Wastewater reuse as an alternative to the traditional water resources

The increase foreseen in the consumption of water, along with the forecast changes of local climatic patterns strongly support the perspective of an increasing water shortage in Mediterranean countries, with a medium and long time prospective. Such conditions call for strategies aimed at a more effective and appropriate water management and, in considering this, wastewater treatment and reuse cannot be delayed any longer. The first purpose in wastewater treatment is the prevention of water pollution, but we have also to consider it an important way to produce an alternative water resource. While pollution control is a global necessity, the use of treated wastewater as a water resource is an important issue for countries where water shortage is foreseen. A general consensus exists that wastewater reclamation for irrigation should be taken into primary consideration and that disinfection processes still need study and research to minimise health problems and to optimise costs. After a brief presentation of the most significant international projects carried out in order to quantify the risk of infection in wastewater reuse for irrigation, this paper examines, in a critical way, the disinfection technologies which are available today.