Model-Based Approach for Treated Wastewater Reuse Strategies Focusing on Water and Its Nitrogen Content “A Case Study for Olive Growing Farms in Peri-Urban Areas of Sousse, Tunisia”
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Research Framework
2.2. Study Area Description
2.3. Description of the Applied Approach
2.3.1. Treated Wastewater Reuse Value Chain
2.3.2. Crop Simulation Model
- Crop model description: Crop models are an important tool for optimizing irrigation and fertilization strategies to maximize yields. In this context, a dynamic system, based on the “ToyCrop” model [30] and the model of Pelak et al. [29], was developed to describe the interaction of three main components: Soil moisture , total soil nitrogen content and olive biomass production . The model is interpreted on the daily timescale and applied over the course of a single growing season.
- Soil water balance: The relative soil humidity in the root zone (dimensionless between 0 and 1) is modeled as a balance between gains from rainfall () and irrigation ( and losses mainly due to soil evaporation (), crop transpiration () and the combined run off and percolation rate () as indicated in Equation (1) [30]:
- Soil nitrogen balance: The soil nitrogen balance estimates the full range of nutrient inputs to and removals (offtakes) from soils. The input source is from fertigation, which in the context of reuse irrigation, is taken as the product of the irrigation flow rate and the nitrogen concentration of the irrigation water . The main removal sources are leaching and plant uptake for crop production, as presented in Equation (9) [29].
- Crop biomass: The model assumes that the biomass production is proportional to olive transpiration , with growth restriction in the case of water and nitrogen limitations (Equation (13))
2.3.3. Sensitivity Analysis
2.3.4. The Viability Analysis
- The initial fertilization i.e., the amount of nitrogen at the time of seeding
- The nitrogen concentration in the irrigation water
- The maximal flow rate of the irrigation water
- -
- S(t) is above the threshold S* for any t. This means that there is no hydric stress
- -
- The ratio N(t)/S(t) is above the threshold at any t. This means that there is no nitrogen stress
2.4. Data Used and Processing
- Level 1: Local decision makers. The main targets of the discussion were (i) to identify the role of each stakeholder involved in major process of reuse in the study area; (ii) to collect historical records related to monitoring the quantity and quality of treated water; (iii) to distinguish between the main steps of processing, treatment, distribution and reuse; (iv) to indicate principal obstacles and barriers of reuse.
- Level 2: Farmers at the olive growing farms. Farmers surveyed were selected based on water reuse and agriculture production. The main questions are about reuse, land use, crops characteristics, agricultural practices and farmer’s perceptions and behaviors toward reuse.
- ✓
- Plot 1: No irrigation for more than 3 years
- ✓
- Plot 2: Moderate irrigation schedule and only olive trees were irrigated
- ✓
- Plot 3: Substantial irrigation. Crops system is based on olive trees intercropped with fodder
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Value Chain of Treated Wastewater Reuse
- Phase 1: Wastewater collection and treatment. ONAS is the main actor involved in this phase. It has the responsibility to collect raw water and to do the appropriate treatment in WWTP of Msaken. This WWTP was constructed in 1996. The treated plant includes a secondary treatment based on activated sludge process. The daily treatment capacity of domestic and industrial sewage is 7844 m3. The final effluent is reused in olive tree irrigation but the major portion of effluent is discharged in the environment.
- Phase 2: Reuse. Several actors are involved in this action at local (Farmers/GDA), regional (CRDA) and central (DGGREE) level. Farmers are the users of treated wastewater. The role of GDA is to distribute water for the registered end-users with adequate pricing schemes to encourage water reuse schemes. The fixed price is 0.035 DT/m3. The Msaken irrigated perimeter is created in 2022. The total area of the perimeter is 178 hectares. The registered farmers in the GDA are about 77. Additionally, the main role of CRDA is to supervise the functioning of the irrigated perimeter and water distribution. CRDA Staff has also the responsibility to implement extension services programs for farmers. However, the main activities of DGGREE are to implement the national strategies of reuse.
