Documento(s) 11 de 18

Wastewater is a resource of increasing global importance, particularly in urban and peri-urban agriculture. Wastewater is used for crop production, which includes fodder grasses, vegetables, cereals, ornamental plants, trees and flowers, timber crops and fruit trees, as well as for aquaculture and is often the only source of irrigation available. Wastewater use for irrigation generates livelihoods for farmers, agricultural labourers, produce transporters, market brokers and produce vendors. Consumers also benefit by obtaining access to fresh and cheap produce due to low transportation costs. To prevent potential negative impacts on human health and the environment, the importance of wastewater reuse in urban and peri-urban agriculture has to be recognised and clear policy guidelines for reuse need to be established. Careful research and awareness raising needs to be stimulated. Women play a key role in this context both as producers and in food preparation. Wastewater use in urban, peri-urban agriculture is a cross-sectoral issue that requires a multi-sectoral and multi-actor approach to research and planning.

Wastewater Use for Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture

Stephanie Buechler
Gayathri Devi Mekala
Ben Keraita

Introduction

Agriculture is often associated with rural areas, even though it has been practiced in urban and peri-urban areas since ancient times in backyards, on roof tops and road sides, in vacant plots and un-constructed areas, on river and lake beds and in other such small land lots. Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UA) provides nutrition and income, improves the urban environment by using the organic solid and liquid wastes of the city, provides aesthetic value to these areas and helps to achieve optimum land utilisation. However, city planners often ignore this important economic activity and do not include it in their planning. Agricultural finance institutions do not provide loans to urban farmers due partly to the fact that most of them do not have land titles and because the activity itself is considered insignificant. In addition to these factors that can hinder the success of UA, urban and peri-urban farmers often do not have access to a safe and reliable water supply. Issues related to this essential resource for agriculture are discussed in this chapter.

Collecting water from a small pond

Increasing volumes of freshwater are being converted into domestic, hospital and industrial wastewater in rapidly growing towns and cities around the world. By 2015, the world will have one billion more people than it does now and 88 percent of this growth will be in cities, mainly in developing countries (UNDP 1998). This population growth will have a dual effect: 1) a substantial increase in the volume of urban wastewater produced, since greater volumes of surface and groundwater will be diverted to supply these burgeoning cities; and 2) an increase in urban demand for food. The increasing volume of wastewater will therefore be utilised by farmers on an even greater scale than at present. Particularly in the case of urban areas in semi-arid, drought-prone areas, the lucrative and large market for fresh produce and the urban water demand will make freshwater even more scarce. The use of wastewater for agriculture in and around cities across the world is a current and future reality that cannot be denied. In some countries, such as Mexico and China, it has been practised for centuries (Shuval et al., 1986). Since conventional treatment is very costly, most wastewater is allowed to be dumped, untreated, into water bodies or onto the land. Untreated wastewater use for urban and peri-urban agriculture is often either ignored or actively condemned by the public and by government officials.

There is a small but expanding set of literature on biophysical, social, public health, political and economic aspects of wastewater and its use for agriculture. These studies are being used to inform practitioners and policymakers of the reasons for the use of wastewater, the different types of wastewater (including raw, diluted, treated to primary/secondary/tertiary level), the likely increase in its use and possibilities for mitigating the multi-dimensional risks associated with wastewater and its use.

Freshwater Availability for Agriculture

As the world population increases, the competition for freshwater resources between domestic demands, industry, commerce, institutions such as hospitals, and agriculture is intensifying. Water demand has tripled since the 1950s (Brown, 2003). Figure 9.1 illustrates that increases in urban water supply coverage have been and will continue to be greatest in Asia followed by Africa, where absolute population figures as well as population growth are the highest (Scott et al., 2004). Imminent water shortages, however, are less likely to be visible than other natural resource disasters such as deforestation and soil erosion to both the public and policymakers. This is due to the fact that much of the water scarcity is induced by groundwater overdraft for agriculture, industry and domestic use made possible by increased electricity coverage, power subsidies for diesel and electricity, and the extension of cheap credit (Shah & Scott, 2004). A huge increase in the number of wells and over-pumping with increasingly powerful diesel and electrical pumps is leading to falling water tables. Particularly serious over-pumping is occurring in China, India, USA, Pakistan, Mexico, Iran, South Korea, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Tunisia, Israel and Jordan. Surface water from rivers is also tapped for freshwater and major rivers either completely dry up before reaching the sea or contain only a very small volume of water. Such over-exploited rivers include the Colorado river, the Yellow river, the Amu Darya, the Nile, the Indus and the Ganges. Currently, 70 percent of surface and groundwater is used for agriculture, however with increasing competition between agriculture, industry and domestic demand, agriculture is beginning to receive less water (Brown, 2003).

Figure 9.1 Growth in urban water supply coverage by world region

Source: Scott et al., 2004

Water reuse is not a new phenomenon; it has been a worldwide practice for centuries. Agricultural wastewater, sewage wastewater (including grey water and black water) and industrial wastewater have been used directly or after treatment and/or dilution in urban and peri-urban areas for agriculture, especially in drought years. With the dwindling supplies of fresh surface and groundwater, water reuse and recycling assumes a greater role than before to keep up with the increasing population growth and the demand for increased quality and additional quantities of food.

Wastewater Production by Growing Cities

The quantities of wastewater produced by cities are rising steadily with urban growth. As cities grow, the water supply to these cities also grows, resulting in ever-increasing quantities of wastewater produced by urban residents and industries. Municipalities, farmers, and irrigation and agriculture departments are ill-equipped, however, for the very sharp rise in urban-rural water transfers (Buechler and Scott, 2006). The sources of wastewater include sewage drains, storm drains used as sewage channels, surface water sources like rivers, lakes and natural streams polluted with wastewater from city sewage and drainage channels, ponds and tanks, shallow wells, house drainage spouts and channels, wastewater treatment plants etc. The composition of the wastewater varies according to its origin. There is storm water and other urban run-off, grey water (domestic water that is wastewater without urine and faeces) or black water (domestic wastewater with urine and faeces), industrial wastewater, wastewater generated by hospitals and other institutional/commercial establishments and combinations of all of these (each with varying concentrations of waste). The volumes of wastewater generated in Asia in the late 1990s are seen in Table 9.1. An example of urban growth far exceeding the capacity of sewage collection and treatment is Delhi, India. Only about 40 percent of the capital city of Delhi has sewerage at present, and of that less than half actually delivers sewage for treatment. Most is simply channelled through open drainage canals to the main river (the Yamuna) untreated. Despite investments in new treatment plants, the growth rate of the city is so rapid that progress in proportion to this growth has been very slow (Ganges River Partnership Project, 2002).

Domestic wastewater used for vegetable production in Accra

According to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), wastewater treated to primary or secondary levels is used for irrigation, in industry and cooling, whereas untreated wastewater is used mainly for agriculture. Wastewater treatment is costly, and even those cities that are currently able to procure funding to build treatment plants only treat a small percentage of the total volume of wastewater. The rest is left to flow into natural water bodies. Most of the water only receives primary treatment. The majority of developing countries treat less than 15 per cent of the wastewater they produce (Davis & McGinn, 2001). Many treatment plants in cities in the South go into disuse after a short period of time due to insufficient funds for operation and maintenance. This is the situation in cities like Vadodara, the third largest city in Gujarat state, India, where none of the three treatment plants is fully functional (Bhamoriya 2004); in Kathmandu, Nepal, where many of the valley's treatment plants are in poor condition (Rutkowski et al., n.d.) and in Cochabamba, Bolivia, where the one treatment plant that exists is overloaded and therefore not working properly, and most residential septic tanks and Imhoff tanks are not functioning (Huibers et al., 2004). The percentage of the population with full water-borne sewerage connections in sub-Saharan African is very low. Harare, Zimbabwe, is one of the cities in Sub-Saharan Africa with the highest coverage while Lagos, Nigeria, has one of the lowest. In Lagos (Nigeria), Africa's largest city, with a population of 10 million, only 5 percent of its population is connected to the sewage system and treatment of sewage is below recommended standards. Only 2 percent of the cities in sub-Saharan Africa have sewage treatment, and only 30 percent of these systems are operating satisfactorily. In Addis Ababa, with a population of 2.5 million, the sewage system serves only 35,000 people (www.unep.or.jp).

Table 9.1 Estimated volumes of wastewater (million m³/year) in Asia

Policymakers' current focus is on wastewater regulation and treatment. However, to make realistic policies, information must be gathered on where wastewater irrigation takes place, the reasons for and extents of its use, the socio-economic characteristics of the main actors deriving direct and indirect livelihood benefits from this use, the risks to livelihoods and human and animal health of this use and the different types of wastewater use. A common typology of wastewater use that addresses aspects such as direct use (i.e. 'end-of-pipe' sewage irrigation), dilution of wastewater with natural surface water before use, and the relative contributions of domestic wastewater, industrial effluent, and storm water to urban wastewater is required. Van der Hoek (2004) has developed a typology (See Figure 9.2) that categorises wastewater use into three types: direct use of untreated wastewater where wastewater is directly applied to land from a sewage system; direct use of treated wastewater where treated wastewater is channelled to a particular area for irrigation; and indirect use of wastewater where wastewater is taken from another receiving water body such as a pond, lake, canal, tank or river.

