Feasibility Study of Agronomic Application of Treated Sewage for Paddy Rice Culture

A feasibility study was performed to examine the agronomic application of treated sewage on paddy rice culture by field experiment for two consecutive years. The domestic sewage was treated by the constructed wetland system which was in subsurface flow type and consisted of sand and macrophyte. The effluent of the wetland system was used for irrigation water. The effluent was diluted to maintain the total nitrogen concentration below $26mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ in the first year and used without dilution in the second year experiment. Growth components and yields were compared against the CONTROL plot where conventional method was applied. And also, soil characteristics of the plots before and after reclaimed sewage irrigation were analyzed. Generally, addition of the treated sewage to the irrigation water showed no adverse effects on paddy rice culture, and even enhancement was noticed in both growth and yield. Irrigation of treated sewage after concentration adjusted with conventional fertilization showed the better result, and the yield exceeded that of CONTROL case where clean water was irrigated. Soil characteristics changed after irrigation, and significant EC increasing was observed for the reclaimed sewage irrigation plots. From this study, it appears that reuse of treated sewage, as supplemental irrigation water could be a feasible and practical alternative. For full-scale application, further study is recommended on the specific guideline of major water quality components in treated sewage for irrigation and public health.