AWWA SOURCES59219

Although water recycling has been practiced successfully in Hawaii for over 70 years, the fate ofconstituents applied over unconfined aquifers has been questioned. Water recycling throughirrigation has demonstrated the multiple benefits of wastewater reuse including a reduction of thedemand on potable aquifer sources and the beneficial reuse of water and nutrients. The preferredreuse method under study on Oahu is irrigation, because current and past water recyclingprojects utilize reclaimed water on golf courses and agricultural land. The Honolulu Board ofWater Supply (HBWS) has taken a cautious approach toward allowing recycled water use overpotable water aquifers because of concerns over degrading or contaminating the underlying,high-quality groundwater. HBWS has concerns regarding the migration of constituents,including pesticides and trace organics. As a result, HBWS has developed a project to investigatepotential impacts of irrigation with recycled water in Central Oahu. The purpose of the project isto determine the level of protection of water quality that exists when recycled water is used forcrop or turf irrigation.The project was initiated with a literature review and research plan in December 2000. Thecurrent status of the project is described including a detailed water quality characterization ofrecycled water and alternative irrigation water sources. Preliminary results from an 18 monthfield study are reported in which the percolate water quality from plots irrigated with recycledwater is compared to the percolate from plots irrigated with control groundwater. Includes 2 references, tables, figure.

Product Details

Edition:

Vol. - No.

Published:

01/11/2004

Number of Pages:

9

File Size:

1 file , 430 KB