Reclaimed water for fruit tree irrigation
4 June, 2050
Jumilla wastewater treatment plant
Waste water source
Households of Jumilla town and wineries in the area provide the wastewater to be reclaimed. ESAMUR is the public entity in charge of operation and maintenance for the wastewater treatment plant.
Distribution System
Pressurized pipes from the wastewater treatment plant bring the reclaimed water to a network of water pools in cascade. From each of the pools, the water is distributed to every farmer. Filter facilities remove solid debris before irrigation.
Farming system
The irrigated cultures are pear (45 %), peach (32 %), apricot (12 %), olive (5 %), plum (3 %), grapes (2 %) and almond (1 %). Sub-surface and drip irrigation are applied. Also deficit irrigation practices are applied and studies within the framework of a LIFE project (IRRIMAN LIFE).
Waste water treatment description
Nutrient removal : none
Pesticide removal : none
Disinfection : Chlorination and flocculation
Suspended solids removal : Chemical coagulation, sand filter and activated sludge techniques
Other : Infrared that is used to crystallize salt.
Capacity
A annual total of 1,500,000 m³ of water is reclaimed from the Jumilla wastewater treatment plant. 1,190,000 m³ of the produced reclaimed water is applied for irrigation. The remainder is discharged to a nearby pasture farm.
Extent of the agricultural beneficiaries
The reclaimed water is supplied to 1,329 hectares of agricultural land and 924 different farms.
Costs
The wastewater treatment plants total cost is 4 million euros. The irrigators community provides a mixture of the reclaimed water and groundwater. The cost of the mixture depends on the cost of these two sources.
Type of agreement
The water concession is allocated by the River Basin Authority of Segura River. Nearly 100 farmers are members of Miraflores Irrigation Community. They signed a long–term project with the Irrigation Department of CEBAS–CSIC to evaluate physical–chemical and microbiological parameters of reclaimed water and to provide training courses to its members.
Scientific results
Peer-reviewed article:
Nicolás, E., Nortes, J., Bayona, J. M., Romero Trigueros, C., & Alarcón, J. J. (2019). Gestión sostenible del agua regenerada en el manejo del fertirriego de cultivos frutales de una comunidad de regantese. Revista de Fruticultura, (69), 38–49.
Additional information
The IRRIMAN LIFE project investigates dificit irrigation possibilities in the region. More information on those project results can be found on this website: https://irrimanlife.eu/ingles/