Wastewater Use in Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture and its Contribution to Livelihoods and Food Security

Urban and peri-urban farmers from different caste and class groups in developing countries in Asia and Africa derive their livelihoods by using wastewater for various activities such as horticulture, fodder production for dairy activities, agroforestry, orchard keeping, floriculture, aquaculture and cereal production. There are also many areas in which the government runs sewage farms near treatment plants which are hired out to farmers for cultivation such as those around Madurai, South India (documented by Chandran et al., 2003) and around Hyderabad, India (Buechler & Devi, field observations).

Figure 9.2 Basic types of wastewater use

Source: Wastewater Typology developed by Wim van der Hoek, IWMI (2004)

To date, assessments of the extent of wastewater irrigated areas have been carried out in Pakistan, India, Vietnam, China, Mexico and Jordan. In Pakistan an IWMI study estimated that there were 32,500 hectares irrigated directly with wastewater (Ensink et al., 2004). Strauss and Blumenthal (1990) estimated that 73,000 hectares were irrigated with wastewater in India. However, Buechler and Devi (2002) estimated that just only along the Musi river that runs through Hyderabad city in Andhra Pradesh state and the canals and tanks off this river approximately 16,000 hectares of land is irrigated with urban and industrial wastewater (2003). An estimated Rs 1 million per day at least (personal communication by IRDAS, the NGO) is generated due to wastewater irrigated urban agriculture in Hyderabad. In the down stream of Vadodara, third largest city in Gujarat, India, alone, wastewater supports annual agricultural production of Rs 266 million (US $ 5.5 million) (Bhamoriya 2004). In Ghana, it was estimated that if just 10 percent of the 280 million m³ of wastewater from urban Ghana could be (treated and) used for irrigation, the total area irrigated with wastewater alone could reach 4600 ha. At an average dry season farm size of 0.5 ha, this could provide livelihood support for about 9,200 farmers in the peri-urban areas of Ghana (Agodzo et al., 2003). In Vietnam, at least 9,000 hectares of land were found to be irrigated with wastewater mostly to grow paddy, and in and around 93 percent of the cities wastewater is used in agriculture or aquaculture (Rachid-Sally et al., 2004). Mara and Cairncross (1989) estimated that 1.3 million hectares were irrigated with wastewater in China. For Mexico, estimates of the number of hectares irrigated with wastewater vary greatly between studies. Castelán has estimated the number irrigated with domestic wastewater at 344,000 ha, but states that in 1997, 403,000 ha of restricted crops (i.e. crops that are illegal to grow with wastewater as the produce is eaten raw) were cultivated (2000:25). Scott et al., 2000) has put the number at closer to 500,000 ha.

Wastewater users, who come from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds, have a variety of motives for using wastewater for irrigation. In semi-arid and arid areas it is often the only source of water available in sufficient quantities for irrigation; it is also available year-round unlike freshwater from rainfall which is concentrated in the often short and sporadic rainy season. It is also an inexpensive source, not only of water but also of nutrients. In fact, farmers often need few or no additional fertilisers. Crop yields are often higher with wastewater than with freshwater. For example, in Haroonabad, Pakistan, it was found that wastewater farmers earn $US 300–600 more per year than non-wastewater farmers and that the majority of wastewater farmers were landless and leased in land for agricultural production (van der Hoek et al., 2002). In Kumasi, Ghana, Danso et al (2002) found that urban market farmers can earn 2-4 times more than farmers who grow maize and cassava. Wastewater farmers in and around Kumasi earn an average of US$ 340/ha per season (Cornish and Kielen, 2004). Wastewater can easily be channelled to the fields from city drains, from a river, or from broken sewer lines or carried to the fields in watering cans. Using this water is also attractive as UA fields are often conveniently located near city markets where the produce is sold, or are near urban-based buyers who purchase the produce directly from the (peri-)urban plots. As urban populations and incomes of the urban residents increase, so too does the demand for fresh vegetables and dairy products (Brown, 2005). Often, nearly all of the perishable produce for urban consumption is grown in and around urban areas due to the lack of refrigerated transportation in cities. For example, 90 percent of the lettuce and spring onions consumed in Kumasi, Ghana, are produced in the city itself (Danso et al., 2002).

Wastewater used for vegetables without prevention

Despite the widespread use of wastewater, municipalities and water boards underestimate its value, and for policymakers it is a non-issue. The lack of information and awareness both among producers and consumers about the inherent risks of wastewater use further compounds the problem. The difficulties faced in wastewater use for aquaculture relate to the non-availability of guidelines for selection of species and stocking density (Kaul et al., 2002:3). The compatibility of the reclaimed water with its intended usage is an important consideration in developing a wastewater reuse system. Higher level uses such as for irrigating public access lands (eg. Parks) and the cultivation of vegetables requires higher levels of treatment compared to lower level usage such as pasture maintenance, floriculture and agroforestry irrigation.

Impact of Wastewater Irrigated Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture on Health

Fifty percent of all children in developing countries (10.4 million children) under the age of five die per year due to malnutrition (Rice et al., 2000, WHO, 2000). Healthy individuals make healthy communities and wastewater, if well-managed, can help alleviate malnutrition especially for children of poor households. According to the draft WHO report 2005, "Guidelines for Wastewater Use in Agriculture" wastewater use in agriculture may have important economic benefits for households and communities that can improve the health of families through better access to healthcare, education, nutritious food and improved access to both water and sanitation in the household. In Hyderabad, a wastewater reuse case study showed that vegetable producers in the urban and peri-urban areas save about 20 percent of their household expenditure which they would otherwise have spent on the purchase of vegetables. Most of the households with livestock in the urban and peri-urban areas of Hyderabad, India, use wastewater irrigated para grass as fodder and generate an income through the sale of the milk. Typically, 25 percent of the milk produced (assuming a household of 6 members owns one buffalo) is retained for household consumption and 75 percent is sold (Buechler et al., 2003c). The Hyderabad and Kumasi case studies further elaborate on these topics.

On the one hand, wastewater can contribute to improved health of poor communities through income generation and increased access to food. On the other hand it can be associated with a number of health risks since most wastewater is untreated or contaminated with industrial and other wastes.

Negative impacts on farming families and local communities

The people who face potential risks from the use of wastewater for agriculture are agricultural field workers and their families, crop-handlers, consumers and those living near irrigated fields. Wastewater can have direct and indirect health impacts. Direct contact with untreated wastewater through flood or furrow irrigation can lead to increased helminth infection (mainly Ascaris lumbricoides -roundworm, Trichuris trichiura -whipworm, Ancylostoma duodenale and Nector americanus - hookworm). Two case studies that examined the impact of untreated wastewater on health, environment and income in Pakistan indicated higher hookworm infections in farmers and farm workers who use wastewater for irrigation than those who do not (Ensink et al., 2004). The main risk for the public arises when vegetable or salad crops grown with untreated wastewater are consumed raw. This can be linked to cholera and typhoid as well as to faecal bacterial diseases, bacterial diarrhoea and dysentery among consumers of wastewater-irrigated produce. Municipal and industrial wastewater is a major source of chemical pollutants that could affect human health. Chemical contaminants that pose potential health concerns and identified in untreated wastewater are shown in Box 9.1.

Wastewater can be valuable because of the bad quality of groundwater

Strategies for Managing Health Risks

There is no single solution to the problems mentioned above. Combinations of different strategies that can reduce the health risk to humans need to be adopted. Pathogens and other inorganic contaminants in the fields do not necessarily represent a health risk if other suitable health protection measures are taken. The different health protection strategies as per the draft WHO report 2005 (currently being tested), "Guidelines for Wastewater Use in Agriculture" are:

Wastewater treatment: Most conventional domestic wastewater treatment plants focus on the removal of environmental pollutants (eg. suspended solids, BOD - Biochemical Oxygen Demand-, COD - Chemical Oxygen Demand -, etc.) but not on pathogens, as the latter is more difficult and more costly and therefore not easy to undertake in developing countries. For the quality of treated water to meet the WHO standards, secondary treated water needs to be supplemented by tertiary treatment (disinfection) or retained in a maturation pond for five more days. Some research has been done to develop decentralised and cheaper treatment solutions. One example is the pilot project, "Ecology and Development with Sustainable Sanitation" (ECODESS) of the Urban Development Institute in the district of San Juan de Lurigancho near Lima, Peru. In this arid urban area on the Peruvian coast, where freshwater availability per person per year is projected to be five times less than the global average by 2025, and only 4 percent of the sewage is currently treated, this project has set up a household and a community system to collect, treat and recycle wastewater. The treated wastewater is channelled into an underground irrigation network for use in green areas and urban agriculture (Calizaya, 2002). Another economical model in Kolkata, India, for improving the quality of wastewater used in peri-urban aquaculture is the cultivation of dense plantations of crops or trees on the sides of wastewater canals, which controls soil erosion, absorbs some amount of the pollutants and provides nutrient-rich water for aquaculture (Mukherjee, 2003).

