Effects of Treated Wastewater Irrigation on Soil Properties-A Case Study at NIT Trichy

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of treated wastewater on soil physical, chemical and biological properties. Field experiment was conducted in NIT Trichy region in Trichy with treated wastewater and groundwater surface irrigation systems for crops of Teak wood farm and Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. The quality of treated wastewater was studied to evaluate the performance of treatment units and the suitability of treated wastewater for irrigation. The irrigation system had a significant effect on infiltration rate, bulk density and total porosity. The soil samples were taken from the farm with an area of more than five acres and nine sample points were picked spatially throughout the field. A research project was undertaken to determine the role of physical and chemical soil properties in the treatment performance of subsurface effluent disposal areas. Monitoring changes in these properties will permit improved prediction of the treatment potential of a soil. The changes within soil properties of the disposal area due to effluent application were found to be directly related to the subsurface drainage characteristics including permeability, clay content and pore size. The major controlling soil physical and chemical attributes were found to be moderate drainage, significant soil cation exchange capacity and dominance of exchangeable Ca or exchangeable Mg over exchangeable Na and low exchangeable Na. An in-depth knowledge of the local soil characteristics and associated soil hydrology is needed for better prediction of long term behaviour of subsurface effluent disposal systems. . The growth of plants at the control points are also monitored for growth pattern. The goal of this study is to evaluate, on short period, the effects of the TWW irrigation, in comparison to that of the Ground Water, on the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil cultivated with Teak wood and never irrigated by TWW.