Wastewater evaluation for multan, pakistan: Characterization and agricultural reuse

Abstract

Wastewater (WW) volume generated from both domestic and industrial sectors has increased due to rapid industrialization and urbanization. WW is increasingly used on farms because it is cheap and easily available all year, causing various environmental and health implications. In order to evaluate Multan WW, this study characterizes 154 WW samples collected from 11 disposal stations. These samples were analysed for 23 parameters related to organic matter, nutrients, inorganic matter, and pathogens to determine pollution extent distribution, agricultural reuse potential, and WW treatment database. A major contamination concern was found regarding biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), total coliform, and E-Coli. The average values of BOD and COD were found to be 2.7 and 3.8 times higher than the permissible limits respectively. The microbiological parameters such as total coliform and E-Coli were found to be 10.6 and 36 times higher than the permissible limits, respectively. However, heavy metals and nutrients were found within the permissible limit except phosphorus. Here, the correlation study on selected WW parameters indicated the direct or indirect relationship among WW constituents and the impact of different sources of pollution on WW characteristics. The present study also presents a critical review of different treatment options according to contamination strength in disposal stations.