Division Minimum requirements applicable to reclaimed water intended for agricultural irrigation
United Kingdom
The reclaimed water quality classes and the permitted uses and irrigation methods for each class are set out in Table 1. The minimum requirements for water quality are set out in Table 2 of point (a). The minimum frequencies and performance targets for monitoring reclaimed water are set out in Table 3 (routine monitoring) and Table 4 (validation monitoring) of point (b).
Crops belonging to a given category shall be irrigated with reclaimed water of the corresponding minimum reclaimed water quality class as set out in Table 1, unless appropriate additional barriers as referred to in point (c) of Article 5(4) are used, which result in achieving the quality requirements set out in Table 2 of point (a). Such additional barriers may be based on the indicative list of preventive measures referred to in point 7 of Annex II or in any other equivalent national or international standards, e.g. the standard ISO 16075-2.
Table 1 – Classes of reclaimed water quality and permitted agricultural use and irrigation method
| If the same type of irrigated crop falls under multiple categories of Table 1, the requirements of the most stringent category shall apply. | ||
| Drip irrigation (also called trickle irrigation) is a micro-irrigation system capable of delivering water drops or tiny streams to the plants and involves dripping water onto the soil or directly under its surface at very low rates (2–20 litres/hour) from a system of small-diameter plastic pipes fitted with outlets called emitters or drippers. | ||
| In the case of irrigation methods which imitate rain, special attention should be paid to the protection of the health of workers or bystanders. For this purpose, appropriate preventive measures shall be applied. | ||
| Minimum reclaimed water quality class | Crop categoryf1 | Irrigation method |
|---|---|---|
| A | All food crops consumed raw where the edible part is in direct contact with reclaimed water and root crops consumed raw | All irrigation methods |
| B | Food crops consumed raw where the edible part is produced above ground and is not in direct contact with reclaimed water, processed food crops and non-food crops including crops used to feed milk- or meat-producing animals | All irrigation methods |
| C | Food crops consumed raw where the edible part is produced above ground and is not in direct contact with reclaimed water, processed food crops and non-food crops including crops used to feed milk- or meat-producing animals | Drip irrigationf2 or other irrigation method that avoids direct contact with the edible part of the crop |
| D | Industrial, energy and seeded crops | All irrigation methodsf3 |
Annotations
Footnotes
- f1
-
If the same type of irrigated crop falls under multiple categories of Table 1, the requirements of the most stringent category shall apply.
- f2
-
Drip irrigation (also called trickle irrigation) is a micro-irrigation system capable of delivering water drops or tiny streams to the plants and involves dripping water onto the soil or directly under its surface at very low rates (2–20 litres/hour) from a system of small-diameter plastic pipes fitted with outlets called emitters or drippers.
- f3
-
In the case of irrigation methods which imitate rain, special attention should be paid to the protection of the health of workers or bystanders. For this purpose, appropriate preventive measures shall be applied.