Quality assessment of reclaimed water for its possible use for crop irrigation and aquifer recharge in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.
The city of Ensenada, Baja California, has three wastewater treatment plants and is one of the few cities in Mexico that treats all the wastewater that it generates. The largest wastewater treatment plant, called El Naranjo, treats on average 316 liters per second and complies with even the most stringent Mexican standards although a stricter control has to be achieved in order to avoid environmental and health problems At the moment, only 2% of the treated wastewater is used for the irrigation of sports fields and public landscape. The reclaimed water could be reused for the irrigation of crops for non-human consumption or ornamental products and/or for aquifer recharge. For reuse practices, two facts must be considered: a) an important part of the valley's production is exported to the USA and b) 30% of the city of Ensenada's water supply is obtained from the Maneadero aquifer. There is currently no Mexican legislation to stipulate adequate standards for aquifer recharge and decisions should be based on legislation from other places. Therefore, at the moment there is still a lack of technical and scientific elements to be able to make the best decision about the reuse of the wastewater.
Mendoza-Espinosa
L
L
División de Oceanografia Química, Instituto de Investigaciones Oceanológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC), Km 107 Carretera Tijuana-senada, Ensenada, Baja California, México. lmendoza@uabc.mx
Orozco-Borbón
M Victoria
MV
Silva-Nava
Patricia
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D000383:Agriculture; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004777:Environment; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D008800:Mexico; D011786:Quality Control; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D014881:Water Supply