In many parts of the world, good quality freshwater resources are becoming increasingly scarce. At the same time, wastewater is produced in ever-larger quantities, mainly as a result of the continued growth of the human population and the process of rapid urbanization. In reality, wastewater is a water resource of ever-growing importance, particularly for the urban and peri-urban poor whose livelihoods depend on agricultural products that can be marketed locally. However, its use for crop and fish production carries important health risks, and the disease burden that can be attributed to its unsafe use is considerable.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has published the third edition of the WHO Guidelines for the Safe Use of Wastewater, Excreta and Greywater in Agriculture and Aquaculture. Its four volumes address, respectively, policy and regulatory aspects of wastewater use in agriculture, wastewater and excreta use in aquaculture, and excreta and greywater use in agriculture. It supersedes the second edition of the guidelines, which was published in 1989.
“This third edition of the Wastewater Guidelines marks an important departure from the previous edition,” said Susanne Weber-Mosdorf, assistant director-general for the Cluster of Sustainable Development and Healthy Environments. “The rigid and prescriptive character of the second edition has evolved to a more contemporary and flexible approach based on scientific evidence and process-oriented risk assessment and management. The guidelines reflect a strong focus on disease prevention and public health principles. Water quality regulators will have to work towards attaining health-based targets through an integrated approach.”
