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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Water and Wastewater Management
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1412717
This article is part of the Research Topic Sustainable Water Use and Management in Urban Areas View all articles

Impacts of a Partially Connected Wastewater Treatment Plant on the Water Quality of Stormwater Drains Used as an Irrigation Source

Provisionally accepted
S A. Samaraweera S A. Samaraweera 1Mohamed M. Najim Mohamed M. Najim 2*Bader Alhafi Alotaibi Bader Alhafi Alotaibi 3Abou Traore Abou Traore 4
  • 1 Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Kelaniya, Sri Lanka
  • 2 Faculty of Agriculture, Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University (UNISSA), Kampus Sinaut, Km 33, Jln Tutong,, Kampong Sinaut, Tutong TB1741, Brunei
  • 3 Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Society, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • 4 Department of Community Sustainability, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Urban stormwater drains in Kurunegala city collect runoff and untreated wastewater, leading to public health problems. Greater Kurunegala Sewage Treatment Plant (GKSTP) was commissioned in 2018 and currently operates at 73% of its capacity to combat public health issues. This study assessed the water quality of canals, comparing it with standards and pre-GKSTP conditions.Water samples were collected from seven sites during dry and wet seasons, and physicochemical parameters were measured. The data underwent spatial and temporal analysis using the General Linear Model (GLM).Additionally, cluster analysis and Distance-based Redundancy Analysis were employed. The Water Quality Index (WQI) was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment plant. The study revealed significant spatial and temporal variations in physicochemical parameters along the canals (p<0.05, GLM), with higher pollution levels during wet months. The WQI improved from 35 (2005) to 49 at present, indicating enhanced water quality (p<0.05, ANOVA), although it remains unsatisfactory. This study provides novel insights into the limitations of conventional wastewater treatment practices, demonstrating that merely treating wastewater and discharging it back into canals is insufficient. The research underscores the importance of rethinking treated wastewater reuse in achieving multiple SDGs. This approach offers a pragmatic path forward for enhancing water security and environmental sustainability globally.

    Keywords: city canals, pollution, Spatiotemporal variations, Sustainable Water Management, Water Quality

    Received: 05 Apr 2024; Accepted: 12 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Samaraweera, Najim, Alhafi Alotaibi and Traore. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Mohamed M. Najim, Faculty of Agriculture, Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University (UNISSA), Kampus Sinaut, Km 33, Jln Tutong,, Kampong Sinaut, Tutong TB1741, Brunei

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