Sanitation and Wastewater Atlas of Africa

Faecal coliform and helminth eggs over time in an on-farm pond in Kumasi Faecal coliform and helminth eggs over tim in an o -farm pond in Kumasi

Log units of faecal coliforms in 100 ml of water

Log units of faecal coliforms in 100 ml of water

No. of helmint eggs p r liter

No. of helminth eggs per liter

10

10

6

6

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

5

5

4

4

3

3

2

2

1

1

0

0

0 Retention ime (days) 1 2

0 Retention time (days) 1 2 3 4 3 4 5

6

5

7

6

8

7

9

8

10

9

10 11 12

11 12

0 Retention ime (days) 1 2

0 Retention time (days) 1 2 3 4 3 4 5

6

5

7

6

7 8 9 10

8 9 10

11 12

11 12

GRID-Arendal/Studio Atlantis

GRID-Arendal/Studio Atlantis

Source: Keraita et al. 2008.

Source: Keraita et al. 2008.

Figure 6.16. Faecal coliform and helminth eggs over time in an on-farm pond in Kumasi

Reduction of fecal coliforms on lettuce following application of risk mitigation measures for safe WW irrigation

WASTEWATER IRRIGATION Faecal coliform = 10 6 CFU per 100 g of lettuce

Application of on-farm safety measures

Application of handling safety measures in markets Faecal coliform = 10 2 - 10 4 CFU per 100 g of lettuce

Application of handling safety measures before use Faecal coliform = 0 - 10 2 CFU per 100 g of lettuce

SAFE LETTUCE PRODUCT

Faecal coliform = 10 3 - 10 5 CFU per 100 g of lettuce

Source: Amoah et al. (2011).

Colony forming unit (CFU)

Figure 6.17. Reduction of faecal coliforms on lettuce following application of risk-mitigation measures for safe wastewater irrigation

6.3.5.2. Sources of revenue

The main advantage of using untreated water for irrigation is increased food production. Studies confirm that for every dollar spent on risk reduction from ‘farm to fork’ will return US$5 in consumer health care savings (Drechsel 2018). The social nature of these costs justifies the relevance of public investments in incentives to promote safe reuse of wastewater and minimize risks along the entire crop value chain. However, risk awareness and the incidence of costs and benefits do not fall evenly across stakeholders along the value chain, which creates difficulties in terms of financing the implementation of this approach. Overall environmental impacts are minimal due to the use of untreated wastewater for irrigation. It also reduces expenditure on public health while supporting the informal irrigation sector (often dominated by rural migrants or minority groups).

Small-scale irrigation

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SANITATION AND WASTEWATER ATLAS OF AFRICA

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