Wastewater reclamation and reuse for irrigation water in Korea (including one case study)

The development of new water resource is a must in Korea, but water resource development has been blamed for being against the ecological and environmental conservation. Korean Government launched Sustainable Water Resources Research Program (SWRRP) to reuse waste water as one of alternative resources for agricultural irrigation water from 2001. To propose the water quality guidelines for the safe use of wastewater in agriculture, Tentative chemical and microbiological guidelines for treated wastewater reuse for agricultural irrigation are proposed which are classified into three levels of A, B, and C, based on public health hazards. Through the field experiment, irrigation with reclaimed wastewater is potentially safe for rice cultivation, although long-term monitoring is needed to determine its effects on soil characteristics and health risks. As droughts and population increases continue to place considerable stress on the availability of fresh water supplies, reuse of municipal wastewater will play an ever-increasing role in helping to meet future water demands.