title: Irrigated greywater in an urban sub-division as a potential source of metals to soil, groundwater and surface water.
abstract: Increased water demands in dry countries such as Australia, have led to increased adoption of various water reuse practices. Irrigation of greywater (all water discharged from the bathrooms, laundry and kitchen apart from toilet waste) is seen as a potential means of easing water demands; however, there is limited knowledge of how greywater irrigation impacts terrestrial and aquatic environments. This study compared four greywater irrigated residential lots to adjacent non-irrigated lots that acted as controls. Accumulation and potential impacts of metals in soil, groundwater and surface water, as a result of greywater irrigation, were assessed by comparing measured concentrations to national and international guidelines. Greywater increased concentrations of some metals in irrigated soil and resulted in As, B, Cr and Cu exceeding guidelines after only four years of irrigation. Movement of metals from the irrigation areas resulted in metal concentrations in groundwater (Al, As, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn) and surface water (Cu, Fe and Zn) exceeding environmental quality guidelines again within four years. These results are unlikely to be universally applicable but indicate the need to consider metals in greywater in order to minimize potential adverse environmental effects from greywater irrigation.
authors.affiliation: Water Quality and Investigations, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Sciences, Science Division, The State of Queensland, Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation, Dutton Park, Queensland, Australia; School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address: ryan.turner@qld.gov.au.
authors.forename: Ryan D R
authors.initials: RDR
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: Water Quality and Investigations, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Sciences, Science Division, The State of Queensland, Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation, Dutton Park, Queensland, Australia; National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology, University of Queensland, Robertson, Queensland, Australia; Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia; Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, University, Coventry, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Michael St J
authors.initials: MSJ
authors.lastname: Warne
authors.affiliation: School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Les A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Dawes
authors.affiliation: Water Quality and Investigations, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Sciences, Science Division, The State of Queensland, Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation, Dutton Park, Queensland, Australia; Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vardy
authors.affiliation: School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Geoffrey D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Will
mesh_terms: D057914:Agricultural Irrigation / Q000379:methods*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D060587:Groundwater / Q000737:chemistry; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis*; D011793:Queensland; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D008670:Metals; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Greywater; Groundwater; Irrigation; Metals; Soil; Water reuse