IWHR has made important progress in a key project “influence of reclaimed water irrigation on system performance and environmental media and its regulatory mechanism”, which is funded by the Natural Science Foundation of China.

The research group was guided by the current problems in the practice of reclaimed water irrigation in China to carry out laboratory experimental study and field test observation. It is found that nutrients in the reclaimed water can increase the absorption and utilization of soil residual nitrogen by crops and increase the leaching loss of nitrogen and the research put forward the best nitrogen application rate of reclaimed water drop irrigation for corns in the North China plain area. The simulation research using HYDRUS-2D/3D model reveals the migration rules of escherichia coli in saturated-unsaturated soil under the condition of reclaimed water drop irrigation, helpful to control the soil environmental pathogen pollution generated by the utilization of reclaimed water. The related research results have been published in the journal Irrigation and Drainage of Wiley and these results have important scientific significance to solve the contradiction between the urbanization process and water shortage in China and even the world.