- Phase 3: Control authorities. The main role of these institutions is to control the quality of treated wastewater considering the Tunisian standard and guidelines. NT 106.03 of 1989 is the national standard for reuse for agriculture purposes. NT106.02 of 1989 and the updated version of the Ministerial decree of 2018 were produced for the control of effluent loaded in the environment.
3.2. Monitoring of Treated Wastewater Reuse
3.2.1. Volume of Effluent Reused
3.2.2. Quality of Effluent Reused
3.2.3. Soil Properties
3.3. SWOT Analysis
3.4. Crop Model Simulation
3.4.1. Model Calibration
3.4.2. Soil Humidity Simulation
3.4.3. Soil Nitrogen Content Simulation
3.4.4. Sensitivity Analysis Results
3.4.5. Viability Analysis
- ✓
- Phase 1: No irrigation until the trajectory touches (or is very close) the boundary of the domain S = S*
- ✓
- Phase 2: Minimum irrigation strategy to keep the trajectory on the blue boundary S = S*, which is determined such that with S = S*.
4. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Parameter | Unit | Min | Max | Mean | Std. Deviation | Tunisia Standards NT 106-03 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conductivity | µS/cm | 2839 | 3104 | 2919 | 90.84 | 7000 |
TSS | mg/l | 16 | 27 | 22 | 3.36 | 30 |
DBO5 | mg/l | 9 | 30 | 20.08 | 6.52 | 30 |
COD | mg/l | 50 | 89 | 69.45 | 14.02 | 90 |
Plot 1 (No Irrigation) | Plot 2 (Moderate Irrigation) | Plot 3 (High Irrigation) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Depth | N (mg/kg) | P2O5 (mg/kg) | N (mg/kg) | P2O5 (mg/kg) | N (mg/kg) | P2O5 (mg/kg) |
0–20 | 440 | 3.2 | 710 | 3.2 | 1120 | 22.4 |
20–40 | 320 | 1.8 | 350 | 0.8 | 810 | 10.5 |
40–60 | 360 | 2.9 | 220 | 6.5 | 680 | 10.2 |
Strengths | Weaknesses |
---|---|
|
|
Opportunities | Threats |
|
|
Parameter | Name | Value | Units | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
S* | Point of incipient stomatal closure | 0.62 | - | Soil analysis |
Sw | Wilting point | 0.02 | - | Assumption |
Sh | Hygroscopic point | 0.02 | - | Soil analysis |
Z | Root Depth | 0.8 | m | ERT method |
Soil porosity | 0.21 | - | Soil analysis |
Parameter | Name | Value | Units |
---|---|---|---|
Maximum N concentration taken up | 0.047 | kg N/m3 | |
Normalized daily water productivity | 5539.8 | kg B/m2/day | |
Saturated hydraulic conductivity | 15.25 | m/d | |
Leakage parameter | 9.03 | - |
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Kefi, M.; Kalboussi, N.; Rapaport, A.; Harmand, J.; Gabtni, H. Model-Based Approach for Treated Wastewater Reuse Strategies Focusing on Water and Its Nitrogen Content “A Case Study for Olive Growing Farms in Peri-Urban Areas of Sousse, Tunisia”. Water 2023, 15, 755. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15040755
Kefi M, Kalboussi N, Rapaport A, Harmand J, Gabtni H. Model-Based Approach for Treated Wastewater Reuse Strategies Focusing on Water and Its Nitrogen Content “A Case Study for Olive Growing Farms in Peri-Urban Areas of Sousse, Tunisia”. Water. 2023; 15(4):755. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15040755
Chicago/Turabian StyleKefi, Mohamed, Nesrine Kalboussi, Alain Rapaport, Jérôme Harmand, and Hakim Gabtni. 2023. "Model-Based Approach for Treated Wastewater Reuse Strategies Focusing on Water and Its Nitrogen Content “A Case Study for Olive Growing Farms in Peri-Urban Areas of Sousse, Tunisia”" Water 15, no. 4: 755. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15040755