* The toxicity of a chemical depends on its concentration, the route of exposure to the chemical and the duration of exposure to the chemical. The health effects above include both acute toxicities (high chemical concentration and short exposure duration) and chronic toxicities (relatively low chemical concentration and long exposure duration) with all routes of exposure. Some of the toxicities may not be applicable to wastewater.

Sources: Chang, Page & Asano, 1995; National Research Council, 1998; WHO, 1999; WHO, 1992; WHO, 1991; WHO, 1989; ATSDR, 2000.

Choice of irrigation techniques: Farmers use different irrigation techniques depending on convenience and knowledge. However, farmers using wastewater for irrigation need to take some precautions during irrigation. Sprinkler/spray irrigation has the highest potential to spread bacterial and viral diseases and hence a buffer zone of 50–100 meters from houses or roads should be maintained to prevent health risks to local communities. Workers in the fields and their families should wear protective clothing in case of furrow or flood irrigation to prevent direct contact with wastewater. Localised irrigation techniques like bubbler/drip/trickle offer the best health protection but are expensive to implement. Still for all, drip irrigation is being taken up by some farmers as seen in Cape Verde and India (FAO 2001; Kay 2001). Vaz da Costas Vargas et al., (1996) show that cessation of irrigation for 1-2 weeks prior to harvest, wherever possible, can be effective in reducing crop contamination.

Simple techniques can be used to prevent pollution

Crop Selection: Water of poorer quality can be used to irrigate non-edible crops such as cotton or flowers, or crops that are cooked before consumption. Plants (eg. zucchini) with rough, textured surfaces, deep crevices or hairy surfaces that grow close to the ground may harbour bacteria or contaminated soil and should be avoided. But crop restriction cannot be a stand-alone solution. In Chile, the use of crop restriction, when implemented together with a general hygiene education programme, reduced the transmission of cholera related to the consumption of raw vegetables by 90 percent (Monreal, 1993).

Human exposure control: Field workers are the most exposed to wastewater. The health risks faced by these individuals can be reduced by using appropriate irrigation techniques such as bed and furrow cultivation and protective clothing in the form of boots and gloves (van der Hoek et al 2002; Ensink et al., 2004). Field workers should also be provided with sanitation facilities and drinking water. Provision of safe water in vegetable markets to wash produce is important to prevent further contamination of wastewater irrigated agricultural products. Consumers should wash fresh produce thoroughly and cook it before use. Governments should invest in employing additional health inspectors who do periodic checks on milk and meat products in the city. Finally, awareness campaigns on these issues would be of great help in minimising the health hazards of wastewater irrigation.

Treatment with chemicals and Vaccination: Immunisation against typhoid and hepatitis A for highly exposed groups is recommended (Carr et al., 2004). This therapy for adults and children in particular at regular intervals can reduce helminth infections (Ensink et al., 2004).

Developing alternatives: Improvement of sanitation, or use of innovations in the existing sanitation systems. One such innovation is Eco-Sanitation (see Box 9.2).

Farmer Innovations to Deal with Poor Water Quality and Degraded Soils

Farmers have developed a variety of different innovations in order to adapt to deteriorating water quality and degraded soils. In order to maintain or increase yields and income and to lower their health risks, they continuously react to changes in water quality and quantity and soil productivity. Some examples of farmer innovations are the mixing of groundwater and wastewater (see Buechler and Devi, 2005; Faruqui et al., 2004; Raschid-Sally et al., 2004; Ensink et al., 2002) and alternating the use of groundwater and wastewater according to the stage of plant growth (Buechler and Devi 2005). These strategies were found to increase yields, decrease pest attacks as well as decrease worm infections among wastewater irrigators and other agricultural labourers. Another adaptation made by farmers is in switching to new crops that are more suited to wastewater irrigation, for instance replacing paddy with fodder grass as it is more tolerant to higher levels of salinity, as is the case in wastewater (Buechler and Devi, 2005).

Users' Needs and Perceptions

Farmers' perceptions on the different aspects of wastewater - quality, economic value and health issues – should be brought to the attention of policymakers and urban authorities in fostering appropriate planning initiatives. By farmers we mean members (female and male of different ages) of farming households who carry out activities related to the production of crops using wastewater for irrigation. By focusing on the perceptions of members of these farming households, the different needs of wastewater-dependent households living in different locations and belonging to different socio-economic strata will be elucidated (Buechler 2004). Other factors that vary across locations and affect users' needs are: the sources of the wastewater and percentage of industrial effluent mixed with domestic sources; the de jure and de facto land tenure system; land values, land rental rates and land taxes; infrastructure (electricity grid); and the legal framework. Gathering and analysing farming household members' perceptions can facilitate the formulation of flexible "response scenarios". These could be developed for specific locations or for similar localities to identify appropriate risk reducing strategies that are technically, economically, socio-culturally and politically compatible. Users' perceptions of wastewater use have received only scant attention in studies to date.

One strategy to bring the perceptions and voices of wastewater users to various audiences is through documentary films (see Buechler et al., 2003a). In order to integrate users' perceptions into written media, their responses to key questions regarding wastewater use for agriculture must be elicited, recorded and then transcribed. Selections from the transcriptions must be incorporated into the written text of articles and other written and visual outputs and disseminated to key actors and decision-makers who will use them to develop projects and policies as an integral part of other urban planning initiatives. Newspapers, television and radio are the most popular media in most countries and can be used to disseminate information to producers and consumers. For policy makers, fact sheets and policy briefs can be developed and distributed. School children can be given educational tours to make them aware of the environmental hazards of disposing organic and inorganic wastes in water. Women can be specifically be targeted for education on the importance of cleanliness during food preparation to prevent possible infections (i.e by washing away helminth eggs), further contamination of wastewater produce and proper cooking of food.

Gender Issues

The experiences and roles of women and men in UA are gender related (see also chapter 5). Frequently, different agricultural tasks such as weeding, irrigation, harvesting and post-harvest activities that include making bundles, threshing, washing of produce, marketing etc. are divided by gender. In wastewater-irrigated agriculture, a gender division can also be discerned in the types of crops produced by men and women. The gender division of labour is context-specific. For example, in and around Hyderabad, India, mainly women are involved in both the cultivation and sale of leafy green vegetables in the surrounding wastewater-irrigated fields (Buechler & Devi, 2002; Buechler et al., 2003a). However, in and near the city of Kumasi, Ghana, most of the vegetable production is done by men while the marketing is done mainly by women (Keraita et al., 2002). In Haroonabad, Pakistan, vegetable cultivation is mainly done by women and marketing of the produce mainly by men (van der Hoek et al 2002; Ensink, personal communication November 2004). In and around Hyderabad, it was evident that women benefited in a myriad ways from wastewater-irrigated leafy green vegetable production; they benefited from the income derived from the sale of their produce and from improved nutrition for themselves and their household members. Women and children benefited also through employment created on the vegetable fields. Vegetable vendors in urban and peri-urban markets, who are mainly women, benefited through their income from sales as well as through keeping some of the vegetables for home consumption or bartering these vegetables for other types of produce sold in the market (Buechler & Devi, 2003d). Women play an important role in animal husbandry in urban and peri-urban areas in South and South-East Asia and in Latin America. Most activities associated with dairy production, for example, are performed within the domestic compound and are therefore done mainly by women, whose public space is often restricted by patriarchal social norms

Drawing water out of a well, Tanghin, Ouagadougou

(Devi et al., 2004). Fodder for these animals is often procured from wastewater-irrigated fields. Studies on wastewater use for UA and wastewater irrigation need to include gender as a variable. For example, very few studies on health risks associated with wastewater use have examined the particular risks of women versus men, or girls versus boys. Women and girls spend more time in vegetable fields in many regions of the world than men and they perform tasks such as weeding which involves direct contact with the soil and, after irrigation, with water. Many are landless, migrant field labourers with little or no access to health care services. Women's access to and control of resources is also limited in most Asian and African countries. However, it has been seen that women have greater bargaining power when they are organised as groups. Through cooperative mechanisms, women can pool resources, information, time and energy, thereby increasing their chances of developing successful livelihood strategies in urban agriculture (Wilbers, 2004).

Very few studies have focused on livelihoods of urban and peri-urban vegetable market vendors, who are predominantly women in regions such as Latin America (an exception is Brazil), Africa and South Asia. Many of these women depend on wastewater-irrigated crops for their income and household food security (Buechler & Devi, 2003c). Yet little is still known about the ramifications of deteriorating wastewater quality on the sustainability of vegetable production and sale in and around urban areas.

