The Removal of Indicator Microorganisms from Paddy Fields

News source: National Institute for Agro-
Environmental Sciences, Japan
For further information, see Ueda, T., Ishida, K., Matsumori, K. and Hata, K., Rice paddy field for the removal of indicator microorganisms. Water Research. (Submitted for publication), 2002-07-01

Paddy Fields for Recycling Wastewater

In order to make full use of land resources in rural areas and conserve water quality, trials have been carried out on the utilization of fallow and abandoned paddy fields as a disposal facility for wastewater from rural settlements. However, most of these trials have not been aimed at reducing the number of pathogenic bacteria, but at analyzing the function of paddy fields in reducing the level of nitrogen and phosphate.

Paddy Fields to Reduce Number of Microorganisms

Therefore, we carried out a field experiment to evaluate the function of paddy fields in reducing the level of microorganisms. The model paddy field irrigation experiment was carried out using treated water from a rural settlement.

Decay Rate of Coliform Bacteria

The decay rate of the coliform bacteria in feces in the moist surface of the paddy field was about 0.61 g/day. It would seem that the function of paddy fields in reducing the number of microorganisms is similar to that of artificial wetlands of the current type used for wastewater treatment

Download the PDF. of this document, 28,554 bytes (27.9 KB).