Characteristics of rural agritainment sewage in Sichuan, China

As a new form of rural tourism, agritainment originating from Sichuan food and recreation establishments is now popular all over China. The physico-chemical characteristics of agritainment sewage in Sichuan were surveyed through questionnaires and sample analysis. It was found that 5.3% of agritainment sites discharged black water directly while 25.3% of sites discharged grey water directly in the environment. The annual average ratio of sewage discharge volume to agritainment operating income is 9.24 L/yuan and could be used to predict discharge volume. The annual discharge volume from agritainment in Sichuan was 124 billion litres in 2017 and was 55% higher than that of 2016. The annual sewage discharge volume from agritainment sites in Sichuan ranged from 12 thousand to 38 million litres and the total sewage discharge volume from 24% of agritainment sites represented 77% of the total annual discharge volume. The main pollutants in Sichuan agritainment sewage were total suspended solids (10-2,470 mg/L), total phosphorus (0.07-17.1 mg/L), chemical oxygen demand (144-2,580 mg/L) and anionic surfactant (3.5-411 mg/L) and the percentage of sewage exceeding the standard (Chinese standards GB8918-1996 Class II) of these environmental indicators was up to 45%, 75%, 95% and 80%, respectively. Considering the increasing volume and concentration of agritainment sewage, we urge the public and government to be aware of related water pollution issues. Based on this study, additional surveys of characteristics of agritainment sewage are suggested to be included in the third national pollution source survey in China (2027).