Education, Information and Awareness-raising

Raising awareness among farmers, policymakers, polluters, people on the market, consumers and other stakeholders is seen by many as the immediate and most important strategy to reduce the health risks associated with wastewater farming in most low-income countries.

Education and information sharing need to be tailored to each type of group that engages in wastewater dependent activities, as the user patterns of each set of actors is very different. IWMI Hyderabad has developed a series of posters translated into several local languages for dissemination to farmers (see Figure 9.3) and a documentary film on wastewater use and users. Consumers are also a heterogeneous group, using different types of wastewater-produced items. Producers, workers and consumers need to be included in information campaigns, training and information-sharing forums, so that hygiene can be improved and associated diseases prevented. Municipal authorities often do not include urban farmers as "real irrigation farmers" and therefore do not provide any extension services to them (see the Kumasi case). Awareness raising could diminish risks related to wastewater irrigation and possibly have a wider impact in combatting hygiene-related diseases in general.

As the Hyderabad Declaration states, wastewater use for livelihood activities in urban and peri-urban areas is a reality that planners and policymakers must face. Financial resources should be made available to the relevant institutions to implement appropriate measures to protect and support these livelihoods as well as to improve the health of the environment, the users and the consumers.

Institutions

Various governmental agencies are involved in shaping the policy framework into which wastewater-related activities are incorporated. Often, there is little convergence between the laws and policies of these different institutions in relation to UA and wastewater use. Enforcement of laws such as those related to the environment is often lax (Raschid et al., 2004b). Wastewater farmers often face a hostile legal and institutional environment of fines and imprisonment (Keraita & Drechsel, 2004; Buechler & Devi, 2002). Sometimes institutions even compete for the rights to allocate and/or sell wastewater (Bhamoriya, 2004; Buechler 2001). There is a need for researchers, NGOs and urban farmers to engage with policymakers at various levels and officers from various different governmental agencies to encourage a well-integrated, supportive policy environment. Poverty reduction programmes could integrate the needs of urban and peri-urban farmers such as for land tenure security and health and agriculture-related training. There is also a need to strengthen local institutions such as farmers' associations and institutions involved in sewage collection and low-cost treatment systems, and to enact by-laws that can enhance safe urban vegetable (see the Kumasi case) and other agricultural and aquaculture-related production. Membership in local institutions related to wastewater use for agriculture may be limited to those who own land. Separate institutions may exist for people of different caste, class, religion, gender and ethnic affiliations. These divisions and affiliations in membership and organizational type

Figure 9.3 Poster on risks and benefits of wastewater use

shape the constraints and opportunities faced by wastewater users (Buechler, 2004). Linkages between organisations should be encouraged to strengthen them, as is currently being done in RUAF's Multi-stakeholder Action Planning and Policy-making process. Efforts should be made to give membership to wastewater users in local institutions who have been denied this right due to their status; or else they should be accommodated in new organisations. Laws prohibiting urban agriculture or the failure of governments to respect current land tenure rights allow temporary land use that can harm the livelihoods of wastewater farmers. Laws and by-laws that support urban and peri-urban farmers and those that make a living off of wastewater produce can and need to be enacted. A key feature of the RUAF-CFF project (2005-2008) is to bring all the relevant stakeholders to one platform to encourage linkages and symbiotic association and to develop integrated, comprehensive plans.

Conclusions

Many challenges lie ahead for wastewater users involved in UA around the world. The rapid expansion of urban development will bring opportunities in terms of increased water supply for irrigation in the form of wastewater and a greater urban demand for their products. The demand will increase mainly in certain niche products for which consumers are ready to pay a premium on the freshness of the product, for example, milk, meat, fresh vegetables and fruits. However, overall land availability may decrease with urbanisation and agricultural land will certainly shift to areas that are further away from city centres. The quality of wastewater may well deteriorate if urbanisation takes place with concurrent increases in industrial, hospital and commercial effluents. Urban authorities in water and sanitation agencies, health care agencies, agriculture ministries, urban and industry planning agencies, development and welfare agencies will need to ensure that investments are made in relevant initiatives. These include domestic, hospital, commercial and industrial wastewater source separation and treatment options; promotion of water pollution prevention management techniques and technologies; provision of incentives for industries to reuse water and to use less water to minimise water pollution; preventive and curative health care measures; farmer extension services for both female and male urban wastewater farmers and farmer-to-farmer exchanges; and social programmes designed for each category of wastewater-dependent group (male and female landless labourer, land leaser, landowning farmer etc).

There are many gaps in wastewater research which hinder attempts by policymakers and practitioners to identify solutions to common problems faced by wastewater users. One such gap is the lack of knowledge of how wastewater users adapt to changes in wastewater quality and quantity over time. Innovations and adaptive mechanisms developed by farming households can be shared with other farmers in similar circumstances; these local innovations can be further refined and adapted by social and natural scientists in relevant institutions for developing effective, context-specific risk-mitigation strategies that can be promoted by governmental and non-governmental institutions. Another gap in current research is the lack of clarity on which social groups are involved in wastewater-irrigated agriculture and why. Without this information, policies and programmes that cater to the special needs of each group cannot be developed. The main risks and benefits for groundwater users in wastewater-irrigated areas are also not well understood and needs the attention of biophysical as well as social scientists. Lower-cost treatment options need further research in order to increase the capacity of urban sanitation authorities to manage their waste in a sustainable manner.

A major obstacle in the process of minimising the risks lies in the non-recognition of wastewater reuse and urban agriculture as an urban livelihood strategy. Wastewater is not a priority issue for policy makers and there is no coordination among the different institutions – municipalities, water boards, departments of agriculture, and departments of land use planning, quality control agencies – that have a stake in wastewater use. This inhibits the design of integrated solutions. The adoption of research programmes and risk-mitigation measures or enabling policies therefore depends on whether the authorities and policymakers give due recognition to urban agriculture. This will also ensure that sound legal and regulatory frameworks related to urban agriculture are sustained and enforced.

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The Use of Polluted Water in Urban Agriculture: "Livelihood realities and challenges"

Ben Keraita
Pay Drechsel

Why is Low-quality Water used in Irrigated Agriculture?

Wastewater treatment in most high- and middle-income countries is associated with conventional treatment systems. The efficiency of these systems is indicated by the percentage of households covered by sewerage and the number of operational wastewater treatment plants. In Ghana, where domestic effluents are the main sources of wastewater, less than 5 percent of households are served by sewerage, and all of them in urban areas. In other words, the efficiency of wastewater treatment is very low.

Another common sanitary indicator is the use of public toilets and septic tanks that are emptied and treated in faecal sludge treatment plants. Currently, there are 44 treatment plants (sewage and faecal sludge) in the country but most of them are small, privately-owned and almost all are in poor operational condition. Massive quantities of untreated wastewater therefore end up in urban storm water drains and in the natural drainage system, i.e. streams and rivers. In Ghana's growing cities and downstream of them, people depending on stream water for domestic or agricultural purposes are increasingly challenged by water pollution. Farmers emphasise that (land with) water close to markets and especially in the dry season is a rare resource, but one that sustains their livelihoods (Keraita et al., 2004). In fact, many of the 12,000 farmers involved in dry season vegetable farming in peri-urban Kumasi (Cornish et al., 2001) farm near polluted rivers and streams.

In Kumasi the majority of the irrigators are men

While all of the local authorities clearly recognise the challenge of providing adequate sanitation and the environmental problems, there is little that they can do due to lack of public funds. A common goal in urban wastewater treatment is to achieve a given standard, usually adopted from developed countries. For a developing country such as Ghana, Grau (1994) and Gijzen (1997) have shown that it is, however, simply unrealistic to achieve such a standard, considering the imbalance between the economic requirement and the available municipal budget. Surveys across major cities in Ghana confirm this proposition.

Livelihood Realities

Perception studies with farmers, sellers, authorities, consumers etc., have shown a general awareness among them about the low water quality, although the fact has not received much attention from any of the said groups. The question is why?

Water quality monitoring studies show that some irrigation water sources have very high faecal coliform levels (10⁷-10⁹/100 ml). These levels are comparable to that of raw human faeces, and are attributed to the dumping of raw faecal sludge into streams. One such stream is Abuabo, in Kumasi, from which Baba gets water for his vegetable farming. During the interviews, Baba said, "My father used to farm here and I continue to do the same. This is my only livelihood source, as I can get money from my sales to buy food for my family, educate my children and for other purposes" Baba could not disclose how much he earns, but studies have shown that on small plots, urban market farmers make up to USD 400-800 annually, especially during the dry season (Danso et al., 2002). This is 2-4 times the income derived from traditional maize-cassava farming on much larger plots. Baba farms on a 0.2 ha, belonging to the government and he does not pay a rent for it. He said that many youth are also taking on this activity due to lack of jobs in the city while others do it to supplement their income. Referring to the quality of the water, Baba said, "...I know that this water is not very good. The cause is the KMA (the local authority), who fails to collect the toilet waste (meaning wastewater) and therefore people dump it into the river. When we started farming, the water was good but now it is becoming bad day after day, but I need money and the market women need vegetables. So, I have to continue, I have no any other choice..."

