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Assessing the net benefits of using wastewater treated with a membrane bioreactor for irrigating vegetables in Crete

Author

Listed:
  • Maton, Laure
  • Psarras, Georgios
  • Kasapakis, Giannis
  • Ravn Lorenzen, Jesper
  • Andersen, Martin
  • Boesen, Mads
  • Nøhr Bak, Søren
  • Chartzoulakis, Kostas
  • Marcus Pedersen, Soren
  • Kloppmann, Wolfram

Abstract

The island of Crete (Greece) suffers from an increasingly severe water shortages, coupled with declining groundwater supplies. We compared the costs and benefits of alternative strategies for treating wastewater for use in irrigating vegetables: (1) using a membrane bioreactor (MBR), (2) connecting new residences to centralized wastewater-treatment plants, (3) building new wastewater-treatment plants, and (4) using natural wastewater-treatment systems in rural areas. We also examined the impact of increasing water scarcity on the net benefits of treating wastewater with an MBR. As expected, the value of treated wastewater increases with increasing water scarcity. The net benefit of treating wastewater with an MBR and using the reclaimed water to irrigate vegetables ranges from about 0.02Â [euro]/m3 to 2Â [euro]/m3 as water scarcity increases. Our results should be helpful in guiding analysts in Greece and other arid countries wishing to evaluate the financial viability of alternative methods of treating wastewater for use in agriculture.

Suggested Citation

  • Maton, Laure & Psarras, Georgios & Kasapakis, Giannis & Ravn Lorenzen, Jesper & Andersen, Martin & Boesen, Mads & Nøhr Bak, Søren & Chartzoulakis, Kostas & Marcus Pedersen, Soren & Kloppmann, Wolfram, 2010. "Assessing the net benefits of using wastewater treated with a membrane bioreactor for irrigating vegetables in Crete," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(3), pages 458-464, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:98:y:2010:i:3:p:458-464
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Toze, Simon, 2006. "Reuse of effluent water--benefits and risks," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 80(1-3), pages 147-159, February.
    3. Tsagarakis, K. P. & Dialynas, G. E. & Angelakis, A. N., 2004. "Water resources management in Crete (Greece) including water recycling and reuse and proposed quality criteria," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 35-47, April.
    4. Menegaki, Angeliki N. & Hanley, Nick & Tsagarakis, Konstantinos P., 2007. "The social acceptability and valuation of recycled water in Crete: A study of consumers' and farmers' attitudes," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 7-18, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Echchelh, Alban & Hess, Tim & Sakrabani, Ruben, 2018. "Reusing oil and gas produced water for irrigation of food crops in drylands," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 124-134.
    2. Plauborg, Finn & Andersen, Mathias N. & Liu, Fulai & Ensink, Jeroen & Ragab, Ragab, 2010. "Safe and high quality food production using low quality waters and improved irrigation systems and management: SAFIR," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(3), pages 377-384, December.
    3. Battilani, Adriano & Steiner, Michele & Andersen, Martin & Back, Soren Nohr & Lorenzen, J. & Schweitzer, Avi & Dalsgaard, Anders & Forslund, Anita & Gola, Secondo & Klopmann, Wolfram & Plauborg, Finn , 2010. "Decentralised water and wastewater treatment technologies to produce functional water for irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(3), pages 385-402, December.

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