Wastewater Reuse in Middle East Countries

© by PSP

Volume 25 – No. 5/ 2016, pages 1284-1304

Fresenius Environmental Bulletin

WASTEWATER REUSE IN MIDDLE EAST COUNTRIES – A REVIEW OF PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES Müfit Bahadir1, Mehmet Emin Aydin2, Senar Aydin2, Fatma Beduk2*, Mufeed Batarseh3 1

Technische Universitaet Braunschweig, Institute of Environmental and Sustainable Chemistry, Hagenring 30, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany 2 Necmettin Erbakan University, Department of Environmental Engineering, 42060 Konya, Turkey 3 Abu Dhabi Polytechnic, Abu Dhabi, UAE. PO Box 111499 and Mutah University, P.O. Box 7, 61710 Karak, Jordan

ABSTRACT

sources of drinking water, some 2.5 billion people do not use sanitation facility, and among them, 1 billion still practice open defecation [2]. Additionally, due to the urbanization and industrialization of former rural areas, the demand for water resources has grown and water becomes increasingly polluted. Consequently, there is less and less water available for other purposes, such as potable water, fish farming, or irrigation. Wastewater reuse appears to be an available source for irrigation purposes and being practiced in several parts of the world [3]. Water is undeniably at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Building and sharing a global vision on wastewater is necessary to improve the effectiveness of national policies and to avoid riparian countries adopting inconsistent measures. Water scarcity is one of the main challenges for water managers in the Middle East Countries, where agriculture and domestic needs are the two main water consuming sectors. The most sustainable measure in combating water scarcity is reducing the amount of unnecessary water usage. The problem of excessive water losses from drinking water distribution networks is common in many countries of the Middle East, where annual water losses make up to more than 50% of total water supply [4]. In addition, almost 70% of the total available water in these countries is allocated to agricultural purposes, where water losses due to inadequate irrigation techniques are also significant [5]. Climate change and population growth will make the water allocation under the water demanding sectors more difficult in the near future. Reducing and controlling water losses by better management is becoming more crucial as demand increases in the region. The utilization scenarios that exist are manifold, and so are the academic disciplines, which have to cooperate to reach the Millenium Development Goals (MDG) 7 and the SDG on Sustainable Water Management. The focus of the cooperation in the research and development sector is on avoiding the over exploitation of resources, reducing the contamination of water reserves, and using concepts tailored to the needs of the related regions. In order to implement these concepts in the

The Middle East Region is one of the driest regions in the world. Water shortage in most of the region has led to wastewater reuse practices. While this source includes valuable nutrients essential for plants, it also contains various environmental contaminants, which can threat both human health and agricultural sustainability. Uncontrolled applications for long term result in soil deterioration, contaminated agricultural products, and sanitary problems. In many Middle East Countries, wastewater treatment plants are lacking. Domestic wastewaters are sometimes contaminated with uncontrolled industrial discharges. Wastewater quality and soil safety for wastewater application are often neglected. For sustainable use of wastewater in the region, there is a serious need for regulations, monitoring of wastewater, soil and product quality, and public awareness about possible adverse effects of untreated wastewater. In this review, the authors aimed to give an overview about the state-of-the-art of wastewater reuse in particular for irrigation purposes in Turkey and the Arab Countries in the Middle East. The different origins of wastewater discharge that are manifold in the Middle East Region, e.g. domestic, touristic, industrial, and agricultural drainage, pollutants identified in the wastewater, and R&D efforts made for a pollution inventory, removal of pollutants through wastewater treatment before use, and the fate and behaviour of the residual pollutants in agro-ecosystems during irrigation with wastewater are reported. KEYWORDS: Irrigation, Middle East Countries, wastewater reuse, water scarcity.

