Advances in Crop Science and Tolossa TT, Adv Crop Sci Tech 2022,

10:8
Technology
Research Article Open Acces

Brewery and Municipal Wastewater Irrigation Quality: Impacts on Selected Soil

Properties around Harar City, Eastern Ethiopia
Tasisa Temesgen Tolossa*
Department of Agronomy, Haramaya University, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT
Wastewater contains a variety of chemical, physical and microbial contaminants which affect soil properties. The
study was conducted at Harar city, to identify the impacts of brewery and municipal wastewater soil physico-chemical
properties and irrigation water quality. Three irrigation sites were selected purposively and sites were categorized
into three groups: Control (non-irrigated), brewery and municipal wastewater irrigated farmland for less than ten
years ago and brewery and municipal wastewater irrigated farmland for more than ten years depending on the
application of brewery and municipal wastewater and long term application. The irrigation water quality analysis
showed that pH was moderately increased; BOD, COD and P concentration were above the permissible limit of
FAO prescribed for wastewater irrigation quality. The results showed that bulk density was negatively decreased and
moisture contents and total porosity was significantly increased. The soil EC, cadmium, lead available phosphorus,
OM and CEC levels was significantly increased with the increasing of wastewater application. Mg2+ was significantly
decreased by wastewater application in irrigated farmland. From the results, increase of years of application of
brewery and municipal wastewater resulted in significant reduction of BD and Mg2+. The most effective way to
eliminate the impact of these brewery and municipal wastewater on the soil is to develop and implement effective
wastewater management plan.
Keywords: Brewery, Heavy metal; Irrigation water quality; Soil physico-chemical; Municipal Wastewater

Introduction discharge point was systematically. A total of two wastewater samples

were collected from the initial point wastewater discharge to the
The reuse of industrial or municipal wastewater in agriculture is final irrigation site in sterilized 500 ml plastic bottles from brewery
a common practice in many parts of the world. It comprises liquid and municipal wastewater. Samples collections were conducted
wastes generated by households, industry, commercial sources, as a immediately after the factories discharge was released and joined
result of daily usage, production and consumption activities of peoples. with the sewer for urban wastewater. Then samples were collected
Municipal wastewater may be a combination of some or all domestic at distance intervals of 500 m following the discharge channels.
effluent such as water from commercial establishments, industrial Accordingly, two samples were collected along the discharge channels
effluent, storm water that does not infiltrate into soil and other urban and from the final discharging point. BOD bottle was used to collect
run-off. It also contains a broad spectrum of contaminants resulting BOD and COD samples. Samples were stored at optimum temperature
from different sources [1-7]. of 20°C and made ready for physical and chemical analyses.
Materials and methods Prepared the samples for determination of brewery and municipal
The study was conducted around Harar City, Harari National Regional wastewater physical and chemical properties. The laboratory analysis
State which is located in the eastern part of Ethiopia (Figure 1). The were done at central laboratory of Haramaya University and Harar
city of Harar is the capital of Harari Regional State; which is located in brewers Share Company laboratory at Harar.
the East at a distance of 525 km from Addis Ababa. Two kebeles (Ahumar and Sofi) were selected around Harar City
for this study and three sites were selected from those kebeles. The
sites were selected based on the number of years; the sites are under
irrigation by using brewery and municipal wastewaters [8-10].

*Corresponding author: Tasisa Temesgen Tolossa, Department of Agronomy,

Haramaya University, Ethiopia, E-mail: [email protected].
Citation: Tolossa TT. (2022) Brewery and Municipal Wastewater Irrigation Quality:
Impacts on Selected Soil Properties around Harar City, Eastern Ethiopia. Adv Crop
Sci Tech.10:527
Received: 02-August-2022, Manuscript No. ACST-22-572; Editor assigned: 04-
August-2022, PreQC No. ACST-22-572(PQ); Reviewed: 18-August-2022, QC No.
ACST-22-572; Revised: 25-August-2022, Manuscript No. ACST-22-572(R);
Published: 31-August-2022, DOI: 10.4172/2329-8863.1000527
Figure 1: Map of the study area (Harar Region and Harar Town). Copyright: © 2022 Tolossa TT. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
The selection of sampling points in the initial and final of the wastewater use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and
source are credited.

