Sustainable Use of Wastewater in Agriculture: Applications, Methods, and Technology

Water is an essential resource for agriculture, but harvesting water for irrigation is a major issue for farmers in developing and underdeveloped countries. This new volume addresses the challenges of repurposing wastewater in agriculture processes, with a special focus on low- and middle-income regions of the world. The book details the application of wastewater (treated and untreated) in agriculture and the latest and most economical techniques for making wastewater suitable for irrigation purposes. It also looks at the uptake of heavy metals and emerging contaminants by the irrigated crops, soil, etc., from wastewater. The book discusses utilizing water generated from rainwater harvesting systems, use of water quality indices for checking water suitability, the Internet of Agribot Things (IoAT) for wastewater applications, and more.

Megh R. Goyal, PhD, PE, is a Retired Professor in Agricultural and Biomedical Engineering from the General Engineering Department in the College of Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico–Mayaguez Campus. He earlier worked as a Soil Conservation Inspector and as a Research Assistant at Haryana Agricultural University and Ohio State University. He was the first agricultural engineer to receive the professional license in Agricultural Engineering from the College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico and was proclaimed as the “Father of Irrigation Engineering in Puerto Rico for the twentieth century” by the ASABE, Puerto Rico Section, for his pioneering work on micro irrigation, evapotranspiration, agroclimatology, and soil and water engineering. During his professional career of over 52 years, he has received many prestigious awards. A prolific author and editor, he has written more than 200 journal articles and several textbooks and has edited over 100 books.

Gaurav Saini, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Netaji Subhas University of Technology, Delhi, India. His current areas of research include sustainability, natural materials, pollution control, pollution and human health, and, broadly, environmental engineering. He has guided 48 theses at the master’s level and five at the doctoral level (one awarded), in addition to numerous BTech-level projects. His research work has resulted in several research papers in journals of repute, conference presentations at the international level, and 20 patent filings (seven awarded). He serves as a resource person for various governmental bodies and universities for academic, research, and consultancy-related endeavours. He also serves as an ad-hoc reviewer for more than 25 international journals. He has edited one book and guest-edited a special issue of a Springer journal. He is an alumnus of the Oregon State University, United States, where he earned his MS and PhD degrees in Environmental Engineering. He also completed a postdoctoral at the University of Delaware, USA.