Having drinking water is one of the sustainable development goals (SDG no. 6) that\nis not always easy to ensure, especially in countries like Spain or arid regions marked by water\ndeficit. The reuse of treated water should be considered when planning water resources, but it is\nnecessary to verify that this effectiveness is applicable to real situations. A field trial was carried out\nin several study areas distributed in agricultural parcels of south east Spain. Soils from two olive\ngroves and two vineyards irrigated with treated wastewater (TW) were monitored for to compare\nwith other plantations irrigated with conventional well water (WW) since July 2016-September 2018.\nFive different irrigation water sources were analyzed (two from well water and three from reclaimed\nwastewater). No microbiological, metal content, toxicity or organic compounds (PAHs and PCBs)\nin the studied water samples were detected and reclaimed municipal wastewater was comparable\nin quality to the conventional sources at all the demonstration sites, except for higher electrical\nconductivity. Soils irrigated with TW had higher values for electrical conductivity, N, K, Na, Mg, Mn\nand cation exchange capacity. The main precautions to be considered when irrigating with treated\nwastewater are its salt content and its tendency to high values of electrical conductivity. Otherwise,\nthey are an interesting contribution of nutrients to soil. Hence adopting this water type to irrigate\norchards, vineyards and olive groves could help to save primary water resources.
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