Adv Crop Sci Tech, an open access journal Volume 10 • Issue 8 • 1000527
Citation: Tolossa TT. (2022) Brewery and Municipal Wastewater Irrigation Quality: Impacts on Selected Soil Properties around Harar City, Eastern Ethiopia. Adv Crop
Sci Tech.10:527

Page 2 of 4

The sample sites were categorized into three groups (0, <10, and >10) Analysis of the soil of the study area indicated that the texture class of
depending on the number of years they have been under irrigation by the soil was sandy loam for the two irrigated sites and sandy clay loam
wastewater. The first group (0 control) indicates the parallel site 100 for the non-irrigated (control) farmland. This has great influence on
m away from the wastewater irrigated farmland from each sites which root growth and its ability to absorb water and nutrients in quantities
was used as a control; The second group Sofi kebele is the irrigated sufficient for optimum growth. Among other soil physical properties,
with wastewater for more than ten years (BMWWI>10) and the soil texture was more stable, not influenced by wastewater. The
third group Ahumer kebele was farmland irrigated with brewery and highest sand content (61%) was recorded for the farmland that has
municipal wastewater for less than ten years (BMWWI<10). been under irrigation water for less than 10 years (BMWWI<10). The
lowest sand content (56%) was obtained at non irrigated area. The
In this study, two stage sampling techniques was employed purposive
variation in the texture class between the irrigated and non-irrigated
sampling to the selected wastewater irrigation sites and followed by a
sites might be due to seasonal runoff discharge channel in the study
random sampling designate the location of sample sites. Preliminary
sites since wastewater has no effect on soil texture [10].
survey was conducted to locate sites with appropriate irrigated
farmland(Figure 2). Clay contents highly and significant differences with the non-
irrigated and irrigated farmland. The highest clay content (26%) was
recorded for non-irrigated farmland, whereas the lowest value (23%)
was recorded at wastewater irrigated farmland. On the other hand, the
lowest clay content was recorded at the farmland irrigated for more
than ten years. The dominant soil particle in the study sites was sand
followed by clay and silt. Silt content was the least at all sites.
soil reaction was slightly affected by the wastewater. In the study sites,
soil reaction slightly alkaline in brewery and municipal wastewater
irrigated farmland. The higher pH value (7.74) was recorded with
non-irrigated (control) farmland and the lowest pH value (7.34)
Figure 2: The concentration of heavy metal in the study sites.
was recorded with irrigated farmland with brewery and municipal
The composite soil samples were air-dried, sieved to the size of 2 wastewater for less than ten years. The variation in soil pH was
mm and stored in labeled plastic for measurement of total nitrogen might be due to the presence of high content of relatively ammonium
and organic carbon the samples were sieved through 0.5 mm sieve. in the wastewater (Table 1), resulted in its accumulation in the soil.
Sub-sample from each disturbed soil sample were prepared and made This suggestion was supported by the finding of, soil pH decreased
ready for physico-chemical analysis. Undisturbed soil sample was with wastewater irrigation due to the oxidation of organic compounds
also collected at the depth of 0 cm to 20 cm using core sampler for and nitrification of ammonium. Nitrification of this ammonium would
determination of bulk density. The laboratory analyses were done at serve as a source of hydrogen ions which may lead to the decrease in
the Central Laboratory of Haramaya University. the soil pH.

Descriptive statistics
FAO/WHO perm.
Parameters Initial point Final point Mean SD (+)
limits
pH 8.26 8.14 8.2 0.085 6.5-8.4
EC, dS/m 2.34 2.32 2.33 0.014 0.7-3.0
TDS, mg/l 945.32 762.54 853.93 129.24 450-2000
TSS, mg/l 67.98 49.65 58.82 12.96 50
DO, mg/l 0.0045 0.0003 0.002 0.002 5-6
BOD, mg/l 207.3 167 185.15 28.49 60
COD, mg/l 288 246.43 266.22 27.98 200
Na+, mg/l 44.5 33.3 38.9 7.92 200
Ca2+, mg/l 74.8 64.2 69.5 7.49 400
Mg2+, mg/l 54.3 49.6 51.95 3.32 60
K+, mg/l 66.33 51.44 58.84 10.46 <10
HCO3-, mg/l 40.5 35.3 37.9 3.676 1.5 - 8.5
CO32-, mg/l 24.5 19.4 21.95 3.606 <10
NH4-N, mg/l 14.25 7.56 10.91 4.73 -
NO¬3-N, mg/l 11.6 9.43 10.52 1.53 5-30
TN, mg/l 29.6 24.78 27.19 3.408 5-30
P, mg/l 9.43 8.64 9.04 0.56 <10

