Agricultural water scarcity concerns are pushing farmers to find potential alternative water sources for irrigation of food crops, including treated wastewater, stormwater, and farm lagoon water. With any water reuse scenario, there are concerns regarding the presence of potential contaminants. Chlorination of reuse water is often necessary to achieve proper water quality for irrigation or processing purposes, but the treatment process can form toxic disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Experiments are ongoing to compare DBP formation among various reuse water sources. Initial water measurements include pH, dissolved organic carbon, specific ultraviolet absorbance, total nitrogen, and bromide. Chlorination reactions are conducted, and halogenated DBPs are extracted and analyzed via GC-MS. Preliminary findings from a comparison between wastewater, stormwater, and farm lagoon water show that stormwater formed the most trihalomethanes, and farm lagoon water formed the most nitrogen-containing DBPs. The most abundantly formed compounds overall included chloroform, bromoform, bromodichloromethane, and dibromochloromethane with maximum concentrations of 95, 36, 108, and 74 mg/L, respectively. Experiments are ongoing to investigate DBP movement in a hydroponic system. DBPs will be extracted from nutrient solution and from lettuce tissues to determine the potential for plant uptake. A survey was developed for growers to assess their knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions about recycled water and growing food in recycled water. To achieve greater acceptance and implementation of recycled water, improvement is needed in education about recycled water’s definition, quality, and safety for various uses. An additional survey was developed for consumers to assess their knowledge and perceptions about eating food grown with recycled water. The survey asks participants about topics including purchasing habits, recycled water knowledge, willingness to eat food grown with recycled water, trust, social influence, quality concerns, and social demographics. Analysis of the data from this study will help improve agricultural extension strategies regarding recycled water based on consumers’ concerns, misconceptions, and preconceived notions. Optimizing water use strategies by exploring alternative water sources and barriers to implementation can help inform water management decisions working towards achieving future food security.

Reuse water for food production: Disinfection byproducts and consumer concerns

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