Author Alberto Del Lungo, Sara Marjani Zadeh, Walter Kollert, Salvatore Masi, Paolo De Angelis

Year of publication 2017

Treated Wastewater (TWW) can be used as fertigation in nurseries and to irrigate woody plantations and pastures. Their use can reduce the risk posed by drought and environmental pollution by increasing the volume of water available for productive activities and landscape restoration and simultaneously reducing the quantity of untreated wastewater released into the environment. TWW has the capacity to accelerate the restoration of carbon and nutrients in degraded soils, increase soil fertility and improve productivity. Wastewater discharged untreated into water bodies or used unsafely for irrigation in agriculture can lead to environmental pollution and pose risks for the health of farmers. If treated and safely used, wastewater, especially urban wastewater, can be a valuable resource both environmentally (e.g. water conservation, nutrient recycling) and economically. Innovative methodologies such as fertigation and constructed wetlands have allowed wastewater to be treated using high standards and without the need for high-energy inputs. Constructed wetlands and fertigation are sustainable means of reducing environmental pollution and desertification and increasing nutrient availability and the availability of water resources for forestry, agroforestry, landscape restoration and certain forms of agriculture.