Abstract

The present study mainly aims to determine the assessment of microbial load reduction efficiency of sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Mysore, Karnataka, India. The raw and treated wastewater samples were collected and tested for irrigation suitability using irrigation indices compared with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) standards. Seed germination study was carried and the vigour index was reported to be higher for raw sewage although the seedlings treated with this water had wilting shoot tips. The overall results of the present study observed that most of the parameters of both treated and untreated urban wastewaters have exceeded the FAO irrigation standard and continuous usage of such water may cause detrimental effects on the soil and crops. The sewage treatment plants have also shown very low efficiency in microbial load reduction, and this can have health risk implications to the farmers using this effluent.

Keywords: urban wastewater, sewage treatment plant, sewage effluent, vigour index
