The purpose of research is to assess the feasibility of using treated sewage in the Republic of Crimea. The strengthening of water scarcity in Crimean region has had the most negative impact on agriculture, especially on the sub-industries of irrigated agriculture. Since the Republic of Crimea belongs to the zone of risk farming due to its natural and climatic conditions, irrigation is an obligatory component for further sustainable development of the agricultural sector. One of the guaranteed alternative sources of water under the existing conditions is treated urban wastewater. Based on the experience of the past, the use of this category of water for agricultural irrigation has led in some cases to the development of negative processes of salinization and alkalinization. Thus, in assessing the appropriateness of using treated wastewater in irrigated agriculture, it is necessary to take into account three main factors: the quality of this category of water, the discharge volumes, and the location and soil conditions of possible irrigation areas. In this paper, emphasis is made on the first two indicators. Based on the studies carried out, the use of treated wastewater for irrigation purposes is a promising area. By combining the first two factors, it is most appropriate to use this category of water for irrigating adjoining the river Salgir lands in Simferopol and Krasnogvardeysky districts. When using treated effluents of the towns Evpatoria and Kerch, additional water treatment (or its further purification) and reclamation measures aimed at preventing the development of salinization and solonetization processes should be envisaged.
Key words: treated wastewater, irrigated agriculture, ecological reliability, water quality, total and chloride salinity, alkalinization.