Many farmers echo Baba's views. They lack choices for better water or better jobs, so they continue doing what they have always been doing. A ban on the use of wastewater for irrigation was tried out but enforcement was difficult; for farmers it is a "do or die" situation. Villagers, mostly downstream of cities, are crying for their once productive rivers - sources of fish for food and water for bathing and drinking – that are now dead. And consumers have no choice but to buy what is available and in this case vegetables irrigated with highly polluted water. In fact, most of the perishable vegetables are produced in the cities, as refrigerated transport does not exist. One consumer summarised this as "Ewi enhua, enye tan" (If the eye doesn't see, then it is not bad). But this is too simple. In an urban or peri-urban context where whole suburbs have no piped water, where children play on waste dumps around their homes, where toilets are hard to come by, and where raw meat is sold off the bare ground, consumers have other concerns and face more serious challenges than vegetables irrigated with polluted stream water. In 99 percent of all households, consumers are generally aware of the risks and wash or cook whatever they put on the table. This, however, might not always be very effective as studies by IWMI have shown (Amoah, pers. communication). If a child here gets sick, and it is not due to common malaria, then it is most likely caused by playing with waste, poor sanitation or bad drinking water. These are the priority issues that the municipalities are trying to tackle, and waste management already takes 60 percent of their budgets. Perhaps, the child fell ill by eating a piece of raw lettuce, one of the many other possible reasons in an environment so greatly different from the world where "wastewater irrigation guidelines" exist.

Watering is done by hand and is hard labour

The Way Forward

The obvious challenge is the differentiation between actual and potential health risks, and the comparison of actual risks with actual benefits in a given situation. In a survey IWMI carried out in Kumasi in 2001, all health professionals interviewed enumerated a number of negative health impacts, which they attributed to wastewater use. This perception was also supported by standard literature (Shuval et al., 1986, Blumenthal et al., 2000) and led to the imposition of a by-law in Accra that bans drain water use in agriculture. Although hardly enforced, arrests of urban farmers were reported in 2002. This perception of health risks constrains the recognition of irrigated urban agriculture in the country despite its documented contribution to jobs and income and the supply of city markets with perishable crops such as vegetables (Danso et al., 2002). For example, 90 percent of the lettuce and spring onions consumed in Kumasi are produced in the city itself.

As in other low-income countries, irrigated urban and peri-urban farming is a growing enterprise in Ghana, which requires no external facilitation, but would be much more productive when recognised by the authorities., tenure security etc., for example in the frame of poverty reduction programmes. But as much as support is needed to enhance the benefits of irrigated urban agriculture, equal emphasis should be given to health risk reduction measures (Drechsel et al., 2002).

Considering the large number of stakeholders involved, dialogue and platform building will be crucial elements of any balanced approach to move wastewater irrigation forward. Such an approach has to be innovative and should address the following aspects:

Prevention: In many West African cities, municipal planning is under-resourced, not legally binding and is unable to keep track with the urban sprawl. Entire suburbs develop with no provisions for sanitation or other infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, parks etc. In the best case, storm water gutters take over sewerage functions. There are no provisions or plans for wastewater collection or treatment. Urban planning needs much stronger support to address sanitation challenges long before they arise!

Low-cost technologies: But actors involved in managing wastewater at the generation, treatment and disposal phase need to be practical and realistic. Most facilities and regulations have been designed based on experiences and standards from the developed world, where taxes and sanitation fees can easily maintain whole treatment systems. Adopting simple, possibly decentralised systems with low-cost treatment options has not received adequate attention, but appear more suitable though less prestigious.

Agricultural use oriented: Growth in urban populations has not only led to increased use of water, hence more wastewater generation, but also to increased urban food demands. If the crucial link of generation/treatment of wastewater to agricultural use is made, then the perception of wastewater as a nuisance will change to that of a valuable resource.

Alternative risk reduction strategies: Actors should work together to look for non-traditional, user-oriented strategies to reduce health risks, also in situations where perfect treatment plants are not feasible. Low-cost but well-targeted options are possible at the farm level with extra attention on post-harvest contamination at the household level. Such options will have to be linked with awareness and sensitization campaigns.

References

Blumenthal, U.J., A. Peasey, G. Ruiz-Palacios, and D.D. Mara. (2000). Guidelines for wastewater reuse in agriculture and aquaculture: recommended revisions based on new research evidence. WELL Study No. 68 part 1, June 2000. WEDC, UK.

Danso, G., P. Drechsel, T. Wiafe-Antwi and L. Gyiele (2002). Income of farming systems around Kumasi, Ghana. Urban Agriculture Magazine 7: 5-6.

Drechsel, P., U.J. Blumenthal and B. Keraita (2002). Balancing health and livelihoods: Adjusting wastewater irrigation guidelines for resource-poor countries. Urban Agriculture Magazine 8: 7-9

Gijzen, H.J. (1997). Duckweed based wastewater treatment for rational resource recovery. In: II Symposia Internacional sobre Ingenieria de Bioprocesos, Mazatlan, Mexico, 8-12 September 1997, pp39-40

Grau, P. (1994). What's next? Water Quality International, no. 4:29-32

Keraita B and P. Drechsel. (2004). Agricultural use of untreated wastewater in Ghana. In Scott C.A, N.I. Faruqui and L. Raschid-Sally, Wastewater use in Irrigated Agriculture, Confronting livelihoods and environmental realities. IWMI-IDRC, CABI publication, pages101-112.

Shuval H. I., A. Adin, B. Fattal, E. Rawitz and P. Yekutiel. (1986). Wastewater irrigation in developing countries: Health effects and technical solutions. World Bank Technical Paper No. 51. Washington, U.S.A: The World Bank.

Wastewater Treatment and Reuse for Food and Water Security

Naser I Faruqui

In the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries, water is the key development issue. The average rate of the region's annual population growth is one of the highest in the world (around 2 percent) while its natural water supply is scarce. As a result, average renewable fresh water availability in the region has dropped to about 1,428 m3 per year, though many countries in the region fall well short of this¹. Moreover, the available water is of a lower quality because of increasing pollution and over-pumping.

This situation is compounded by the high urbanisation rate in MENA. It varies from 1.8 percent in Egypt to 4 percent in Palestine² and 4.6 percent in Yemen (with an overall rate for the MENA of 2.8 percent,). On average in the region, more than 50 percent of the population lives in cities, with about 91 percent in Lebanon. Within MENA, about 88 percent of all fresh water is used for agriculture. Despite low urban tariffs, the value of water is at least 10 times higher in the urban areas than it is in the agricultural areas (Gibbons, 1986). As a result, water will increasingly be taken out of agriculture and put into urban areas. This means that the region will increasingly suffer from twin and related problems of food and water insecurity.

Permaculture Garden using greywater in Tufileh, Jordan

Many countries in the region wish to increase fresh water supplies for domestic and industrial usage, and at the same time expand irrigated agriculture. How can these seemingly contradictory objectives be reconciled? The answer is water-demand management; more efficient water use within all sectors. A specific component of this strategy is to use treated domestic wastewater for industry, for certain municipal purposes such as flushing toilets and irrigating green spaces, but, above all, for urban and periurban agriculture (UPA).

There are a number of benefits in using treated wastewater. First, it preserves high quality and expensive fresh water for drinking. Second, collecting and treating wastewater protects existing sources of valuable fresh water, the environment and public health. In fact, wastewater treatment and reuse (WWTR) not only protects valuable freshwater resources, but also supplements these through aquifer recharge. If the benefits of environmental and public health protection were correctly factored into economic analyses, wastewater collection, treatment and reuse would be among the highest priorities for scarce public and development funds. Third, if managed properly, treated wastewater can sometimes be a superior source for agriculture than fresh water. Not only is it a constant source of water, the nitrogen and phosphorous in the wastewater may result in higher agricultural yields than freshwater irrigation, eliminating the need for additional fertiliser application.

The countries in the region that treat wastewater include Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Syria, UAE and Egypt. However, only Israel, Tunisia and Jordan practise wastewater treatment and reuse as an integral component of their water management and environmental protection strategies.

About 80 percent of Israel's treated wastewater is reused in irrigation. In Tunisia, 18 percent of its treated effluent - a total flow of 250m³/d - is used to irrigate about 4,500 ha of orchards (citrus, grapes, olives, peaches, pears, apples, and pomegranate), fodder crops, cotton, cereals, golf courses and lawns. Almost all of Jordan's treated wastewater is reused - the wastewater collected and treated in the As-Samra wastewater-treatment plant is blended with fresh water from the King Talal reservoir and used for unrestricted irrigation downstream in the Jordan Valley, to produce crops including lettuce, peppers, tomatoes and olives. To a lesser extent in Tunisia, but particularly in Jordan - given that even the furthest sites within the Jordan valley are less than a 45-minute drive from Amman — the agriculture practised can be considered periurban, characterised by its closeness to urban areas, its focus on high-value fruits and vegetables, the relatively small size of plots and the intensity of production. In these countries wastewater reuse is planned at the national level, with effective coordination between relevant ministries, including agriculture, environment, water resources, health, and the water and sanitation utilities. In fact, in both, ordan and Tunisia, these functions are combined in one ministry.

