Impact of Field Application of Treated Wastewater on Hydraulic Properties of Vertisols M. A. Gharaibeh & N. I. Eltaif & Bayan Al-Abdullah Received: 7 January 2007 / Accepted: 27 April 2007 / Published online: 25 May 2007 # Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2007 Abstract Fifteen soil profiles were taken from Ar- Ramtha wastewater treatment plant, 65 km north of Amman. Twelve of them represent soil planted with barley and irrigated with wastewater for the past 2, 5, and 15 years. The remaining three profiles represented a control area that has been only rainfed. Soil samples were collected in four replicates from each depth in each soil profile. Field and laboratory experiments were conducted to study the effect of irrigation with treated wastewater on hydraulic properties of surface and subsurface vertisols. Soil infiltration rate (IR), hydraulic conductivity (HC), and water retention (at 33 kPa and 1.5 MPa) were measured. The application of wastewater for 2, 5, and 15 years reduced soil hydraulic conductivity, whereas the infiltration rate decreased for 2 and 5 years, compared with non-irrigated area. Sites irrigated for 15 years with treated wastewater are characterized by higher percentages of large cracks, therefore revealed the highest infiltration rate. Soil available water changed due to wastewater application in decreasing order of: control (rainfed), 15, 5, 2 years of wastewater application. Keywords Treated wastewater . Hydraulic conductivity . Infiltration rate . Vertisols . Water retention 1 Introduction Fresh water shortage is becoming an increasingly acute problem facing many nations in the world (Bielorai et al. 1984). Jordan has suffered from chronic shortage of water since the 1980s and the water situation is expected to become more severe in the future. This will lead to a deterioration and reduction in crop production. As water scarcity is echoed in the region, decision-makers and planners are considering the use of non-traditional water resources as an attempt to reduce the gap between water supply and demand (Jaber et al. 1997). Many researchers have reported that irrigation with treated wastewater (TWW) could affect some of the soil hydraulic properties (Abd Elnaim et al. 1987; Mathan 1994). TWW application to soils increase available water and decrease both saturated hydraulic conduc- tivity (HC) and cumulative infiltration as a result of physical and biological clogging (Kumar et al. 1985; Magesan et al. 1999; Viviani and Iovino 2004). Magesan et al. (2000) observed that infiltration rate (IR) and HC were decreased through blocking of soil pores as a result of high loads of suspended solids during land application of TWW. Water Air Soil Pollut (2007) 184:347–353 DOI 10.1007/s11270-007-9423-z M. A. Gharaibeh (*) : N. I. Eltaif : B. Al-Abdullah Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Faculty of Agriculture, Jordan University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 3030, Irbid 22110, Jordan e-mail: mamoun@just.edu.jo