Pilot plant for reclaimed wastewater reuse in nurseries

In this paper, after a brief introduction on irrigation wastewater reuse, w e take a closer look at Pistoia, the most important nursery area in Italy, which specializes in production of woody ornamental plants. Groundwater res ources are used for irrigation in competition with urban use, causing serio us shortage problems in summer. Treated municipal wastewater can be a good alternative source of water and fertilizer nutrients for ornamental plant p roduction. During 1998, we carried out an experiment along with local corpo rate bodies to evaluate the effects of Pistoia's wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent irrigation of the (Pistoia) area - compared with tradition al well water irrigation - on three container-grown species, each of them c haracterized by different growth habits. Plants irrigated with the effluent , treated with UV irradiation in a disinfection pilot plant, showed better physiological and growth parameters than those irrigated with traditional w ell water.