Grey Water Reuse in Urban Agriculture in Jordan

With its low and rapidly decreasing per capita water availability of 148 m³/p/y, less fresh water will be available for agriculture in Jordan. One means of addressing this threat to food security is to treat and reuse domestic wastewater in UPA. An IDRC-supported project found that 16 percent of the households in Amman already practice UPA, mainly for the production of fruits, vegetables and herbs. The annual value of UA in Amman is US $4 million - already 2.5 percent of the total value of agriculture in Jordan (Government of Jordan, 2002). The problem is that only 40 percent of wastewater in Jordan is collected and treated. The necessary rehabilitation and expansion of the conventional sewerage and wastewater-treatment systems will take time and millions of dollars.

Greywater Treatment and Reuse in Tufileh, Jordan

IDRC's research partners have come up with a new approach to combat food insecurity - helping the poor to harvest water at the household level. The systems consist of minor plumbing modifications that divert water from showers, bathrooms and kitchen sinks through small-scale, natural filters in each household allowing residents to recycle water for reuse in home gardens (See photographs). Grey water reuse is much safer than combined wastewater reuse because grey water does not contain pathogens from the toilet. Also, because most "wastewater" is simply "grey water," diverting it from the public sewerage system can dramatically reduce the costs required for installing and expanding such systems. In this pilot project, grey water-treatment systems were installed in 25 homes in Ain Al Baida, Jordan, and members of the households were taught how to set up efficient gardens. Systems were also installed at the main mosque in the community, and at a girl's school. A further 300 systems are currently being installed in another peri-urban area as part of a second phase of this project.

The project has exceeded expectations. The grey water effluent meets standards for restricted irrigation, and households are using it to irrigate eggplant, herbs and olives. The impacts on poverty and water use are still being measured. However, an IDRC study on a previous untreated grey water-reuse project found that the community was able to offset food purchases and generate income by selling surplus production, and by saving or earning an average of 10 percent of its income. Initial water savings were about 15 percent. The economic impact of this project is likely to be much higher because the grey water recovered in this project has already reached 60 percent of the domestic water, nearly twice as much as the previous project in which it was only about 30 percent. Furthermore, previously overflowing septic tanks that cost at least US $60/yr per tank to pump out have not been emptied since the project began. Economic benefits certainly have been significant enough to impress the neighbours of the original beneficiaries - they are now installing the systems at their own cost, proving that households recognise that wastewater treatment can save them or make them money. The Inter-Islamic Network on Water Resources Development and Management (INWRDAM) has improved the original design developed in Palestine with innovations that make the systems safer and more efficient. The medium used in the filters is either gravel or pieces of old irrigation piping. A simple bag filter eliminates clogging associated with previous systems. INWRDAM has also developed an environmentally- friendly dishwashing liquid that prevents soil salinisation arising from grey water reuse, and has begun training workshops on grey water reuse for low-income settlements in Syria and other network countries. The Jordanian Deputy Minister of Social Welfare has visited the Jordan project and is interested in the potential of the systems to alleviate poverty. Also, the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ), a part of the Ministry of Water, is testing the effluent quality of the systems, at its own cost.

Recommendations

Compared to other countries in the region, Israel, Tunisia and Jordan have successful treatment projects. Based on the experiences of these projects, governments in MENA need to create an enabling environment to encourage safe wastewater treatment. Treatment must form part of an integrated water-management strategy at the basin level, with multi-disciplinary linkages between different sectors such as environment, health, industry, agriculture and municipal affairs. For instance, the main producer of wastewater- municipalities - must interact with the main user - urban agriculture. Urban and rural planning must be integrated so that industries are not situated in locations where their effluent, often high in dangerous constituents such as heavy metals, will contaminate water meant for the biggest user, agriculture. Governments should further facilitate the participation of stakeholders in wastewater-treatment projects, including supporting NGOs working in institution building at the local level. Safe and sustainable decentralised projects will never be established without the willing participation of the beneficiaries. There is also a need to disseminate existing knowledge about the danger of raw wastewater reuse, safe reuse guidelines and the position of Islam on wastewater reuse. There is a perception in MENA that Islam prohibits wastewater use, but in fact as long as the wastewater is treated to extent necessary to protect public health, wastewater use is allowable (Faruqui et al., 2000). Knowledge of cost-effective treatment technologies and crop and soil protection must also be disseminated and site-specific research carried out to fill missing gaps. Most importantly, perhaps, the economic benefits of successful decentralised wastewater-treatment projects must be disseminated to periurban households and farmers, who will only then be willing to contribute to the costs of WWTR. Finally, to ensure the protection of public health and the environment, governments must regulate and monitor the quality of effluents, reuse practices, public health, crop-water quality, and soil and groundwater quality.

Notes

¹ World Development Indicators, 2005, World Bank

² The statistics of 4 percent was obtained from UNICEF country data

References

Faruqui, N, AK Biswas and MJ Bino MJ. 2001. Water Management in Islam. UNU Press and IDRC Books, Ottawa, Canada.

Gibbons, D. 1986. The Economic Value of Water. Resources for the future, Washington, DC.

Adaptations of Wastewater-irrigated Farming Systems: A Case Study of Hyderabad, India

Stephanie Buechler
Gayathri Devi

Introduction

The Hyderabad/Secunderabad urban and peri-urban area, with its nine municipalities, has a population of approximately 6 million inhabitants. 62 percent of the vast urban area is covered by a sewarage system and treatment is very costly. There are just two sewage treatment plants (STP): one that does primary and secondary treatment and a second that is only capable of primary treatment. In total, these two plants treat 133 million litres per day (MLDs) of water. This treated sewage water together with the untreated sewage water estimated at 327 MLDs (personal communication, HMWSSB, 2002), is diverted to the Musi river. The Musi is now a perennial river due to this year-round inflow of urban wastewater. It has been estimated that a gross area of 16,000 ha is irrigated by the wastewater that flows from the city (Landsat Image, November 2003). Few in-depth studies have been conducted on the smallholders and landless who use this wastewater.

Harvested Para Grass

Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture of Hyderabad

Along the Musi river thousands of men and women depend on its wastewater for a variety of different activities. Livelihood activities based on the availability of water depend on three factors: 1) the land area available (in urban areas the average land holding is 0.2 ha and in peri-urban areas it is 0.5 – 1 ha; 2) the quality of the wastewater; and 3) the proximity to urban markets. Caste/class, gender and religious affiliations of the users also influence the type of wastewater-related activity. The chain of beneficiaries of wastewater irrigation are: land renters, livestock keepers (who often rent land for fodder production), casual, migrant and permanent labourers, fishermen, vendors and auto rickshaw and truck drivers who transport the agricultural produce from the fields to the local markets.

A variety of crops are grown in Hyderabad and its periphery. The predominant crop is para grass, which is used for fodder, amounting to approx 95 percent of the cultivated area. A farmer can earn an average annual income of US$ 330 (Buechler et al, 2003) from para grass cultivation. Green leafy vegetables are grown on 3 percent of the total cultivated area for subsistence and for sale. More and more people are moving out of vegetable production due to the poor water quality and the high labour requirement. Other crops that make up only 1 percent include trees such as coconut and banana. Coconut leaves (fronds) and banana leaves are sold for Hindu religious ceremonies and are the trees are grown exclusively for this purpose. Certain flowering plants such as crosandra, jasmine, hibiscus and chrysanthemums are also grown. Though the scale of flower production is almost negligible at present, bit could be an emerging new trend in UA.

Advantages of Wastewater Irrigation

Wastewater is an extremely valuable resource for agriculture in the water scarce drought prone tropical developing countries. Groundwater levels have also been decreasing in the area due to overdraft and reduced rainfall. Under such water scarce conditions, the importance and potential of wastewater/sewage water for irrigation as a valuable resource has been recognised by the farmers in the urban and peri-urban areas of Hyderabad city. Hyderabad discharges more than 530 million liters of wastewater per day, which is used for irrigation in urban, peri-urban and rural areas. The 16,000 ha irrigated with wastewater creates livelihoods for about 48,000 people who are directly or indirectly dependent on wastewater for their food security (Buechler et al., 2002). This water is available throughout the year and on-demand irrespective of the rainfall. Casual labourers working in the para grass fields in peri-urban areas have employment all year-round.

