Leachability of chemical constituents in soil–plant systems irrigated with synthetic graywater

Abstract

Over recent years, reuse of graywater for irrigation has become increasingly widespread internationally. While this practice is rapidly growing, there remain unanswered questions with respect to impacts to environmental quality and human health. The objective of this research was to determine the leachability of graywater constituents after applied to soil through a set of controlled greenhouse experiments. Four plant species including bermudagrass, tall fescue, Meyer Lemon and Emerald Gaiety Euonymus were included in the study. Three replicate columns for each species were set up and irrigated either with synthetic graywater or potable water for a 17 month duration. Leachate quality was assessed for dissolved organic carbon, nitrate, ammonium, total phosphorous, boron, sodium adsorption ratio, conductivity, surfactants, and total dissolved solids. The same constituents and also organic matter were measured in soil samples collected at the end of experiments. Phosphorus did not leach through the 50 cm deep soil columns. Salts, including boron, showed potential to leach through graywater irrigated soil. A portion of the applied nitrogen was assimilated by plants, but leaching of nitrogen was still observed as documented by statistically higher nitrogen in leachate collected from graywater-irrigated columns compared to potable water-irrigated columns (P ≤ 0.05). A low percentage of surfactants added to columns leached through (7 ± 6% on average) and a mass balance on surfactant parent compounds showed that 92–96% of added surfactants were biodegraded.