1.
The GrowingTrend
of Sustainable
Wastewater
Treatment in the
Arab Region
An Unexploited Opportunity for
Agricultural Use
DFK for Safe Food Environment
Auditing | Consultancy |Training
www.dfkfoodsafety.com
Dima Faour-Klingbeil, Ph.D.
Research Fellow | University of Plymouth
Principal Consultant | DFK for Safe Food Environment
IAFP 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting, 26-28 October 2020

2.
The GrowingTrend of SustainableWastewater
Treatment in the Arab Region: An unexploited
opportunity for agricultural use
• Water scarcity in the Arab countries
• Current situations of wastewater treatment in the Arab region
• Wastewater reuse in agriculture: an untapped opportunity
• Associated health risks and considerations for treatedWW reuse in
agriculture
2 Dima Faour-Klingbeil IAFP 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting, 26-28 October 2020

3.
https://blogs.worldbank.org/arabvoices/numbers-facts-about-water-crisis-arab-world

4.
WATER SCARCITY:
A GROWING
PROBLEM
• Urbanization
• Population growth
• Economic development
• Unsustainable water use
• Climate change
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Frequent droughts, in
conjunction with an
overuse of groundwater
and major aquifers, have
greatly reduced the
availability of both
renewable and non-
renewable water
resources
(World Bank, 2009).

5.
COUNTRIES AT GREATEST RISK OFWATER SHORTAGE
5 Source: WRI.org

6.
AGRICULTURE,THE BIGGEST USER FOR
WATER
❑ Irrigation water use is about 80% out of
the total water use in the region
❑ Non-conventional water resources,
i.e. reuse of treated wastewater
❑ Recycling 50% of domestic water
supplies in the GCC countries could
satisfy more than 14% of the agricultural
sector demands
6 UNDP (2013)

7.
ANNUAL ESTIMATED VOLUMES OFWASTEWATER
PRODUCTION INTHE ARAB REGION
❑The total discharged
untreated volumes
constitute half of the
total wastewater
produced in the region
❑Very limited reuse of
treated wastewater in
agriculture sector
❑Widespread haphazard
reuse of inadequately
treated WW in irrigation
7 UNDP (2013); Choukr-Allah (2011); Dawoud. A (2017)

8.
Morocco
• Current water demand: 14 billion m3
• Agriculture: 87%
• Wastewater reuse: unknown
• As most major cities are along the costal line, most WWT effluent is discharged into the sea.
Reuse potential is high but not tapped.
Lebanon
• Current water demand: 1530 Mm3
• Agriculture: 58%
• WW reuse: negligible. Unknown amount of raw wastewater is reused in the Beqaa valley
• Ca. 80 % of the wastewater (treated and untreated) is drained into the sea.
Jordan
• Current demand: 1512 Mm3
• Agriculture: 64 %
• 90 % of the effluent is reused in agriculture. Mainly in the JordanValley after mixing with
rainwater in the KingTalal Dam
8 ACWUA – Wastewater Reuse in Arab Countries (2010)
WW REUSE: AN UNTAPPED OPPORTUNITY

9.
Egypt
• Current demand: 69.4 billion m3
• Agriculture: 82 %
• In the Nile Delta, all wastewater is reused, both as treated and untreated wastewater is drained
into canals or the river Nile and again used further downstream.
Syria
• Current demand: 17.7 billion m3
• Agriculture: 88 % of total demand in agriculture,
• Estimated 90 % ofWW (treated and untreated) is reused in agriculture (only 183 Mm3)
Tunisia
• Current water demand: 2 660 Mm3
• Agriculture 80%
• Wastewater reuse: 57 Mm3 (23 %), 22 Mm3 reused in agriculture
Yemen
• Current water demand: 6.6 billion m3/ year
• Agriculture: 88%
• Only 25% of pop. Connected to sewer system
9 ACWUA – Wastewater Reuse in Arab Countries (2010)

10.
Photo credit: Dima Faour-Klingbeil
Direct use of sewage effluent directed from drain to river canals and
fields in Bekaa valley, Lebanon (Faour-Klingbeil et al., 2016)
UNTREATED SEWAGE AS AN
ALTERNATIVE
Under conditions of water scarcity
and weak enforcement,
wastewater irrigation may expand
as an unplanned activity

11.
WASTEWATER
A SOURCE OF HARMFUL CONTAMINANTS
Sewage effluents contain a high concentration of bacteria and
other pathogens (viruses, protozoans, and helminthic
pathogens), inorganic and toxic elements
• Campylobacter 2-5 logCFU/l
• Rotavirus 2-5 logCFU/l
• Cryptosporidium 0-4 oocysts/l
• Salmonella 3.4 log CFU/100 ml
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12.
CURRENT APPROACHES
12 Dawoud.A (2017). Treated Wastewater Reuse for Food Production in Arab Region. Arab Water Council Journal, Volume 8, No. 1,

13.
CONSTRAINTSTOTREATEDWW REUSE
❑ Overloaded systems and inefficient technologies
❑ Weak enforcement
❑ High cost of control and monitoring
❑ Social/cultural acceptibility
❑ Quality parameters and standards
13 ACWUA Working Group on Wastewater Reuse (2010)
CONT´

14.
Integrated preventive
management framework
• The scope covers:
➢Intentional use of irrigation or
aquaculture with sewage
contaminated surface waters
➢Municipal or domestic wastes
without substantial industrial inputs
WHO’s 2006 guidelines for the safe use of wastewater, excreta and
graywater
APPROPRIATE MITIGATIONS
WHO (2013): Safe Use of Wastewater, Greywater and Excreta
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15.
WHO (2013): Safe Use of Wastewater, Greywater and Excreta
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16.
CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS
❑ No clear strategy for reuse of treated WW
❑ Efficient surveillance of existing WWT plants
❑ Effective preventive approach for risks mitigation
❑The establishment of water reuse guidelines
(WHO 2006 guidelines should be promoted )
❑ Quantitative research on the health risks of
treatedWW reuse in agriculture
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17.
Dima Faour-Klingbeil, Ph.D.
Research Fellow |University of Plymouth
Founder/Principal Consultant | DFK for Safe Food Environment
DFK for Safe Food Environment Auditing| Consultancy| Training Ottweilerstr. 14 A, 30559 Hanover, Germany www.dfkfoodsafety.com
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