Treated Wastewater Re-use in Agriculture and its Impact on Soil and Plants A Case Study in Northern Gaza Area

Abstract

Beit Lahya treatment plant was built in 1976 to treat the sewage from north Gaza region in Gaza Strip. A greenhouse of 1000 m2 area was constructed to study the effluent of the treatment plant on soil and plants. The greenhouse was divided into three parts which irrigated with three different types of water (100% treated wastewater, 50% treated wastewater and 0% treated wastewater). Three different crops were used in the study (eggplant, tomato and pepper). The results showed a positive effect of using treated wastewater as fertilizer for the main three nutrient elements (N, P and K). Also the biological contamination level, in terms of fecal coliform (FC) and parasite in the eatable parts of different crops, increased with increasing the percentage of treated wastewater. The soil samples analysis before and after the study indicated limited changes in soil chemistry, however, the biological contamination of fecal …