INTRODUCTION Although 70% of earth’s surface is covered by water, the water reserves useable for mankind are vanishingly small [1]. It is reported that more than 700 million people have no access to improved

1284

© by PSP

Volume 25 – No. 5/ 2016, pages 1284-1304

said regions, and to increase the acceptance of measures taken within the respective cultural groups, socio-economic training concepts and tools have also to be developed. In addition to the interdisciplinary and technological partners, it is essential to involve regional stakeholders in research and development projects in order to guarantee the necessary acceptance for the developed training opportunities and research results obtained [6]. The purpose of this work was to state water stress in Middle East Countries and to highlight progresses about wastewater reuse applications as a partial solution for water scarcity in the region. For this purpose, water supply of some Middle East Region countries Turkey, Egypt and Jordan are given, recent developments about wastewater treatment in these countries presented, and wastewater reuse applications are exemplified. Persistent and emerging pollutants in wastewater are emphasized and cost-effective technologies of wastewater treatment reviewed. It was aimed to give an overview on prospects and challenges for wastewater reuse that become more and more common in Middle East Countries.


wastewater in different Middle East Countries: as for Turkey (2010) 3.6 billion m3, for Egypt (2012) 7.1 billion m3, and for Jordan (2002) 0.18 billion m3 [8]. Annual water amounts in some Middle East countries are given in Table 1. The threshold value of 1000 m3/capita/year is often used as an indication of scarcity.

TABLE 1 Annual water amounts in some Middle East countries Country Turkey Egypt Jordan Iran Saudi Arabia

Annual Water Amount (m3/per capita) 1600 860 145 1288

Source Year 2005 2000 2008 2007

959

2007

Reference [9] [11] [13] [17] [17]

Turkey is one of the water poor countries in the Middle East Region. Available annual water amount per capita was 1,600 m3 in 2005, while it is estimated to decrease to 1,300 m3 in 2023 [9]. 75% of water resources in Turkey are used for agricultural irrigation. Treated wastewater in Turkey is discharged to surface water sources and being used illegally by farmers for irrigation purposes as a solution for water shortage. The total annual water consumed in Egypt is 68 km3, of which 86% is used for agricultural irrigation. 95% of the water derives from the River Nile [10]. Due to arid conditions, Egypt depends on irrigated agriculture that poses the highest pressure on the water resources system. The per capita share of available water resources in 2000 was 860 m3 and is expected to decrease to 720 m3 by the year 2017. Population growth has an important contribution on potential water shortage [11]. To overcome this shortage, part of the agricultural drainage is reused, besides shallow groundwater and non-conventional water resources. A dramatic decrease of surface areas of some lakes in Egypt demonstrates the emergent situation in the region. For instance Lake Manzala: It is located in Northern Egypt and intersected by the Suez Canal. The lake’s surface area was 89,000 ha by the year 1985. As result of water abstraction for irrigation, the lake lost approximately 80% of its former space. Besides many other lakes, Edko Lake is also reduced to less than the half of its original size, and the boundary of the lake suffers from eutrophication [12]. Jordan is the fourth water poorest country on the earth. The average annual water supply per capita decreased from 3,600 m3 in 1946 to less than 145 m3 in 2008, and is estimated to become 90 m3

Depletion of Water Sources in the Middle East Region. Middle East Region suffers from water scarcity due to increasing demand for water and adverse effects of climate change. This situation leads to ground water depletion through excessive exploitation, salt water intrusion into aquifers of coastal regions, and decreasing surface area of water resources. Most of Middle East Countries are characterized through arid to semiarid climate conditions. The region ran out renewable fresh water resources decades ago and is looking for alternative non-conventional water resources in order to meet the dramatic increase of fresh water demand mainly for agricultural and domestic uses. The Middle East and North African Countries (MENA) have 6% of global population but just 1% of fresh water resources on earth. Wastewater reuse for irrigation purposes is considered as a partial solution of water scarcity. Wastewater is a source of plant nutrients and organic matter. But, it is also a potential source of environmental pollutants if not properly treated. Continuous application of wastewater results in soil salinization, alkalinisation/acidification, accumulation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and structural deterioration that reduce soil fertility on the long run. Based on human consumption of fresh water in water stress countries such as in the MENA Region, the estimated amount of wastewater produced per capita ranged from 30 to 90 m3 annually [7]. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, 2015) reported the following amounts of annually produced municipal

