In Kabul, rainfall occurs mainly during the non irrigation period, so that harvested rainwater could be stored for 5 to 6 months in an underground water reservoir. Is it safe to use stored water for agriculture purposes without treatment?
Rainwater stored underground may have some threat for human health (see references), but mostly safe for plants.
Pandey PK, Kass PH, Soupir ML, Biswas S, Singh VP. Contamination of water resources by pathogenic bacteria. AMB Express. 2014 Jun 28;4:51. doi: 10.1186/s13568-014-0051-x. eCollection 2014. Blaustein RA, Pachepsky Y, Hill RL, Shelton DR, Whelan G. Escherichia coli survival in waters: temperature dependence. Water Res. 2013 Feb 1;47(2):569-78. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2012.10.027.
Well,
The residence time of storage is not the problem in its use, especially for agricultural purposes, but in any case it is supposed to conduct water assessment at the present time according to international or local standards before use.
Sincerely
If the water quality meets the standards meant for agricultural purposes like SAR, Salinity, etc., then there is no problem in using the stored water. The important factor here is not that how; where; and how long the water is stored; but whether the quality of water is suitable for irrigation purposes.
The water that is suitable for agricalture must have low Ec. The Rain water have very low Ec.
It is a matter of controlling the water quality when received and safe storage from pollutants & contaminants. If that is done, water has infinite life.
Yes, harvested rainwater is suitable for using in agriculture. It is very helpful method of irrigation for desert farmers.
Ozone treatment or hydrogen peroxide treatment may be used to disinfect harmful bacteria, and Zinc oxide nanoparticles for water disinfection .
https://www.researchgate.net/project/nanotechnology-in-practice
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