Health aspects of wastewater reuse for irrigation in an industrial community

A system of waste stabilization ponds serves an oil and gas production community along Egypt's Red Sea coast. Effluent from the system is used for irrigation of non-edible food crops amidst the desert surroundings. The purpose of this work was to determine the suitability of this reuse application by evaluating the performance of the pond treatment system and the current irrigation practices at the site. Wastewater flows as well as chemical and biological parameters were monitored for the pond system for a period of fifteen months. Effluent generally satisfies criteria for irrigation of non-food crop plants with respect to chemical parameters. However, fecal coliform levels typically do not meet microbiological guidelines established by the World Health Organization for the flood irrigation method being used at the site. Awareness training of agricultural and other workers is required related to safety measures, personal hygiene, and soil and effluent handling to reduce both the high-risk exposure due to utilization of the flood irrigation technique, and a low-risk exposure as a result of transmission of pollutants within the worker community.