1285

© by PSP

Volume 25 – No. 5/ 2016, pages 1284-1304

in 2025 [13] (Water Strategy of Jordan 2008-2022). In the UN World Water Development Report (2003), Jordan was classified as facing an extreme situation of water scarcity [14]. There is an over exploitation of groundwater, and salt water intrusions occur in deeper aquifers. Groundwater recharge is being practiced in some regions in order to sustain the future of water resources. The global water demand on fresh water resources is increasing and wastewater is gaining more attention in water scarce countries for meeting the demand as non-conventional water resources to be used mainly for irrigation in agriculture and groundwater recharge. For example, Jordan’s water consumption in 2007 made up 941 million m3, of which 64% was consumed by agriculture, 31% domestic, 4% industrial, and 1% by others [15]. Wastewater is currently treated in 23 wastewater treatment plants throughout the country, with a total influent amount of 112 and effluent of 86.5 million m3/yr. One fourth of wastewater is lost during the treatment process [15]. Furthermore, the predicted amount of treated wastewater in Jordan for 2020 is estimated to 250 million m3/yr. This predicted amount might be used for compensation of about 30-40% of future water demand in the agricultural sector. Other countries in the region also have similar situations. Limited water supply in Iran enforces the use of treated wastewater, especially for irrigation purposes. Iran faces with a dramatic water crisis after 30 years long severe drought along with high population growth [16]. Available annual water amount per capita was 1,288 m3 in 2002 [17]. Providing quality criteria is a major issue for sustainable use of treated wastewater. Baghapour et al. [18] reported that three physicalchemical parameters (TDS, EC, and NO3) and three microbial parameters (fecal coliform, helminthes egg, and total coliform) had negative effect on secure reuse of Shiraz wastewater. Severe Cr pollution (maximum values of 1,364 mg/kg) in suburbs of Tabriz is attributed to long term wastewater irrigation [19]. Saudi Arabia has no rivers or lakes, and the country dependents mainly on the desalination plants, located at the Red Sea, and groundwater resources to meet water demands. There are reservations versus the reuse of effluents from conventional wastewater treatment plants due to potential microbiological contamination and emerging trace elements accumulation [20, 21].


water protection measures are given below over the examples of Turkey, Egypt and Jordan. No single regulative criterion is established in these countries, similar to other regions [22]. Jordan is a pioneer for wastewater reuse in the region. Egypt and Jordan have policies to increase the percentage of wastewater reuse for irrigation purposes. However in Turkey, there is a serious public defense versus wastewater reuse that obstructs politicians to state wastewater reuse as a policy target for water management. Regulations in Turkey for wastewater irrigation include pathogenic safety and boron ingredient. Wastewater irrigation of edible agricultural products is possible after secondary treatment and disinfection with chlorine. Filtration is needed for irrigation of not cooked vegetables. Wastewater irrigation is limited according to boron tolerance of the plant. There is no guideline in Egypt for wastewater reuse yet, but since 1984 martial law prohibits the use of wastewater unless it meets regulated limits. Reuse of treated wastewater is not permitted for edible foods, and there is a restricted reuse of treated wastewater for non-food crops. The irrigation and drainage law (12/1984) regulates water rights and ownerships to provide equity among users. The law also gives sectoral priorities, beneficial and harmful use of water, groundwater use, financial and economic aspects of water resources. Jordan has guidelines and regulations for wastewater treatment before reuse. The first law regarding the operation of municipal sewer systems in Jordan was established in 1955, and the original public health standards first enacted in 1971. Moreover, standards for wastewater treatment and reuse date back to 1982, as a martial law. A more liberal form of this regulation was enforced in 1989 [23, 24]. These regulations were subjected to intensive revision and the most updated are the Jordanian standard number JS 893/ 2006 for treated domestic wastewater. Similar to Turkey, Jordan standards have categorized the quality of the treated wastewater into three classes A, B and C based on physical, chemical and biological properties. Additionally, its uses were limited for cooked vegetables, fruits and forestry trees, industrial and fodder crops, and cut flowers. Turkish and Jordanian irrigation standards for treated domestic wastewater is given in Table 2. Turkey is a good example for constructing higher number of WWTP when compared with other Middle East countries. By the year 2012, 72% of municipal population in Turkey took up wastewater treatment services. Giving this service to 85% of municipal population is planned until the end of 2017. Strategic measures are taken for sustainable management and usage of water resources in the country, such as legal and institutional arrangements, development of technical and economic instruments, and protecting

