On-farm treatment of wastewater used for vegetable irrigation: bacteria and virus removal in small ponds in Accra, Ghana

Many urban farmers in Accra collect irrigation water from streams and open drains, which they store in small, on-farm ponds before use. Given that this water can be highly contaminated with wastewater, another potential role of the ponds is to disinfect irrigation water prior to use. To better under...

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Main Authors: Silverman, A.I., Akrong, M.O., Drechsel, Pay
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: IWA Publishing 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/58453
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author Silverman, A.I.
Akrong, M.O.
Drechsel, Pay
author_browse Akrong, M.O.
Drechsel, Pay
Silverman, A.I.
author_facet Silverman, A.I.
Akrong, M.O.
Drechsel, Pay
author_sort Silverman, A.I.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Many urban farmers in Accra collect irrigation water from streams and open drains, which they store in small, on-farm ponds before use. Given that this water can be highly contaminated with wastewater, another potential role of the ponds is to disinfect irrigation water prior to use. To better understand the factors influencing bacteria and virus removal in these small ponds, we investigated the removal of culturable fecal indicator bacteria (Escherichia coli and enterococci) and coliphage (F+ and somatic coliphage) in a single batch of water stored for 3 days. Sunlight exposure was found to be important for removal. Bacteria and coliphage removal rates were faster in shallow sun-exposed water than in deeper water, due to sunlight attenuation with depth. Bacteria removal rates varied depending on solar irradiation, and correlations between total daily UVB fluence and bacteria removal rates were observed. Coliphage removal was observed in sun-exposed water but not in dark controls that allowed for sedimentation, further highlighting the importance of sunlight-mediated processes. These small ponds appear to have similar disinfection processes to larger-scale waste stabilization ponds, but can have more efficient inactivation due to their shallow depth and operation as batch reactors. Design and management recommendations for on-farm ponds are discussed.
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spelling CGSpace584532025-06-17T08:24:13Z On-farm treatment of wastewater used for vegetable irrigation: bacteria and virus removal in small ponds in Accra, Ghana Silverman, A.I. Akrong, M.O. Drechsel, Pay on-farm research wastewater treatment wastewater irrigation urban agriculture vegetable growing plant diseases coliform bacteria ponds farmers irrigation water environmental effects Many urban farmers in Accra collect irrigation water from streams and open drains, which they store in small, on-farm ponds before use. Given that this water can be highly contaminated with wastewater, another potential role of the ponds is to disinfect irrigation water prior to use. To better understand the factors influencing bacteria and virus removal in these small ponds, we investigated the removal of culturable fecal indicator bacteria (Escherichia coli and enterococci) and coliphage (F+ and somatic coliphage) in a single batch of water stored for 3 days. Sunlight exposure was found to be important for removal. Bacteria and coliphage removal rates were faster in shallow sun-exposed water than in deeper water, due to sunlight attenuation with depth. Bacteria removal rates varied depending on solar irradiation, and correlations between total daily UVB fluence and bacteria removal rates were observed. Coliphage removal was observed in sun-exposed water but not in dark controls that allowed for sedimentation, further highlighting the importance of sunlight-mediated processes. These small ponds appear to have similar disinfection processes to larger-scale waste stabilization ponds, but can have more efficient inactivation due to their shallow depth and operation as batch reactors. Design and management recommendations for on-farm ponds are discussed. 2014-12-01 2015-03-17T14:40:00Z 2015-03-17T14:40:00Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/58453 en Limited Access IWA Publishing Silverman, A. I.; Akrong, M. O.; Drechsel, Pay. 2014. On-farm treatment of wastewater used for vegetable irrigation: bacteria and virus removal in small ponds in Accra, Ghana. Journal of Water Reuse and Desalination, 4(4):276-286. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wrd.2014.010
spellingShingle on-farm research
wastewater treatment
wastewater irrigation
urban agriculture
vegetable growing
plant diseases
coliform bacteria
ponds
farmers
irrigation water
environmental effects
Silverman, A.I.
Akrong, M.O.
Drechsel, Pay
On-farm treatment of wastewater used for vegetable irrigation: bacteria and virus removal in small ponds in Accra, Ghana
title On-farm treatment of wastewater used for vegetable irrigation: bacteria and virus removal in small ponds in Accra, Ghana
title_full On-farm treatment of wastewater used for vegetable irrigation: bacteria and virus removal in small ponds in Accra, Ghana
title_fullStr On-farm treatment of wastewater used for vegetable irrigation: bacteria and virus removal in small ponds in Accra, Ghana
title_full_unstemmed On-farm treatment of wastewater used for vegetable irrigation: bacteria and virus removal in small ponds in Accra, Ghana
title_short On-farm treatment of wastewater used for vegetable irrigation: bacteria and virus removal in small ponds in Accra, Ghana
title_sort on farm treatment of wastewater used for vegetable irrigation bacteria and virus removal in small ponds in accra ghana
topic on-farm research
wastewater treatment
wastewater irrigation
urban agriculture
vegetable growing
plant diseases
coliform bacteria
ponds
farmers
irrigation water
environmental effects
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/58453
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AT drechselpay onfarmtreatmentofwastewaterusedforvegetableirrigationbacteriaandvirusremovalinsmallpondsinaccraghana