Wastewater Status and Utilization in the Periurban Area of Bangladesh

A renewed interest has been seen among the farmers of Mymensingh to use the wastewater for their agricultural production. Bases on the population of the studied area, it seems that a large amount of waste water is always available in the periurban areas providing a reliable water supply for the farmers. Wastewater increases soil fertility resulting in the increased agricultural production with no cost. It is found that significant amount of pollutants can be reduced by simply passing the wastewater through the channel containing water hyacinth. Various parameters related to the nutrients such as NH4, PO4, TDS, EC were studied and their correlation with the productivity is established. The increased value of pH reduces the acidity of the soil resulting in the increased productivity. Similarly, yield was reported to be increased with the decrease of total solids in the wastewater. The amount of NH4 in the wastewater has direct correlation with correlation with the yield. Higher NH4 was observed to inhibit the plants growth and hence the lower yield.