There are many pros and cons of using waste water for drinking and agriculture. Waste water in untreated form is normally used in agriculture since many centuries all over the world. Wastewater use in agriculture can be observed as both a benefit, providing water and nutrients for the cultivation of harvests and confirming food supply to the cities, and also as the cause of pollution; a threat that affects the health of users, and the environment. Wastewater causes diseases as it contains microorganisms, viruses and parasites, and cannot be considered safe for drinking. Wastewater for irrigation affects the land property values positively or negatively, and has public impact on food security, health and wellbeing, and quality of life.
Waste water is treated through a 3 step treatment, where the initial phase is microfiltration of treated waste water to take out oils, solids, and bacteria, before the final liquid is made to pass through reverse osmosis by forcing it via an adequate plastic casing to clean the viruses and treatments . Ultra Violet (UV) light is used to treat the water later to eliminate any residual organic compounds, before linking the main groundwater supply, as required to be met by the stringent quality controls to meet allowed standards, and supply to houses.
Few solutions for areas that are heavily hit by drought would be to stop groundwater drilling as it causes depletion and the areas sink due to the reducing groundwater. Cloud seeding is another alternative in which silver iodide crystals are spread on the top layer of clouds to generate water droplets and boost precipitation levels. Recycling waste water is a good method to be used for irrigation, replenishing ground water, and flushing the toilets. Desalination, in which the ocean water is propelled to a treatment facility and the salt is removed using reverse osmosis to make it usable for general use can be implemented.
Waste water is also treated at the Windhoek plant, which is much better than the conventional treatment facilities. The region faced health issue such as diarrhea that killed many people, however with the new facility the death rates have lowered.
Works Cited
Monks, Kieron. From toilet to tap: Getting a taste for drinking recycled waste wate. 15 November 2015. Web. <http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/01/world/from-toilet-to-tap-water/>.
