Sewage Farm

sewage farm

a place where sewage is treated, esp for use as manure

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sewage farm [′sü·ij ‚färm]

(agriculture)

A farm in which sewage is used for irrigation and fertilizer.

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Sewage Farm 

a plot of land used for the natural biological decontamination of sewage liquids and for raising agricultural crops. In the USSR a distinction is made between municipal and agricultural farms. The former are established on land managed by municipal agencies. They basically perform a sanitary function and differ little in layout from leach fields. Agricultural sewage farms are set up on kolkhozes and sovkhozes for raising crops that use the nutrients contained in sewage liquids. Some are used only in the summer, and others operate year-round.

Sewage liquids were used in agriculture in ancient Rome, Athens, and Babylon. Sewage farms were established in Bun-zlau, Germany in 1559, in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1709, and in Paris in 1868. In Russia they appeared in Odessa in 1887, in Kiev in 1895, and in Moscow in 1898. Irrigation with sewage liquids has existed in the USSR since 1922. In 1931 the Liubertsy Sov-khoz Sewage Farm was established near Moscow. Sewage irrigation is used near Kiev (Bortnicheskie), in Liubertsy Raion of Moscow Oblast, and in Kustanai Oblast (in the city of Rudnyi). In 1973, more than 60,000 hectares (ha) were irrigated with sewage liquids in the USSR. Irrigation of agricultural crops with sewage liquids is common in many countries.

Sewage farms are used primarily for raising forage crops, including silage corn, root feeds (yields reaching 1,000 quintals per ha), and perennial herbs. Fields are established on various types of soil, but light sandy and sandy loam soils are recommended. The irrigation network consists of pipes, settling ponds, a pumping station, regulatory reservoirs and canals, and a watering network. Daily load norms, which depend on the crop’s requirements for moisture and nutrients, are 15–20 cu m/ha on light soils and 5–7 cu m/ha on heavy soils.

Irrigation norms and watering norms on sewage farms are determined by the moisture requirements of the crop. The principal watering method is gravity flow in furrows or strips; in the winter flooding is used. Liquid manure received at livestock farms by hydraulic flushing is also used on sewage farms. The layout of sewage farms is closely tied to the design and construction of plumbing systems. This makes it possible to find comprehensive solutions to the organization of services in cities and populated rural regions.

REFERENCES

Orlov, V. P. Zemledel’cheskie polia orosheniia, 3rd ed. Moscow, 1961.
Ispol’zovanie stochnykh vod v oroshenii. Moscow, 1964.
Shul’ts, M. Kruglogodovoe oroshenie stochnymi vodami. Moscow, 1965.
L’vovich, A. I. Praktika proektirovaniia zemledel’cheskikh polei orosheniia. Moscow, 1968.

V. M. NOVIKOV