Assessment of treated wastewater Quality under ...

Assessment of treated wastewater Quality under different climate change Scenarios in Jordan

Prepared by IHP committee Ministry of Water and Irrigation Jordan June, 2011 Assessment of treated wastewater Quality under different climate change Scenarios in Jordan


Prepared by IHP committee/Jordan Prof. Dr. Anwar Jiries (PI) Dr Amjad Shatnawi Eng. Mohammed Momani Eng Mohammed Al-Atrash Jordan June, 2011

This activity was funded within the framework of the UNESCO Component of the UN Joint programme “Adaption to climate change to sustain Jordan’s MDG Achievements” funded by the Spanish MDG fund and comes under the MDG - Goal 7.


CONTENTS INTRODUCTION CURRENT CLIMATIC CONDITIONS IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND REUSE MAIN OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOME GENERAL PLAN OF WORK MATERIALS AND METHODS Study Area Sample Collection Sample Collection and Compositing ANALYSIS OF MAJOR IONS ANALYSIS OF ORGANIC POLLUTANTS Analysis of PCBs Analysis of PAH MICROBIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS Heterotrophic Counts (HPC) Total coliform and fecal coliform test Presumptive test Confirmation test Complete test Identification of water/soil bacteria RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Major Ionic Composition Wastewater Soil

PAH-Wastewater PAH-Soil Chlorinated Benzenes - Wastewater - Soil MICROBIOLOGY CONCLUSIONS REFERENCES

1 3 6 9 12 13 14 14 15 16 16 17 17 18 19 19 20 20 20 21 21 21 22 22 22

23 26 29 29 31 35 41 42


LIST OF TABLES The number of GCMs agreeing in the direction of change

8

Selected ion monitoring (SIM) program for 13 PAH and LoQ*.

18

Major ionic composition of treated wastewater of the investigation area

22

PAH in wastewater samples (g L-1) for wastewater samples stations

25

Concentration (ng/kg) of PAH in soil profile (A: 0-15 cm, B: 15-30 cm)

28

along the sampling stations (S1=WWTP,S2=High altitude,S3= Middle altitude and S4= Low altitude) Concentration (ng/L) of chlorinated hydrocarbons in wastewater

30

along sampling sites. PCBz concentration in soil samples at two depths from the investigation site

33

Isolated bacterial strains from water samples along the investigated area 36 Bacterial count (CFU/ml) in water samples

37

Bacterial count (CFU/ml) in soil samples. A: 0-15 cm, B: 15-30 cm

38

Isolated bacterial strains from soil samples along the study area

39

Three tube most probable number of water and soil samples from

40

the study area


LIST OF FIGURES General topography map of Jordan showing its major cities

4

Main annual rainfall in Jordan

5

Location map

15

Electrical conductivity of soil collected from different altitudes along the eastern flank of Wadi Al-Karak

23

PAH in wastewater samples (ng L-1) for wastewater samples stations

25

Sum of PAHs in soil profile (A:0-15 cm, B:15-30 cm)

27

Individual PAH distribution in soil along sampling sites (S1-S4) at two

29

depths (A: 0-15 cm, B:15-30 cm). Poly Chlorinated Benzenes PCBs in in ng/L for wastewater samples

31

PCBz and HCBz concentrations in soil collected from different altitudes

32

of the investigation site PCBz, HCBz and PCBs concentrations in Top Soil (A) and in lower soil (B) 34 Frequency of isolated bacterial genera from all stations in the study area.


