SWIM Sustain Water MED News - Network of Demonstration Activities for Sustainable Integrated Wastewater Treatment and Reuse in the Mediterranean
The project aims at improving sustainable integrated management of non-conventional water resources, with emphasis on wastewater treatment and reuse in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.
In the months October-December 2013 Sustain Water MED finalized the Baseline studies for the Egyptian and Tunisian pilot projects, each one including a thorough socio-economic, legal, environment and health assessment. The recommendations of these studies were shared and discussed with local stakeholders to agree on next steps. A training of actors from the beneficiary countries on Decentralized Wastewater Management was also organized:
Demonstration activities in Egypt
The Baseline Study of the Egyptian pilot project was finalized and approved in October 2013 by the National Steering Committee. The study outlines socio-economic, legal, health and environmental factors relevant for the implementation of the decentralized wastewater treatment plant in Al Gezayra village (ca. 1000 inhabitants) in the Ismailia Governorate. The results of the study were presented to village representatives during a field visit involving the project’s team from Egypt and Jordan, and they were subsequently consulted on different project steps (construction, maintenance, capacity development measures). After carefully assessing not only villagers' attitudes and readiness towards the pilot but all of the other above factors as well, the study concludes that the best technology to be applied is an anaerobic biogas production-digestion unit accompanied by a polishing step in order to enable the reuse of the effluents for the agricultural production of non-freshly eaten crops. The construction work is foreseen for the 2nd and 3rd quarter of 2014. The study will be available on the project's website shortly.
Demonstration activities in Tunisia
- The Baseline Study of the Tunisian pilot project was finalized and approved by the National Steering Committee in December 2013. After a thorough socio-economic, legal, environmental and health assessment, the study concludes that the pilot project in the area irrigated by the Ouljet El Khodher Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Medenine Governorate should concentrate on strengthening the local water user association, improving the coordination mechanisms of local authorities responsible for wastewater quality monitoring as well as general capacity building through the provision of laboratory equipment and additional sand filter as well as targeted training courses.
- The results of the Baseline Study were presented during a field mission to the pilot's target group (farmers and local authorities responsible for wastewater quality monitoring). The visit enabled a confirmation of the study results as well as a more detailed consultation of the target group regarding the pilot's concrete implementation steps.
Regional activities
- The 2nd Regional Training Course on Decentralized Wastewater Management was held in Amman, Jordan on 3-7 November 2013. The training course was attended by 25 policy-makers and practitioners from Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan and conveyed theoretical and practical know-how on small-scale wastewater treatment plants. The training included lecture-style sessions as well as field visits to the pilot project site near Amman as well as to an already existing demonstration site run by the project's partner, the Balqa Applied University. Trainees evaluated the organization and content of the course with a 90% satisfaction rate. Course material can be downloaded from the project's website by clicking here
- The project's bi-annual Regional Coordination Meeting took place from 5-6 December 2013 in Berlin. During this meeting, consortium partners from Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan as well as Germany and Italy came together to review the pilots' progress and discuss future steps for the following implementation year. 2014 will see the construction of ecosan technologies in the Moroccan pilot project, a decentralized wastewater treatment plant at rural level in Egypt and semi-urban level in Jordan as well as the application of a participatory wastewater quality monitoring system in the pilot project in Tunisia. A further focus in 2014 will lie on the project's integrated Monitoring and Evaluation process, which will see the validation of impact indicators for each pilot as well as monitoring missions on the field throughout different stages of implementation. The meeting's minutes can be downloaded from the project's website by clicking here