Adv Crop Sci Tech, an open access journal Volume 10 • Issue 8 • 1000527
Citation: Tolossa TT. (2022) Brewery and Municipal Wastewater Irrigation Quality: Impacts on Selected Soil Properties around Harar City, Eastern Ethiopia. Adv Crop
Sci Tech.10:527

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SAR 4.988 4.414 4.701 0.794 3-9

ESP % 6.538 5.538 5.763 1.096 -
Note: DO=dissolved oxygen, TDS=total dissolved solid, TSS=total suspended solid, EC=electrical conductivity, BOD=biological oxygen
demand, COD=chemical oxygen demand, per.limit=permissible limits, SAR=sodium adsorption ratio and ESP=exchangeable sodium
percentage.

Table 1: Characteristics of brewery and municipal wastewater quality.

The total soluble salt contents expressed as Electrical Conductivity organic matter contents, high level of phosphorus and with higher
(EC) is an important indicator of soil health. It affects crop yields, concentration of Cu in the soil.
plant nutrient availability, and activity of soil microorganisms which
influence key soil processes. Electrical conductivity of the soils was
Conclusions and Recommendation
significantly influenced by the wastewater. The highest electrical Brewery and municipal wastewater application has significant impacts
conductivity (0.0328 dS/m) was recorded for brewery and municipal on physico-chemical properties of the soil. The study was undertaken
wastewater for more than 10 years (BMWWI>10) irrigation, whereas in Harar City with the objectives of investigate the wastewater
the lowest value of EC was recorded for non-irrigated site (0.062 irrigation water quality and its impacts some selected soil physico-
dS/m) Table 3. At non-irrigated and irrigated farmland difference in chemical properties in the study sites.
soil electrical conductivity there were significant at (P<0.001).
Wastewater showed variation between initial point and final
Measurement of the concentrations of heavy metals in the soil of irrigation sites. EC, COD, BOD and P concentration of brewery and
the wastewater irrigated and non-irrigated farmland is in Table 3. municipal wastewater were higher compared to other parameters. The
Concentrations of Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb and Cr at BMWWI>10 (brewery most effective way to reduce/eliminate the impact of these brewery
and municipal wastewater irrigated land for more than 10 years) and municipal wastewater on the soil is to develop and implement
were 8.43, 4.53, 3.33, 0.57 and 0.54 mg/kg respectively. But, at non an effective wastewater management plan. Further investigations
irrigated site the recorded results were 6.85, 5.6, 1.67, 0.29 and 0.54 should be encouraged to address brewery and municipal wastewater
mg/kg for Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb and Cr respectively. The concentration of impacts to plants and farmers. In general Harar city municipality and
Cd and Pb was significantly higher irrigated sites compared to their government should create wastewater management system, setting
amount in the non-irrigated area. This might be due to release of these acceptable levels or criteria related to chemicals, rule and regulation
elements by the brewing process and their entry into the soil with the of wastewater treatment system and recycling of wastewater should
irrigation water. Based on the results of rating of Cd was above the applied for sustainable use of resources and environmental protection.
permissible limits (0.02 mg/kg to 0.5 mg/kg) of FAO Table 3, but the
result of Pb was within recommended rating (0.3 mg/kg to 10 mg/ Acknowledgement
kg). High concentration of heavy metals in the soil may cause soil, None
ground water and health risk on human and plant in the long term.
Accumulation of micronutrients and heavy metals from wastewater Conflict of interest
application could be caused directly by the wastewater composition The author declares there is no conflict of interest in publishing this
or indirectly through increasing solubility of the indigenous insoluble article.
soil heavy metals as a result of the chelation or acidification action of
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Adv Crop Sci Tech, an open access journal Volume 10 • Issue 8 • 1000527
Citation: Tolossa TT. (2022) Brewery and Municipal Wastewater Irrigation Quality: Impacts on Selected Soil Properties around Harar City, Eastern Ethiopia. Adv Crop
Sci Tech.10:527

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Adv Crop Sci Tech, an open access journal Volume 10 • Issue 8 • 1000527