37

INTRODUCTION The Kingdom of Jordan has faced the problem of water scarcity for many years, and reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture is necessary to overcome this problem. The volume of treated wastewater produced in 2005 reached 82 MCM per year, of which about 95% is reused for irrigation (Haddadin 2005). The reuse of treated wastewater in Jordan reached one of the highest levels in the world that about 80% of the treated effluent is discharged to Zarqa River from Kherbit As Samra where it is collected and stored downstream in King Talal Dam to be used for restricted irrigation in the central part of the Jordan Valley. The remaining 20% which is not located within the Zarqa river watershed is reused on-site. The treatment and reuse of this vital resource is well organized. Future plans aim at improving the quality of effluent and expanding its reuse in other areas in the upland. Shatanawi, et al. (1994) indicated that, the initially high coliform population in wastewater decreased at first and after chlorination but increased again at irrigated site. Soil EC, was increased at surface soil 0-20 cm depth by using treated wastewater irrigation. In general the trace and heavy metals were increased in soil at different depths by the irrigation by treated wastewater. Meteorological observation over the last few decades showed that throughout most of the Mediterranean there have been an increase in the frequency of high rainfall intensity and a decrease in the mean annual rainfall (Haim et al. 2001). Jordan suffers from water shortages due to low amount of annual rainfall and high evaporation rate as it is located in a semi arid region. More than 60% of its water resources are being used for agriculture, where treated wastewater is an important portion of this source especially during summer seasons where an increase demand on water exists. Three climatic models can be found on the eastern flank of the Jordan valleys. They range from Mediterranean climatic conditions on the upper mountainous part (rain fall around 400mm/year) to arid environments in Jordan valley ( 1 x Pseudomonas aeruginosa 108 Brevundimonas diminuta 1 x 107 Neisseria elongata 5 34 x 10 Agrobactrium radiobacter 24 x 105 Acinitobacter caloaceticus Aeromonas hydrophila Aeromonas caviae 5 11 x 10 Shigella sp. 1 x 105 Burkholderia capacia 5 1 x 10 Alcaligenes faecalis 1 x 105 Kyotococcus sedentarium 5 1 x 10 Brevibacterium casei Streptococcus sp. Bacillus sp. 5 3 x 10 Station 3B: 2 x 105 5 2 x 10 Acinitobacter caloaceticus 2 x 105 Corynebacterium jeikrium 5 1 x 10 Corynebacterium minutissimum 14 x 105 Brevibacterium casei 8 x 105 Streptococcus sp. 2 x 105 Bacillus sp. 16 x 106 24 x 106 Station 4A: 17 x 104 Flavobacterium sp. Shigella sp Leifsonia aquatica 4 1 x 10 Bacillus sp. 1 x 104 10 x 104 Station 4B: 4 x 104 Flavobacterium sp. Pseudomonas stutzeri Pseudomonas fluorescens Brevundimonas vesicularis Hafnia alvei Bacillus sp.

Station 1B: Acinitobacter caloaceticus Alcaligenes faecalis Alcaligenes xylosoxidans Aeromonas hydrophila Klibsiella oxytoca Station 2A: Pseudomonas aeruginosa Shewanella putrifaniens Kingella denitrificans Pseudomonas fluorescens Pseudomonas mendocina Moraxella nonliquefaciens Agrobactrium radiobacter Acinitobacter caloaceticus Enterobacter cancerogenus Brevibacterium casei Bacillus sp. Station 2B: Pseudomonas mendocina Sphingomonas paucimobilis Yersinia enterocolitica Bacillus sp.

Cell count/ ml 5 x 105 3 x 105 2 x 105 2 x 105 53 x 105 3 x 105 2 x 105 5 x 105 1 x 106 2 x 105 1 x 105 1 x 106 20 x 105 21 x 105 14 x 104 1 x 104 5 x 104 16 x 104 8 x 104 2 x 104 42 x 104 2 x 104 6 x 104 6 x 105 59 x 104 3 x 104 1 x 104 2 x 104 14 x 104 2 x 104


