Waste Water a Potential Resource for Irrigation

Waste water is gaining popularity as a source of irrigation water in different countries around the world. This is especially true in India, where it has been in use for a long time. Its economic benefits and its importance as a coping strategy for the poor have had little recognition. The lack of alternative source of water has generated viable markets for wastewater. Increased disposable incomes have resulted from the catalytic use of waste water that was formerly not socially acceptable, i.e. the farmers considered it unhealthy and unclean. The use of waste water to grow food crops poses uncertain risks to the health of both, the consumers and to those who actually handle the waste water. It is useful in the discussion to differentiate between unplanned use of waste water resulting from poor sanitation and planned use which tries to address matters such as economic benefits but also institutional challenges and risks which require different management approaches and ideally different guidelines. This diversity makes the current WHO guidelines, which try to be global in nature, complex to understand and apply.