• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.118-124
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• 2011

BACKGROUND: Development of water recycle technologies is important for human health and sustainable agriculture. However, few studies have been conducted to examine the purification methods or the water quality of reclaimed wastewater in Korea. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, the different wastewaters including reclaimed wastewater and waste nutrient solution (NS) were evaluated. The changes of water quality in reclaimed wastewater and NS were determined using ultraviolet (UV) treatment and sand filtration with charcoal. Our results showed that one of the most critical limitations of reusing wastewater was the presence of harmful pathogens that possibly cause human health risks. CONCLUSION(s): This study suggests that the application of UV treatment or combined with sand filtration on reclaimed wastewater and waste NS effectively removes the total coliform bacteria below the harmful or acceptable level. For future studies, a long-term field monitoring after applying reclaimed wastewater or NS is needed.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.827-831
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• 2008

In this study, the effects of reclaimed wastewater irrigation on the concentration of heavy metals such as lead, zinc, cadmium, and copper in soil and vegetables were investigated by monitoring an experimental area irrigated with reclaimed wastewater. Three treatments and three replications on $10{\times}2$-m plots were installed and heavy metal concentrations in soil and vegetables were monitored from 2005 to 2007. The treatments applied in this study were groundwater irrigation (control treatment), wastewater irrigation, and irrigation with filtered reclaimed wastewater treated with ultraviolet light. The monitored results showed that the concentrations of Cu, Cd, and Pb in soil during the experimental period were lower than initial soil levels before irrigation, whereas Zn increased in all treatment plots. However, the ranges of Zn, Cu, Cd and Pb in soil were below the soil pollution standards in the Republic of Korea. Heavy metal concentrations in vegetables showed insignificant variations for all treatments.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.75-86
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• 2004

The objective of the research is to develop agricultural resue technologies of reclaiming the effluents from a municipal wastewater treatment plant and reusing for irrigated rice paddies. The Suwon wastewater treatment plant was selected for wastewater reuse tests. The control was the plots with groundwater irrigation (TR＃1), the treatment (TR＃2) using polluted stream water as it was, and three others using wastewater after treatment. Three levels of wastewater treatments were employed： the effluent from the wastewater treatment plant (TR＃3), sand filtering after treatment plant(TR＃4), and ultra-violet treatment after sand filtering (TR＃5). The randomized block method was applied to wastewater application to paddy rice with five treatments and six replica. The effects of various wastewater treatment levels on water quality, paddy soil, crop growth, yields, and the health hazards were investigated. The primary results indicate that cultivating rice with reclaimed wastewater irrigation did not cause a problem to adverse effects on crop growth and yields. Overall, wastewater could be used as a practical alternative measure for reclaimed wastewater irrigation. However, long-term monitoring is recommended on the effects on soil chemical characteristics and its related health concerns.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.21-29
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• 2015

Safety of reclaimed wastewater irrigation needs to be evaluated to promote public health. Quantitative microbial and toxic risk assessment was conducted to identify the level of risk for farmland workers who use reclaimed wastewater and groundwater in Jeju island. Microbial risk through inhalation and ingestion exposure was below acceptable level (less than $10^{-3}$) of $7.07{\times}10^{-6}$ for reclaimed wastewater and $9.99{\times}10^{-8}$ for groundwater irrigation worker. Aggregate exposure risk of Ni, As and Cu was most contributable to overall risk in both reclaimed wastewater and groundwater irrigation plot. High cumulative exposure risk was estimated through non-dietary soil ingestion and dermal contact of soil, due to the high concentration of As, Cu and Ni in farmland soil. Overall toxic risk was $2.68{\times}10^{-4}$ for reclaimed water and $2.39{\times}10^{-4}$ for groundwater irrigation, which could not meet acceptable toxic risk level of $10^{-6}$. Further efforts, such as provide personal protective equipments or public health education, need to be implicated to reduce adverse health risk.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.55-65
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• 2003

Pilot study was conducted to examine the effects of ponded-water depth and reclaimed wastewater irrigation on paddy rice culture. For the ponded-water depth effect, three treatments of shallow, traditional, and deep water depths were applied, and each treatment was triplicated. The irrigation water for the treatment pots was an effluent from constructed wetland system for sewage treatment, while the control pot was irrigated with tap water kept traditional ponded-water depth. Irrigation water quantity varied with ponded-water depth as expected and drainage water quantity also varied similarly, which implies that shallow irrigation might save irrigation water and also reduce environmental impacts on downstream water quality. Rice growth and production were not significantly affected by ponded-water depth within the experimental condition, instead there was an indication of increased production in shallow and deep ponded-water depths compared to the traditional practice. Raising drainage outlet to the adequate height in paddy dike might be beneficial to save water resources within the paddy field. There was no adverse effect observed in reclaimed wastewater irrigation on the rice production, and mean yield was even greater than the control pots with tap water irrigation although statistically not significant. Water-saving irrigation by shallow ponded-water depth, raising the outlet height in diked rice paddy fields, minimizing forced surface drainage by well-planned irrigation, and reclaimed wastewater irrigation are suggested to save water and protect water quality. However, deviation from traditional farming practices might affect rice growth in long term, and therefore, further investigations are recommended before full scale application.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.17-24
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• 2020