As reclaimed water is used frequently in irrigation along the sampling area, groups of bacteria that are primarily enteric bacteria and not naturally occurring in aquatic systems are expected within the heterotrophs. Therefore, determination of total coliform and fecal coliform was performed (Tables. 12) as indicator on water quality. Coliforms are a specific group of bacteria that are normal inhabitants of the gastrointestinal tract of animals and found in the environment. Although most coliforms may not cause disease, their presence often indicates the presence of feces from humans and other warm-blooded animals. The thermo tolerant coliforms are referred to as fecal coliforms; however, some coliforms (Klebsiella, Citrobacter, Enterobacter) are associated with industrial effluents, decaying plant material or soil may also grow at elevated temperatures. Table. 12. Three tube most probable number of water and soil samples from the study area Sample site

MPN index/100ml

W0 W1 W2 W3 S1A S1B S2A S2B S3A S3B S4A S4B

TC > 24 > 24 > 24 > 24 1.1 0.23 0.93 0.036 1 0.091 0.11 0.036

FC 0.29 0.46 0.43 0.53 0.93 24000 11000 2300 9300 360 10000 910 1100 360

bacterial FC 290 460 430 530 9300 0-299 2300 0 2300 0 360 0

The number of bacteria per 100 ml of sample is estimated by using of probability tables by the multiple fermentation tube technique. The method has two test stages: The Presumptive Test, and the Confirmed Test. The presumptive tests are designed to grow the target bacteria. The media used in Assessment of treated wastewater Quality under different climate change Scenarios in Jordan

the confirmed tests are designed to validate the growth of target bacteria in the presumptive test. It's noticed that the index of coliform number was high reflecting the nature of water used in irrigation, but most of these coliforms are not fecal in origin. Although coliforms may be encountered in environmental samples but there number is decreased in soil due to competition with other soil bacterial strains. Therefore, the number of total and fecal coliforms in soil samples does not reflect the real case of these strains. But the decrease in their number with depth indicates the effect of aeration and soil moisture on the growth and survival of this type of microorganisms. Certain heterotrophic bacteria are considered opportunistic pathogens, include Pseudomonas, Klebisella, and Aeromonas. Klebsiella occurs widely in nature and is often present in surface water used for human consumption or for recreational purposes. The organism can survive in water distribution systems despite chlorination. Many strains give rise to positive fecal coliform tests, even when they are the only organisms present in the water sample (Allen et al., 2004). The public health significance of Klebsiella in water is therefore an important concern. The genus Psuedomonas is also routinely enumerated in HPC determinations and considered by some to be an opportunistic pathogen. CONCLUSIONS Referring to the above discussion the followings can be concluded 

There is slight impact of climate change on wastewater quality in terms of major ionic composition and soil in terms of soil salinity.



For organic pollutants,



There is an increase in microbial biodiversity with increase in warming temperature, although there is a decrease in microbial number with decreasing in altitude along sampling sites.



Climate conditions along sampling stations represented by different sampling site elevations had limited effect on PAH concentrations.




Higher concentration level of PAH was located at the lower elevation along the sampling sites than at higher elevations indicating that warmer climatic conditions would result in increasing PAHs with high molecular weight.



Climate change increases the planet's vulnerability to persistent organic pollutants, by increasing emissions and the bio-availability of POPs, and thus the potential for bio-magnification through the food chain, one of the chief pathways of human exposure to POPs.



Higher concentration of PAH were found along sampling sites in the lower soil profile (15-30 cm) than in the upper profile (0-15) which was attributed to volatilization and photodegradation of PAH at the surface soil that lead also to the domination of HMW compounds rather than the LMW compounds.



No clear effect of climate change on soil and water quality in terms of PCBs



Prevalence of fecal colifrom in collection sites indicating the source of irrigating water used with dominance of thermotolerant coliforms (Klebsiella, Citrobacter, Enterobacter) are associated with industrial effluents, decaying plant material or soil may also grow at elevated temperatures.



High frequency of isolated bacterial strains (i.e thermotolerant species of Acinitobacter, citrobacter, enterobacter, pseudomonas) from the soil surface indicating the influence of low water availability due to evaporation and warming on their growth.

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