ABSTRACT
Exponentially increasing urbanisation is not only using large areas of productive agricultural land but is also producing large volumes of wastewaters that have become a serious environmental threat in most countries. When wastewaters are discharged into water bodies, they can be a serious source of pollution because of their high biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, high concentration of nutrients, toxic elements and pathogens. The municipal committees have administrative, legal, and moral responsibilities to dispose it in a manner that provides a clean environment to the public and makes this waste resource usable for the benefit of mankind. The treated water can be reused for irrigation purposes and/or safely discharged into a natural water body. However, treatment plants are costly and out of reach for most municipal committees. Tapping the resource can save tremendously on fertiliser and irrigation costs and can help to boost agricultural production in arid and semi-arid countries.