Urban vegetable plots along the River Musi

Male labourers are paid $ 2.22 per day (8 hrs of work) and the women are paid $ 1.77 per day. Wastewater is rich in nutrients (esp., nitrogen) and its use in irrigation helps recycle these nutrients. Farmers in the urban and peri-urban areas do not use any fertilisers for their crops and save 15-20 percent of their farming costs. Another important advantage of wastewater is that it prevents the use of groundwater for agriculture and to some extent recharges it. The groundwater level in the wastewater-irrigated areas has been found to be very high. Wastewater use in urban agriculture helps in maintaining the greenery in the city and also helps improve the air quality.

Risks Associated with Wastewater Irrigation

Under canal wastewater irrigation, people have been growing paddy for many decades in the peri-urban areas of Hyderabad. However, with the deteriorating water quality, the paddy yields have gone down. Moreover, the percentage of broken grains has increased (after milling the paddy). The farmers say that although the crop appears very healthy and grows really fast (in about half to two thirds of the time) compared to paddy grown further away from the river with groundwater, the final yield (the amount of grain from the paddy) has drastically decreased. This was corroborated by a pilot study consisting of soil and paddy plant sampling in the peri-urban area and analyses conducted by IWMI (Simmons et al, unpublished, 2002). Soil contamination due to wastewater irrigation is a common problem in all untreated wastewater-irrigated areas. Preliminary observations indicated significant accumulation of copper, zinc, and phosphorous in soils used for agriculture within the urban study area. The risk to the consumers is expected to be low since none of the vegetables grown are consumed raw. However, no quality-assurance tests were done on the vegetables (Buechler et, al, 2002). Groundwater pollution is also a serious problem in the wastewater-irrigated areas in Hyderabad. Farmers and residents in the periurban area report that the groundwater in a radius of one kilometer of wastewater-irrigated areas is saline and not potable. Wastewater farmers and labourers mention frequent fevers, diarrhoea, and sores on parts of their hands and legs exposed to wastewater.

Strategies Adopted by Farmers to Mitigate Risks of Wastewater irrigation

In periurban areas, with the change in river's water quality due to the release of wastewater and increased soil salinity, production of traditional crops like paddy has become unprofitable. Therefore farmers have shifted to other crops, which grow better on wastewater and tolerate high soil salinity. Thirty years ago, Mr Laxminarayana, an innovative farmer introduced para grass on a small plot of land and within 2.5 months got a lush green crop. He fed it to his cattle; the animals readily devoured the fodder. This encouraged him to make small bundles of the grass and sell it to other cattle owners. With para grass, he could get the equivalent of the income from one crop of paddy (5 months) in just 2.5 months. This encouraged him to grow para grass on a larger area. Today, hundreds of farmers along the Musi use wastewater for para grass production and are making profits. Once planted, para grass can be harvested continuously for more than 20 years without replanting. It grows extremely well on wastewater in spite of the industrial pollutants and arrests the bad smell of the wastewater. The crop requires very low investment. Once planted, no fertiliser is required and only a small quantity of pesticide is applied in the winter. Other than the labour costs for harvesting, the crop does not involve hardly any other costs.

In urban areas where untreated wastewater is diverted directly from drains into the fields for irrigation, farmers are shifting from vegetables to tree crops (eg. coconut) where the human contact with wastewater is much less. Farmers are also now growing flower crops such as jasmine, crosandra, chrysanthemums and hibiscus, which are non-edible and therefore decrease health risks related to wastewater.

Another new strategy that is being adopted by periurban paddy farmers is that of mixing wastewater with groundwater. This practice helps farmers to reduce salinity of groundwater. Some farmers alternate wastewater use with groundwater use depending on the need of the crop. Since wastewater promotes vegetative growth due to its high nitrogen content, farmers prefer to irrigate paddy with wastewater during its initial stage of growth. Once flowering sets in, groundwater is used to irrigate the crop until harvest.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Authorities worldwide, and in developing countries in particular, need to recognise wastewater as a valuable resource and ensure the sustainability of the livelihoods of the people dependent on it. Location and actor-specific solutions need to be developed to ensure social acceptability, economic viability and technical feasibility. Some of the recommendations are:

• Commission and support need-based research derived from participatory research methods
  
  
• Develop extension services tailored to each socio-economic category of wastewater users including farmer-to-farmer exchanges
  
  
• Encourage farmers to grow non-edible crops with wastewater such as flowers (eg. jasmine)
  
  
• Prevent the mixing of industrial effluents with sewage
  
  
• Promote low-cost water treatment technologies (i.e stabilisation ponds)
  
  
• Invest in research and development for cheaper sewage treatment methods
  
  
• Encourage farmers to take precautions when using wastewater (minimise body contact with wastewater during irrigation and other agricultural operations and wash hands and legs with soap after contact with wastewater)
  
  
• Prevent further contamination in the markets where the wastewater-irrigated produce is sold by improving hygienic standards
  
  
• Spread awareness among consumers and other users through posters and documentaries
  
  
• Advise municipalities and other relevant authorities to use wastewater for watering public parks and avenue trees and encourage them to plant local varieties that need less water
  
  
• Encourage statutory bodies (eg. Pollution Control Board) to hold open public forums on water quality data to make the process transparent and participatory

With a growing water scarcity around the world, the use of wastewater for irrigation will become even more prevalent in developing countries. It is therefore of utmost importance to safeguard the livelihoods, health and environments of wastewater-dependent women, men and children.

References

Buechler, Stephanie and Gayathri Devi. 2002. "Household Food Security and Wastewater dependent Livelihood Activities Along the Musi River in Andhra Pradesh, India". Report submitted to the World Health Organization (WHO). Geneva, Switzerland.

Buechler, S. and Devi, G. 2003. "Wastewater as a source of multiple livelihoods? A study of a rural area near Hyderabad City, Andhra Pradesh, India". In Rema Devi and Naved Ahsan (Eds.). Water and Wastewater: Developing Country Perspectives. London, U.K.: International Water Association. pp 939-948

Simmons, Rob,W. Jeroen, Ensink. Uma, Maheshwar, Reddy and Stephanie Buechler. Nov 11-14, 2002. "Evaluating the Impact of Wastewater Utilization on the Sustainable Use of Soil Resources: Hyderabad, Musi River". International Water Management Institute, Hyderabad South Asia Regional Office. Experts Meeting, Hyderabad.

Interviews with officials in the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board. October, 2001; November, 2001; April, 2002. International Water Management Institute, Hyderabad South Asia Regional Office.

The Hyderabad Declaration

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in collaboration with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) convened a meeting of minds through an international workshop entitled Wastewater Use in Irrigated Agriculture: Confronting the Livelihood and Environmental Realities, which was held in Hyderabad, India, from 11-14 November 2002. The workshop's objective was to critically review experiences with the widespread use of untreated wastewater in agriculture focusing on the livelihoods of the poor, and health and environmental risks. Participants were diverse with a presence of 47 groups of researchers and practitioners from 27 national and international institutions including the World Health Organisation (WHO).

IWMI's past and ongoing studies in Pakistan, India, Ghana, Vietnam, and Mexico have clearly demonstrated the livelihood implications of wastewater irrigation while highlighting the human health and environmental impacts. Management options identified with partners and stakeholders include improved health safeguards, cropping restrictions, blending wastewater with freshwater, appropriate irrigation techniques, primary stabilisation or other low-cost alternatives, and pollutant-source management. However, institutions and individuals who are global leaders in wastewater-treatment, agriculture, sanitation and urban planning have largely ignored the practice and its implications. This workshop was a first step in reaching out to wastewater, agriculture, planning and health professionals and confronting them with the realities of wastewater irrigation.

A number of case studies covering different regions of the world, and comprising applications of wastewater ranging from the treated to the untreated, were extensively discussed and debated. Three workgroups addressed issues of assessing the global use of wastewater, the health and environmental implications and related guidelines, and institutions and future research directions. Two major breakthroughs were:

1. a common vision and agenda for the future contained in the Hyderabad Declaration which follows below; and
   
   
2. the discussion with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to take into account the realities in reviewing the guidelines for wastewater use in agriculture.

The Hyderabad Declaration on Wastewater Use in Agriculture

1. Rapid urbanisation places immense pressure on the world's fragile and dwindling fresh water resources and over-burdened sanitation systems, leadingto environmental degradation. We as water, health, environment, agriculture, and aquaculture researchers and practitioners from 27 i nternational and national institutions, representing experiences in wastewater management from 18 countries, recognise that:

1.1 Wastewater (raw, diluted or treated) is a resource of increasing global importance, particularly in urban and periurban agriculture.

1.2 With proper management, wastewater use contributes significantly to sustaining livelihoods, food security and the quality of the environment

1.3 Without proper management, wastewater use possesses serious risks to human health and the environment.

2. We declare that in order to enhance the positive outcomes while minimising the risks of wastewater use, there exist feasible and sound measures that need to be applied. These measures include:

2.1 Cost-effective and appropriate treatments suited to the end use of wastewater, supplemented by guidelines for application.

