Significance and Current Status of Wastewater Reuse in Sicily

In Sicily wastewater is being regarded as a supplemental source of water, especially for agricultural use, which represents the greatest demand at present and in the future. That is because water demand is already approaching total usable resources, and severe shortage is experienced almost everywhere and in every sector. To help overcome possible implementation problems due to high salinity and pollutant concentrations, lack in monitoring capabilities, and emotional public perception of possible health risks, major field research programs have been undertaken, including an experimental station with a pilot plant and a series of field plots.

Low-cost remotely operated underwater and unmanned aerial vehicles: New technologies for archaeo-geophysics

In this paper we present a device for magnetic survey devoted in particular for archaeological purposes. The device is able to perform accurate measurements of the total magnetic field, it is a flexible device, programmable by the users to be suitable for any specific need. The device relies upon microcontroller, a digital three axes Fluxgate magnetometer, a GPS, and a Real Time Clock (RTC) module. The device is compact and lightweight to be assembled on aerial and marine drones. Recently, Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) gained great potential for archaeo-geophysics because of their versatility and low cost, therefore the magnetometer represents a very us…

The Carini experimental station for wastewater reuse in agricolture.

The Carini Experimental Station for Wastewater Reuse in Agriculture – Preliminary Indications

A two year experiment, to study the feasibility of wastewater reuse for a safe irrigation in the Sicilian context, has been initiated. Eight plots in two fields, totalling 629 m2, were planted with cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.), the irrigation water being supplied by a pilot plant treating 22 m3/day of municipal wastewater. The plant consists of an extended aeration biological system followed by rapid sand filtration and a choice of disinfection systems. Analyses performed on all waters used in the experiment indicate that safe irrigation water, virtually pathogen-free, can be produced if careful operational techniques are adopted. Despite all possible care, however, soil samples tak…