Recycled effluent irrigation in vineyards : an Australian case study. I. issues and monitoring

The viticultural industry is becoming an increasingly significant part of the Australian agricultural sector, with gross earnings of over $4 billion in 2002. Expansion of the industry in the last decade has been rapid, however its heavy reliance on irrigation has resulted in further expansion in many wine growing regions being limited by the availability of water. This problem is not confined to the viticultural industry, with ever increasing pressures on water resources worldwide. As demands for water continue to rise, new strategies to meet demands must be adopted. One of the strategies being increasingly employed is the recycling of waste waters for a number of applications such as irrigation and industrial uses. The use of recycled water for vineyard irrigation provides a number of benefits. Among them are the reduced demands on potable supplies, reduced waste discharges to surface waters, and the opportunity for expansion of production. Recycled waters however, contain constituents which have the potential to cause deleterious effects to both production and the environment. Therefore, the use of recycled water for irrigation requires targetted monitoring and management to ensure the long-term sustainability of both the vineyard and the surrounding environment. Traditional monitoring techniques including water quality monitoring and soil testing can be complimented by new technologies and techniques which provide large quantities of information with relatively less labour and time. Such techniques can be used to monitor the vineyard environment to identify impacts arising from management practices, allowing vineyard managers to adjust management for sustainable production<br /

Recycled effluent irrigation in vineyards : an Australian case study. II. management for sustainability

The grape industry is reliant on water, and the future of the Australian viticulture industry could be affected by the rising salinity of irrigation water. Areas irrigated with recycled waters are especially at risk. Management can often ameliorate the adverse affects of low quality water, however this may require land-use practices that reduce commercial return from farming activities. With land application of wastewater in agriculture becoming an increasingly popular practice, the scientific challenge for viticulture will be to identify appropriate management strategies for sustainability of soil resources, so that maximum returns are achieved without the operation being compromised

Balancing environmental impacts and benefits of wastewater reuse

Wastewater reuse is being widely promulgated to help address the global freshwater resource crisis. It can assist in reducing extraction of freshwater from the environment, and reuse of wastewater lessens the need for environmental discharge, which is clearly beneficial to receiving waters. But the practice itself also has the potential to be detrimental to natural and human environments: soil structure can become degraded, aquifers may be polluted, and human health may be threatened. The challenge facing natural resource managers is to identify the potential benefits and risks, and to achieve an appropriate balance. This paper describes environmental benefits and threats concomitant with the reuse of wastewater. We frequently draw upon examples from China and Australia-two countries that face particularly daunting water resourcechallenges-but the principles can be.extended far beyond these geographical bounds and are applicable tomany parts of the world.<br /

Wastewater irrigation: the state of play

As demand for fresh water intensifies, wastewater is frequently being seen as a valuable resource. Furthermore, wise reuse of wastewater alleviates concerns attendant with its discharge to the environment. Globally, around 20 million ha of land are irrigated with wastewater, and this is likely to increase markedly during the next few decades as water stress intensifies. In 1995, around 2.3 billion people lived in water-stressed river basins and this could increase to 3.5 billion by 2025. We review the current status of wastewater irrigation by providing an overview of the extent of the practice throughout the world and through synthesizing the current understanding of factors influencing sustainable wastewater irrigation. A theme that emerges is that wastewater irrigation is not only more common in water-stressed regions such as the Near East, but the rationale for the practice also tends to differ between the developing and developed worlds. In developing nations, the prime drivers are livelihood dependence and food security, whereas environmental agendas appear to hold greater sway in the developed world. The following were identified as areas requiring greater understanding for the long-term sustainability of wastewater irrigation: (i) accumulation of bioavailable forms of heavy metals in soils, (ii) environmental fate of organics in wastewater-irrigated soils, (iii) influence of reuse schemes on catchment hydrology, including transport of salt loads, (iv) risk models for helminth infections (pertinent to developing nations), (v) microbiological contamination risks for aquifers and surface waters, (vi) transfer efficiencies of chemical contaminants from soil to plants, (vii) health effects of chronic exposure to chemical contaminants, and (viii) strategies for engaging the public.<br /

Recycled effluent irrigation in vineyards: an Australian\ud case study. II. Management for sustainability

The grape industry is reliant on water, and the future of the Australian viticulture industry could be affected by the rising salinity of irrigation water. Areas irrigated with recycled waters are especially at risk. Management can often ameliorate the adverse affects of low quality water, however this may require land-use practices that reduce commercial return from farming activities. With land application of wastewater in agriculture becoming an\ud increasingly popular practice, the scientific challenge for viticulture will be to identify appropriate management strategies for sustainability of soil resources, so that maximum returns are achieved without the operation being compromised

Recycled effluent irrigation in vineyards: an Australian case\ud study. I. Issues and monitoring

The viticultural industry is becoming an increasingly significant part of the Australian agricultural sector, with gross earnings of over $4 billion in 2002. Expansion of the industry in the last decade has been rapid, however its heavy reliance on irrigation has resulted in further expansion in many wine growing regions being limited by the\ud availability of water. This problem is not confined to the viticultural industry, with ever increasing pressures on water resources worldwide. As demands for water continue to\ud rise, new strategies to meet demands must be adopted. One of the strategies being increasingly employed is the recycling of wastewaters for a number of applications such\ud as irrigation and industrial uses. \ud \ud The use of recycled water for vineyard irrigation provides a number of benefits. Among them are the reduced demands on potable supplies, reduced waste discharges to surface waters, and the opportunity for expansion of production. Recycled waters however, contain constituents which have the potential to cause deleterious effects to both\ud production and the environment. Therefore, the use of recycled water for irrigation requires targeted monitoring and management to ensure the long term sustainability of\ud both the vineyard and the surrounding environment. Traditional monitoring techniques including water quality monitoring and soil testing can be complimented by new\ud technologies and techniques which provide large quantities of information with relatively less labor and time. Such techniques can be used to monitor the vineyard environment to identify impacts arising from management practices, allowing vineyard managers to adjust management for sustainable production