Heavy damage
Untreated sewage water for irrigation affects soil
untreated sewage water-fed farming is considered cost-effective. But this solution comes at a cost. Such sewage water contains heavy metals that harm the soil fertility.
A study showed that the heavy metals affect soil in two ways. One, they hinder the activities of micro-organisms that help recycle nutrients and aid in plant growth, and two, they disrupt the activities of enzymes. These findings are the results of a study carried out by researchers from the Department of Geology and Geophysics, iit, Kharagpur. The effects of heavy metals on tiny aquatic plants in the Dhapa dumping site in Kolkata prompted the study.
Not very far from the dumping site, farmers grow vegetables on lands irrigated by sewage water. The findings of the study were published in Chemosphere (Vol 72, No 4).
For the study, the researchers took soil samples (0-20 cm depth) from six selected sites. The metal content was found to be higher in sewage-irrigated soil than in groundwater irrigated ones.
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