This study analyzes economic feasibility by looking at the case of wastewater reclamation and reuse system of Osan, the only place currently operated in Korea, exploiting wastewater uniquely reused as industrial water. Furthermore, this paper examines the problem in wastewater recycling and present the method to expand the potential of using reclaimed water. Method to activate the reuse of wastewater as industrial water. First, it is required to provide self-governing body and demander with diverse information on this project so that they correctly recognize the reuse of wastewater as industrial water. Second, law should be amended so that the water quality requirement of reused water can be given in the national level to supply industrial water depending on right standard. Third, financial support should be expanded in diverse parts so that more private investment advantageous to investor can be made, for instance, BTL, BTO.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.67-74
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• 2011

The objectives of this study were to assess the rice yields and evaluate fertilizer reduction effect of reclaimed wastewater irrigation in paddy fields using the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) v4.5 model. The experimental plots were designed, which was located near the Suwon wastewater treatment plant in Gyeonggi-do, Korea. The rice yield, irrigation amount, irrigation water quality and soil data were monitored and collected between 2006 and 2009. The DSSAT model was calibrated and validated with observed data. The methods that were used to evaluate this model were the root mean square error (RMSE), normalized root mean square error (nRMSE), and index of agreement (d). The values of RMSE, nRMSE, and d ranged from 145 to $789\;kg\;ha^{-1}$, 3.0 to 13.3 %, and 0.90 to 0.95 for the calibration period, respectively and represented from 91 to $538\;kg\;ha^{-1}$, 2.0 to 10.4 %, 0.94 to 0.98 for the validation period, respectively. Overall, this model showed good agreement with observed data of rice yields irrigated with reclaimed wastewater. The fertilizer reduction effect in paddy field of reclaimed wastewater irrigation was assessed about 60 % in 2008 and 40 % in 2009.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.323-334
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• 2018

Recently, increased water demand and frequent droughts caused severe water shortages in South Korea. Thus, reusing the reclaimed water is receiving attention as an alternative water source rather than depending on the conventional water supply. In South Korea, three types of water reuse are mainly applied, such as rainwater reuse, gray water reuse and wastewater reuse. In this study, the wastewater reuse was analyzed since the amount of treated wastewater is relatively constant over the year and typically the water quality is acceptable for reuse. In Yongin-si, there are 26 golf clubs, which is about 10% of entire facilities currently operating in South Korea. The golf courses consume significant amount of water for landscaping; thus, if the reclaimed water used, the economic, social and environmental benefits would be tremendous. This study estimates the economic benefits and costs when supplying the reclaimed wastewater for landscaping of golf courses as a case study in Yongin-si.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.1467-1474
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• 2016

In response to the water shortage problem, continued attempts are being made to secure consistent and reliable water sources. Among various solutions to this problem, wastewater effluent is an easy way to secure the necessary supply, since its annual output is consistent. Furthermore, wastewater effluent has the advantage of being able to serve various purposes, such as cleaning, sprinkling, landscaping, river management, irrigation, and industrial applications. Therefore, this study presents the possible use of reclaimed industrial wastewater treated with Birm filters and a UF membrane, along with an analysis on membrane fouling. The preprocessing stage, part of the reclamation process, used Birm filters to minimize membrane fouling. Since this study did not consider heavy metal levels in the treated water, the analyses did not include the criterion for irrigation water quality. However, the wastewater reclaimed by using Birm filters and a UF membrane met every other requirement for reclaimed water quality standards. This indicated that the treated water could be used for cleaning, channel flow for maintenance, recreational purposes, and industrial applications. The analysis on the fouling of the Birm filter and UF membrane required the study of the composition and recovery rate of the membrane. According to SEM and EDX analyses of the UF membrane, carbon and oxygen ion composition amounted to approximately 57%, whereas inorganic matter was not detected. Furthermore, the difference in the recovery rates of the distressed membrane between acidic and alkaline cleaning was more than ~78%, which indicated that organic rather than inorganic matter contributed to membrane fouling.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.183-189
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• 2010

This study assess the effects of reclaimed wastewater irrigation on grain quality-related properties of milled rice. To conduct the effects of wastewater reuse on rice quality, the contents of amylose, protein, and milled head rice recovery were analyzed. The water and the soil quality were monitored, and the grain characteristic was analyzed using a NIRS (Near Infra-Red Spectroscopy). The value of the grain properties of the rice which was cultivated with the reclaimed wastewater didn't show a big difference from other common rice. The significant difference by each processing distinction was shown at the significance level of 5% in the statistical result.