APPLICATION OF MULTICRITERIA ANALYSIS IN THE MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING OF TREATED MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER AND SLUDGE REUSE IN AGRICULTURE AND LAND DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF SPARTI'S WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT, GREECE

Reclaimed wastewater and biosludge reuse is a multifactor problem directly related to environmental planning and management. The rational and effective disposal in the agroecological environment depends on the balanced interaction of spatial, technological, environmental, social-political and economical parameters. Consequently, an optimum solution could be achieved by the application of a Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), which could take into account all the above parameters. This type of model taking into consideration the local constraints, is currently considered as offering the most compatible solution for such complex problems of conflicting and opposing interests. A MCDA was applied to the management of the Sparti's Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) output with the view to find an optimum solution of the wastewater and biosludge disposal. Three scenarios were formulated based on the above parameters. It was found that the best (optimum or compatible) scenario was the 2(nd) one, according to which the outputs of the Sparti's WWTP could be applied successfully to an agricultural area of Laconia's prefecture cultivated with horticultural citrus and olive trees.