Water Reuse and Risk Analysis: The Case Study of Corleone (Italy) Ultrafiltration Plant

Abstract

This study summarises the results of two months of monitoring the full-scale ultrafiltration plant in Corleone (Italy). The monitoring has been conducted according to the current regulations on water reuse in Italy (Italian Ministerial Decree 185/2003 and 2020/741/EU). Samples were withdrawn every ten days from three sections: i. treated disinfected wastewater (Section 1); ii. Downstream the sand filtration (Section 2); iii. After the ultrafiltration (Section 3). Data showed the ultrafiltration plant’s excellent capability to remove E.coli, total suspended solids (TSS), and turbidity. For the parameters, the permeate quality can be classified as Class A according to 2020/741/EU. Conversely, in terms of BOD5, the permeate can be categorised as Class B according to 2020/741/EU since the BOB5 value was around 20 mgO2 L-1 on average. Therefore, treated water can be adopted for food crops, processed and non-food crops and all irrigation methods are allowed. The study also has the novelty of providing a first attempt at performing a risk analysis according to 2020/741/EU, which has yet to apply to Sicilian plants.