2.2 Certain activities to take place where wastewater is insufficiently treated, and until treatment becomes feasible:

(a) development and application of guidelines for untreated wastewater use that safeguard livelihoods, public health and the environment;

(b) application of appropriate irrigation, agricultural, post-harvest, and public health practices that limit risks to farming communities, vendors, and consumers; and

(c) education and awareness programmes for all stakeholders, including the public at large, to disseminate these measures.

2.3 Health, agriculture and environmental quality guidelines that are linked and implemented in a step-wise approach.

2.4 Reduction of toxic contaminants in wastewater, at source and by improved management.

3. We also declare that:

3.1 Knowledge needs should be addressed through research to support the measures outlined above.

3.2 Institutional coordination and integration together with increased financial allocations are required.

4. Therefore, we strongly urge policy-makers and authorities in the fields of water, agriculture, aquaculture, health, environment and urban planning, as well as donors and the private sector to:

Safeguard and strengthen livelihoods and food security, mitigate health and environmental risks and conserve water resources by confronting the realities of wastewater use in agriculture, through the adoption of appropriate policies and the commitment of financial resources for policy implementation

Resources

Wastewater use in irrigated agriculture: confronting the livelihood and environmental realities

Scott CA, Faruqui NI & Raschid-Sally L (eds). 2004. IWMI / IDRC-CRDI / CABI Publications. Wallingford, UK, pp 135–144.

This volume presents a wide spectrum of experiences and perspectives on wastewater use in agriculture. It is an outcome of the joint IWMI-IDRC workshop held from 11–14 November 2002 in Hyderabad, India. The volume has the potential to change the thinking of decision makers in international bodies such as the World Health Organization, national and state governments, as well as researchers and practitioners. The book contains a series of thematic chapters aimed at giving a better understanding of wastewater use in agriculture in developing countries with detailed case study documentation of what works and what does not. The Hyderabad Declaration on Wastewater Use in Agriculture, an important outcome of the November 2002 workshop is presented as Appendix 1 of this volume.

Making a Living Along the Musi River near Hyderabad, India.

Buechler, S., Devi, G. and Rama Devi (directors). 2003. Documentary video co-produced by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Department of International Development (DFID), UK and the Resource Center on Urban Agriculture and Food security (RUAF)-ETC-Netherlands Foundation, The Netherlands.

This documentary presents a case study of wastewater use for urban and peri-urban agriculture in Hyderabad, highlights the its positive and negative aspects through a series of interviews with users and suggests recommendations for better management of this valuable resource.

Reuse of wastewater in urban agriculture, a challenge for municipalities in West Africa. Proceedings of Ouagadougou Workshop

W. Hertog. 2002 (ed).

This five-day event took place from 3-7 June 2002, and was organised by ETC-RUAF together with CREPA headquarters in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and was financed by CTA Netherlands. The proceedings cover the paper presentations, working group discussions and site visits. The report can be found at www.ruaf.org (in French).

Water and Wastewater: Developing Country Perspectives

Rema Devi and Naved Ahsan (Eds.).. 2002. ISBN 1-84339-500-2: International Water Association. This volume included as IWA's Water and Environment Management Series with ISSN 1476-1785. 1223 pages

This edited volume has selected papers presented at the international conference "Water and Wastewater: Perspectives of Developing Countries" (WAPDEC) held in New Delhi, India, from 11-13 December, 2002. The papers present the many facets of water and wastewater use and thereby emphasise the need for communication within the water community.

Water Management in Islam.

Faruqui, Naser I, Asit K Biswas and Murad J Bino. 2001. United Nations University Press and International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada.

This volume presents an Islamic perspective on a number of proposed water-management policies, including water-demand management, wastewater reuse, and higher tariffs. The book opens avenues for a wider dialogue amongst researchers working at identifying the most promising water-management policies, adds to our knowledge of some of the influences on formal policy and informal practice, and makes these ideals available to a broader public. Water Management in Islam will interest researchers, scholars, and students in natural resource management, Islamic studies, Middle Eastern studies, development studies, and public policy.

A Framework for Analysing Socioeconomic, Health and Environmental Impacts of Wastewater Use in Agriculture in Developing Countries.

Hussain, I, L Raschid, MA Hanjra, F Marikar and W van der Hoek. 2002. IWMI Working Paper 26. International Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka. http://www.cgiar.org/iwmi/pubs/working/WOR26.pdf

The biggest challenge faced by policymakers at present, is how best to minimise the negative effects of wastewater use, while at the same time obtain the maximum benefits from this resource. While most of the impacts of wastewater use, both negative as well as positive, are generally known, a comprehensive evaluation of the benefits and costs of these impacts has not as yet been attempted. Conventional cost-benefit analysis is not adequate to evaluate the impacts of wastewater due to its environmental and "public good" effects. To fill this gap in knowledge, this paper attempts to develop a comprehensive assessment framework applying available and tested techniques in environmental economic analysis for the comprehensive evaluation of the costs and benefits of wastewater.

Guidelines for Wastewater Reuse in Agriculture and Aquaculture: Recommended Revisions Based on New Research Evidence

Blumenthal, Ursula J, Anne Peasey, Guillermo Ruiz-Palacio and Duncan D Mara. 2000. Report summary of WELL Task No. 68 (Part 1). London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Loughborough University, UK (67 pp).

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/well/resources/well-studies/summaries-htm/task0068i.htm

WELL is the DFID-funded resource centre promoting environmental health and well-being in developing and transitional countries. WELL is designed to coordinate and provide services for water, sanitation and environmental health programmes to DFID and other agencies. This study reviews the WHO (1989) Guidelines for Wastewater Reuse in Agriculture and Aquaculture in the light of recent epidemiological studies of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine with colleagues in Mexico and Indonesia, and microbiological studies of crops irrigated with treated wastewater by Leeds University, with colleagues in Brazil and Portugal.

Épuration des Eaux Usées et l'Agriculture Urbaine (Wastewater Treatment and Urban Agriculture)

M Gaye and S Niang. 2002. ENDA Tiers Monde, Dakar, Sénégal (354 pp). (In French)

This book gives detailed insights into wastewater research and treatment in Senegal. It has three parts: 1) sanitation policies in Senegal and participation of the inhabitants in demand management; 2) making use of wastewater for urban agriculture in Dakar; 3) treatment efficiency of wastewater through stabilisation ponds. Thanks to the detailed description of methodologies, the book can be very useful for anybody wanting to undertake similar wastewater-treatment cum -reuse research in another subSaharan country.

Wastewater Use in Agriculture: Review of Impacts and Methodological Issues in Valuing Impacts.

Hussain, Intizar, Liqa Raschid, Munir A Hanjra, Fuard Marikar and Wim van der Hoek. 2002. Working Paper no. 37. International Water Management Institute. Colombo, Sri Lanka. http://www.cgiar.org/iwmi/pubs/working/WOR37.pdf

Urban Wastewater: A Valuable Resource for Agriculture: A Case Study from Haroonabad, Pakistan.

Van der Hoek, Wim, Mehmood UlHassan, Jeroen Ensink, Sabiena Feenstra, Liqa Raschid-Sally, Sarfraz Munir, Rizwan Aslam, Nazim Ali, Raheela Hussain and Yutaka Matsuno. Research Report 63. International Water Management Institute.

Wastewater Reuse in Agriculture in Vietnam: Water Management, Environment and Human Health

Aspects - Proceedings of a Workshop held in Hanoi, Vietnam, 14 March 2001,

Raschid-Sally, Liqa, Wim van der Hoek and Mala Ranawaka (eds). 2001. IWMI Working Paper 30. International Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka (48 pp).

www.irc.nl

The site of IRC, the International Water and Sanitation Centre, contains a wealth of news and information on the subject together with projects and experiences of IRC and its networks with low-cost water supply and sanitation in developing countries.

www.who.org

A compilation of WHO information on water, sanitation and health is available at WHO's water sanitation and health electronic library. It includes many of the current publications and documents.

www.cgiar.org/iwmi

A major source of information on the topic of water is the International Water Management Institute, whose mandate is "improving water and land resources management for food, livelihoods and nature. Their site provides a number of updates, policy papers, publications as well as free subscription to their electronic bulletins.

www.iwapublishing.com/

The International Water Association (IWA-) provides information services on all aspects of water, wastewater and related environmental fields. It includes Water21, the IWA membership magazine, and a broad range of journals, books, scientific & technical reports, manuals, newsletters and electronic services.

www.sandec.ch

SANDEC is the Department of Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries at the Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology. SANDEC's research activities focus primarily on the use of waste and wastewater, with urban agriculture as a recent topic.

www.cepis.ops-oms.org

The website of the Centro Panamericano de Ingeniería Sanitaria y Ciencias del Ambiente (the Pan American Centre for Sanitary Engineering and Environmental Sciences) is in Spanish and English and focuses on Latin America. It contains information on publications, events, training materials, etc.

www.weather.nmsu.edu/hydrology/wastewater/

The Middle East Wastewater Use Clearinghouse is a site established to promote knowledge about the use of wastewater on agricultural land to increase the limited water resources available in the Middle East.

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