This document discusses the growing trend of wastewater treatment and reuse in agriculture in Arab countries. It notes that water scarcity is a major problem in the region due to factors like population growth, urbanization, and climate change. Most countries rely heavily on agriculture but irrigation uses 80% of water resources. The document advocates for greater reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture as an untapped opportunity, but notes this requires addressing health risks and establishing guidelines. Current wastewater treatment is often inadequate and oversight weak, allowing untreated sewage to be used instead. The author calls for more efficient treatment plants, preventative health approaches, and research on risks of treated wastewater reuse in line with WHO guidelines.

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
4
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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