. In order to address the technical, institutional, and policy challenges of safe water reuse, developing countries and countries in transition need clear institutional arrangements and more skilled human resources, with a sound understanding of the opportunities and potential risks of wastewater use. Stakeholders in wastewater irrigation who need to implement from scratch or improve current conditions, find it difficult to gather the necessary information on practical implementation aspects. The main objective of this book is to bridge that gap.

This book provides a unique synthesis of concepts and tools to examine natural resource, socio-economic, legal, policy and institutional issues that are important for managing urban growth into the future. The book will particularly help the reader to understand the current issues and challenges and develop strategies and practices to cope with future pressures of urbanisation and peri-urban land, water and energy use challenges. In particular, the book will help the reader to discover underlying principles for the planning of future cities and peri-urban regions in relation to: (i) Balanced urban development policies and institutions for future cities; (ii) Understanding the effects of land use change, population increase, and water demand on the liveability of cities; (iii) Long-term planning needs and transdisciplinary approaches to ensure the secured future for generations ahead; and (iv) Strategies to adapt the cities and land, water and energy uses for viable and liveable cities. There are growing concerns about water, food security and sustainability with increased urbanisation worldwide. For cities to be liveable and sustainable into the future there is a need to maintain the natural resource base and the ecosystem services in the peri-urban areas surrounding cities. This need is increasing under the looming spectre of global warming and climate change. This book will be of interest to policy makers, urban planners, researchers, post-graduate students in urban planning, environmental and water resources management, and managers in municipal councils.

First Published in 2009. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The use of urban wastewater in agriculture is receiving renewed attention, with the increasing scarcity of fresh water resources in many arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Wastewater is a low-cost alternative to conventional irrigation water, although it may carry health and environmental risks. This book critically reviews experience worldwide of these issues. Emphasis is placed on untreated wastewater use by means of field-based case studies from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. It brings together a range of perspectives including economic, health, agronomic, environmental, institutional, and policy dimensions.

As the world's population increases and the demand for water increases apace there is a rising demand for information concerning the reuse of wastewater, particularly for the irrigation of key food crops worldwide. This important new book addresses in detail the use of treated wastewater in agricultural situations, its impact on crops and the soil environment. Coverage includes the composition and treatment of wastewater, health considerations, regulations and economic aspects. Major sections of the book also concentrate on crop management and the soil environment. This book is an essential purchase for all those working in irrigation, water management and crop production worldwide. Use of Treated Wastewater (TWW) for irrigation is increasingly important as the world's population increases Chapters prepared by leading scientists in the field Comprehensive coverage of current knowledge and advances in the area of TWW Focus on possible environmental impacts (positive and negative)

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. 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 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.

This compilation provides guidelines that facilitate the successful planning and operation of water reuse projects. Offering the information, analysis and proven experience for agricultural and landscape irrigation, it bridges the gap between fundamental science and relatively uncharted areas of economic, institutional and liability issues. It delivers a synthesis of information recently emerging in both science and in the practice of irrigation with reclaimed water. The book compiles guidelines, recommendations and codes of best practices from around the world for all types of recycled water uses, and it examines recent concerns about adverse effects on plants, groundwater and public health.

The books provides a timely analysis in support of a paradigm shift in the field of wastewater management, from ‘treatment for disposal’ to ‘treatment for reuse’ by offering a variety of value propositions for water, nutrient and energy recovery which can support cost savings, cost recovery, and profits, in a sector that traditionally relies on public funding. The book provides new insights into the economics of wastewater use, applicable to developed and developing countries striving to transform wastewater from an unpleasant liability to a valuable asset and recasting urbanization from a daunting challenge into a resource recovery opportunity. “It requires business thinking to transform septage and sewage into valuable products. A must read for water scholars, policy makers, practitioners, and entrepreneurs". Guy Hutton, Senior Economist, Water and Sanitation Program, Water Global Practice, World Bank “This book provides compelling evidence and real solutions for the new ‘resource from waste’ approach that is transforming sanitation, boosting livelihoods, and strengthening urban resilience”. Christopher Scott, Professor and Distinguished Scholar, University of Arizona “This book shows how innovative business thinking and partnerships around resource recovery and reuse fit well within an inclusive green economy and climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies”. Akiça Bahri, Coordinator of the African Water Facility, Tunisia, and award-winning researcher

In December 2002, a group of specialists on water resources from the United States and Iran met in Tunis, Tunisia, for an interacademy workshop on water resources management, conservation, and recycling. This was the fourth interacademy workshop on a variety of topics held in 2002, the first year of such workshops. Tunis was selected as the location for the workshop because the Tunisian experience in addressing water conservation issues was of interest to the participants from both the United States and Iran. This report includes the agenda for the workshop, all of the papers that were presented, and the list of site visits.