Abstract

Wastewater reuse in agriculture has been identified as an adaptive solution to climate change. This practice copes with two of the most limiting factors that are affecting sustainable development in rural areas: the lack of sanitation services and water shortages. This paper proposes a multi-criteria methodological approach to evaluate wastewater reuse potential for irrigation in rural areas and to select the most sustainable and context-aware wastewater treatment technology. In order to validate the procedure, an empirical application for the Coquimbo region (Chile) was developed. The water balance conducted illustrated that the potential wastewater source can only partially substitute for the water canonical sources. According to local citizen preferences, among the three evaluated, the most sustainable wastewater treatment technology option consists of septic tank and constructed wetland. This study provides evidence for the relevance of integrating social and environmental criteria, in addition to technical and economic ones, for supporting decision-making processes related to wastewater reuse.

Graphic abstract

中文翻译：

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半干旱农村地区灌溉废水回用潜力的评估：以智利Punitaqui为例

摘要

农业中的废水回用被确定为应对气候变化的一种适应性解决方案。这种做法解决了影响农村地区可持续发展的两个最大限制因素：缺乏卫生服务和缺水。本文提出了一种多准则方法论方法，以评估农村地区灌溉中废水回用的潜力，并选择最可持续和最符合情境的废水处理技术。为了验证该程序，开发了Coquimbo地区（智利）的经验应用。进行的水平衡表明，潜在的废水源只能部分替代水源。根据当地公民的偏爱，在三个被评估者中，最可持续的废水处理技术选择包括化粪池和人工湿地。这项研究提供了证据，证明除了技术和经济标准外，整合社会和环境标准对于支持与废水回用相关的决策过程也具有重要意义。

图形摘要