NATIONAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

1. «Existing situation, plans and policies for the wastewater reuse in agriculture in Cyprus, Jordan and Palestine»KONSTANTINOS MOUSTAKASNTUA PhD Candidate NATIONAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING Unit of Environmental Science and Technology Protection and Restoration of the Environment VII Myconos, 1/7/2004

2. INTRODUCTION Mediterranean Sea • Total population: 285 million in 1970, 427 million in 2000, 523.5 million in 2025 • Average rate of urbanisation: 64.3% at present, 72.4 in 2025 • 104.5 million additional urban dwellers (mainly in southern and eastern countries) • intensive demographic, social, cultural, economic and environmental changes • frequent years of drought, constant increase of water demand for the civil sector

3. Water Resources Available and Demand MCM: million cubic meters

4. Water Profile of Cyprus • Largest island in Eastern Mediterranean (9,251km2) • The information refer to the area of 5806km2 • Population: 689.565, annual growth: 1.45% • Agriculture accounts for 3.7% of the GDP • Domestic, industrial and commercial water consumption: 67 MCM per year • Irrigation water: 175 MCM per year • 25 main UWTPs in operation serving big cities, municipalities and rural communities • 175 smaller catering for hotels, military bases, hospitals • Treated WW produced: 20 MCM/yr at present, 30MCM/yr in 2012

5. Water Profile of Cyprus Problems: • The high water demand exists during summer, water storage and disposal difficult during winter • no systematic monitoring of the water use • disposal of treated water at the smaller UWTPs problematic, since farmers are unwilling to irrigate their cultivations with recycled water

6. Cypriot Competent Authorities • Water Development Department: responsible for the implementation of the water policy, the tertiary WW treatment, allocation and distribution of the treated WW to agriculture • Department of Agriculture: responsible for the education of farmers in matters related to agricultural production, including the use of treated WW • Sewerage Boards: public sector organizations, responsible for the operation and maintenance of the treatment plants, treat WW up to secondary level, under the Ministry of Interior • Plans for reorganization of the institutional set-ups of the water sector through the establishment of a water entity

7. Water Profile of Jordan • Total area of 89,210 km2, east of Jordan River • Total population: 5 million (growth: 3.45%/yr) • 29% of the population is rural • Over 90% of Jordan receives less than 200mm of rainfall/yr • Agriculture accounts for 2% of the GDP • The level of Dead Sea falls 85cm each year • Irrigated soils along the Jordan valley show signs of salinization • Total reused treated WW: 50MCM in the 90s, 73MCM in 2000 and 237 in 2020

8. JORDAN COMPETENT AUTHORITIES • Ministry of Health • Water Authority of Jordan • Ministry of Environment • Ministry of Agriculture • National Center of Agricultural Research and Technology Transfer • Ministry of Industry • Jordan Institution of Standards and Metrology

9. WATER PROFILE OF PALESTINE • Population: 3,549,524 in 2002 (64% in the West Bank and 36% in Gaza Strip), 4,938,000 in 2010 • critical situation of the sewerage system • large scale discharge of untreated WW • leaking of collected WW from sewer systems and cesspits • uncontrolled reuse of untreated WW by irrigation sector • Total annual WW production: 30MCM • Strond need for promotion of sustainable practices for the protection of environment and public health

10. COMPETENT AUTHORITIES OF PALESTINE • Palestinian Water Authority • Ministry of Planning • Environmental Quality Authority • Ministry of Agriculture • Ministry of Local Government • The Municipalities and the Village Councils • Ministry of Health • Coastal Municipal Water Utility

11. Treated Urban Wastewater Produced and Reused

12. PLANS AND POLICIES IN CYPRUS • Not a Drop of Water to the Sea • Construction of seawater desalination plants • Change of the cropping pattern to less demanding crops • Efficient use of available water including the better use of pricing and water conservation measures and the preservation of the water quality

13. Cyprus guidelines for domestic treated effluent use for irrigation

14. PLANS AND POLICIES IN CYPRUS The new water policy should include the following specific measures: • Secure additional sources of supply • Ensure efficient use of available water • Modify the current irrigation water allocation matrix • Build up strategic water reserves • Maintain and enhance the quality of the water • Introduce new effective/efficient management procedures through the establishment of a Water Entity

15. PLANS AND POLICIES IN JORDAN • Support the farmers to improve on-farm water management, especially to deal with water quality issues. • Enhance management of information and make it available to farmers. Regular monitoring and reporting of soil and crop health needs to be introduced • Control secondary faecal contamination sources in the basin • Enhance the Jordanian standards and guidelines for water reuse • Control hazardous discharges to sewers and wadis more vigorously

16. PLANS AND POLICIES IN PALESTINE The highest priority in the Environmental Strategy Plan is given to setting up an effective WW management system. This includes: • Maximization of WW collection • Upgrading the existing WW collection systems • Rehabilitation or upgrading of existing WW treatment plants or the construction of new treatment plants • Establishment of proper standards for influent and effluent WW quality • Establishment of a system in which the cost of investment and operation of the WW management systems are recovered.

17. Standards for WW reuse for restricted irrigation

18. CONCLUSIONS • WW is used alone or mixed with fresh water, mostly on forage and cereals, but also on fruit trees and even vegetables. Concern for human health and the environment are the most important constraints in the WW reuse. • In several cases WW is not properly treated. • Many alternative solutions have been developed with the scientific and technological progress. However, the selection of the appropriate treatment technique, tailored to the needs of each community, means the involvement of specialists. • The outflow of the WW treatment systems does not always have a standard quality. • A serious problem that can create significant obstacles in the safe reuse of the treated WW in agriculture is the lack of information to all the involved actors.

19. CONCLUSIONS The first step towards the improvement of lack of water is the recognition that water is a limited resource. The governments must plan and promote projects that involve non-conventional water resources. There is certain concern among population about safety and quality of treated water. To achieve public acceptance, it is necessary to inform and educate them about the goodness and advantage of using reclaim water. The transfer of knowledge, experience and know-how in the Med countries will be mostly valuable. More work has to be carried out. Effective technologies and safe practices must be promoted and education and awareness campaigns must be launched.

20. Thank you for your attention