Water Protection Measures and Regulations. For restoration of water resources in the region, various measures are taken, including erection of conventional Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP) and establishing regulations and guidelines. Proper treatment of wastewater is critical before its reuse. Present situation about

1286

© by PSP

Volume 25 – No. 5/ 2016, pages 1284-1304

and improving the quality of water bodies. There are action plans for restoration of various basins in the country [9]. Istanbul is an important megacity in Turkey. It is the only city in the world that the ocean goes through. There are 25 discharge outlets of wastewater into the Marmara Sea comprising 15 deep sea and 10 sea discharges. 52 WWTPs serve for surface water protection and biodiversity. Most of these plants include biological treatment processes. Total treated wastewater amount is about 1.1 billion m3/yr. There are a number of monitoring stations in Marmara Sea, Black Sea, Bosporus, and the coastline. Besides, real-time remote monitoring systems are installed to WWTP outlets that help online monitoring of some parameters such as flow rate, pH, temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), and dissolved oxygen. Excess sludge of biological and advanced biological WWTP are dried to over 90% and reutilized in cement plants as fuel. Konya Closed Basin is one of the important basins in Turkey. There is an intense agricultural activity with a high water demand. Konya’s WWTP was designed for 1 million person equivalent and 200,000 m3/d and constructed in 2010. It was designed for organic carbon and partial nitrogen (N) removal, including activated sludge basins working by the Bardenpho process. Inlet parameters for Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD),


Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Suspended Solids (SS), and Total Nitrogen (TN) are in average 436 mg/L, 904 mg/L, 467 mg/L and 93 mg/L, respectively, while they decrease in the outlet to 38 mg/L for BOD and SS, 100 mg/L for COD, and 63 mg/L for TN. These parameters do not meet the Turkish quality standards for the reuse of treated wastewater in urban areas for irrigation of parks, landscaping areas, refuge, etc., as well as vegetables eaten raw. Therefore, a wastewater reuse system was constructed including tertiary treatment process (flocculation, UV treatment, and chlorination) for making use of the treated wastewater in Konya urban landscapes. Reuse of wastewater in the city has been developed for a capacity of 3,600 m3/d. “Treated Wastewater Irrigation Network” of Konya is the first application in the entire country. Since 1975, the reuse of drainage water has been adopted as an official policy in Egyptian water resources management practice. In 1983, the Drainage Research Institute (DRI) started the implementation of the Reuse of Drainage Water Project (RDWP). Through the course of RDWP, a monitoring network was estab¬lished consisting of 100 sites for monitoring the flow and salinity of water in the main drains [31]. Water samples are collected monthly and analyzed for the major ions, total dissolved salts, and sodium adsorption ratio.

TABLE 2 Turkish and Jordanian irrigation standards for treated domestic wastewater Country

Parameter

Jordan (Jordanian Standard 893/ 2006) BOD5 (mg/L) COD (mg/L) DO TDS (mg/L) TSS (mg/L) pH Turbidity (NTU) NO3-N (mg/L) Total-N (mg/L) E.Coli (cfu/100 mL) Intestinal Helminths eggs Turkey (Turkish Standard 25687/2004) BOD5 (mg/L) TSS (mg/L) pH Fecal Coliform (cfu/100 mL)

Cooked vegetables

Fruit & forestry trees, crops & industrial products

Irrigation of fodder crops

Irrigation of cut flower

30 100 >2 1500 50 6.0-9.0 10 30 45 100 ≤1

200 500 1500 200 6.0-9.0 45 70 1000 ≤1

300 500 1500 300 6.0-9.0 70 100 ≤1

15 50 >2 1500 15 6.0-9.0 5 45 70