Due to water scarcity in many arid countries, there is considerable interest in recycling various
wastewater streams such as treated urban wastewater for irrigation in the agricultural sector. The aim
was therefore to assess if domestic wastewater treated by different wetlands can be successfully recycled
to water commercially grown crops. The objectives were (i) to study the effect of irrigation on Chilli (De
Cayenne; Capsicum annuum (Linnaeus) Longum Group ‘De Cayenne’) with domestic wastewater treated
by wetland compared to tap water (fresh water); (ii) to assess the overall quality and particularly the
microbiological contamination of Chilli fruits; and (iii) to determine the persistence of microbial
contaminants in the soil irrigated by treated wastewater between September 2013 and September 2014.
High yields were associated with tap water and an organic growth medium. No bacterial contamination
was detected for fruits harvested from plants irrigated by wetland outflow water. In contrast, fruits
harvested from those plants irrigated by preliminary treated wastewater showed high contamination by
total coliforms, Streptococcus spp. and Salmonella spp. This was especially the case for fruits, which were
located close to the contaminated soil surface. However, findings indicate that vegetable pots receiving
wastewater treated with wetlands can be considered as safe compared to those receiving only
preliminary treated wastewater