Governing Peri-Urban Waste Water Used by Farmers: Implications for Design and Management

Worldwide, population is increasingly centralized in metropolitan areas. This has an impact on water systems and complex metropolitan watersheds emerge. Flows of varying water quality are generated and distributed among different users who develop new opportunities and coping mechanisms for dealing with marginal quality waters. In developing countries waste water management often fails to cope with the increasing number and volumes of flows. Financial and institutional limitations force waste water managers to discharge substantial amounts of untreated or partially treated waste water into surface waters. Consequently, use of polluted water is increasingly common in the downstream peri-urban agricultural areas. This, albeit productive, may lead to negative impacts on human health and environment, if management of this water is not rightly done. Mitigation of the problems requires rethinking of conventional ‘top-down’ waste water system design and management, in combination with expected down-stream use. In this chapter the applicability of water governance principles in design and operation of waste water systems with an effluent use component is investigated. Acknowledgement of the treatment potential of subsequent uses and the significance of use-based practices as opposed to zero-pollution design will certainly change design and treatment procedures. Inclusion of agriculture and nature as a treatment step and participation of users in decision-making are expected to optimize use of finances, infrastructure and personnel