Winery wastewater treatment using the land filter technique

This study outlines a new approach to the treatment of winery wastewater by application to a land FILTER (Filtration and Irrigated cropping for Land Treatment and Effluent Reuse) system. The land FILTER system was tested at a medium size rural winery crushing approximately 20,000 tonnes of grapes. The approach consisted of a preliminary treatment through a coarse screening and settling in treatment ponds, followed by application to the land FILTER planted to pasture. The land FILTER system efficiently dealt with variable volumes and nutrient loads in the wastewater. It was operated to minimize pollutant loads in the treated water (subsurface drainage) and provide adequate leaching to manage salt in the soil profile. The land FILTER system was effective in neutralizing the pH of the wastewater and removing nutrient pollutants to meet EPA discharge limits. However, suspended solids (SS) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) levels in the subsurface drainage waters slightly exceeded EPA limits for discharge. The high organic content in the wastewater initially caused some soil blockage and impeded drainage in the land FILTER site. This was addressed by reducing the hydraulic loading rate to allow increased soil drying between wastewater irrigations. The analysis of soil characteristics after the application of wastewater found that there was some potassium accumulation in the profile but sodium and nutrients decreased after wastewater application. Thus, the wastewater application and provision of subsurface drainage ensured adequate leaching, and so was adequate to avoid the risk of soil salinisation.