Egypt: new study analyzes options for rural wastewater treatment

Dumping untreated domestic wastewater, Lower Egypt. Photo: World Bank / University of Leeds

While Egypt has made good progress in urban sanitation, access to wastewater treatment in rural areas lags far behind, a recent study [1] showed.

The study analysed the cost-effectiveness of a range of wastewater treatment options in terms of the relative health benefits these are likely to generate for downstream farmers and consumers.

The study, conducted by the University of Leeds, UK, in partnership with the World Bank and the Holding Company for Water and Waste Water, discussed the benefits of differing strategies for wastewater management in Lower Egypt using Quantitative Microbial Risk Analysis (QMRA).

Only 18% of rural households had a sewerage connection in 2008, resulting in widespread discharges of untreated domestic wastewater in agricultural channels.

Simple improvements to existing domestic sanitary facilities could have significant benefits at a relatively low cost. The challenge is to work out what investment strategies make the most sense in terms of service delivery to consumers and farmers, health benefits and cost effectiveness.

The World Bank has been supporting Egypt’s reforms in the water supply and sanitation sector and continues to support improved access to sustainable rural sanitation services in Egypt, given its strong linkages to health and environment.

[1] Evans, B. and Iyer, P., 2012. Estimating relative benefits of differing strategies for management of wastewater in Lower Egypt using quantitative microbial risk analysis (QMRA). Washington, DC, World Bank Water Partnership Program, World Bank. viii, 36 p. Download report

See also a 2011 presentation about the study here

Related web sites:

• World Bank Water Partnership Program
• WHO – Wastewater Use
• IWMI – Water Quality, Health and Environment

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Source: Daily News Egypt, 24 Feb 2012

Libya, Tripoli: water supply resumed as rebels regain control of the Great Man-Made River Project

More than a week after the taps had run dry, water supplies to the Libyan capital Tripoli resumed on 6 September [1]. This was two days after the rebels said they had taken control of the Great Man-Made River (GMMR) Project, which provides 6.5 million cubic metres of water a day to the cities of Tripoli, Benghazi, Sirte and elsewhere [2].

Senior officials of the rebels’ interim government earlier accused Gaddafi loyalists of destroying water pumps and attacking water engineers trying to restart pumping stations [2]. Aid agency sources said pro-Gaddafi forces in Sirte had cut off the water supply to Tripoli [1].

A human rights group condemned the bombing by NATO on 22 July 2011 of a pipe factory in Brega, which serviced the water supply system of the GMMR Project. NATO claimed that Gaddafi forces were using the factory as a base for rocket launchers [3].

Palestine, Gaza Strip: human rights groups warn of a severe water crisis (video)

Human rights groups warn that residents face a severe water crisis. An estimated 95% percent of drinking water fails to meet international standards and water and sanitation plants have yet to berebuilt following the 2009 Israeli war. Read the full transcript

Source: FSRN / Real News, 28 Jul 2011

Kuwait: conserving water through pre-paid supply

The Ministry of Electricity and Water’s pre-paid water supply project aims to conserve water and generate state revenues. Acting Minister of Electricity and Water, Salem Al-Othaina, who inaugurated phase one at Jabriya Water Plant, described it as one of the ministry’s “crucial projects”,

Pre-paid water systems are being introduced in four phases at a cost of KD 1.5 million (US$ 5.5 million).
Phase one includes seven water plants, while the following 3 phases will include six plants each.

The pre-paid service will be offered to consumers via cards, that will be readily available at various distribution points across the country.

Source: KUNA, Kuwait Times, 18 Jul 2011

UAE: Students learn good health goes hand in hand with hygiene

The results of the international Dettol HABIT Study (Hygiene: Attitudes, Behaviour, Insight and Traits) were recently presented to health and safety professionals by expert professors from the Global Hygiene Council in Dubai. During the symposium, the Dubai Ministry of Education invited a number of young school students to learn about the importance of hygiene.

Professor Tariq Madani of the King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, held an interactive workshop for the children, which involved a demonstration of the Interactive ‘Glow germ Booth’.

The Dettol HABIT Study was carried out in 12 countries including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the only countries where face-to-face interviews were conducted. The study found that people who have good manners have better personal hygiene and are almost two and a half times more likely to have good health with low levels of colds and diarrhoea.

Palestine, Gaza: US artists raise awareness about water crisis

A delegation of US artists visited Gaza to bring worldwide attention to the water crisis in the besieged territory. The artists came to help the local community paint murals about drinking water a basic human right. The initiative is part of the Water Writes project of the Estria Foundation, which is creating a series of 10 collaborative mural projects in 10 cities across the globe in areas impacted by water rights issues.

The murals in Gaza are being painted at the sites of water treatment units, which have been installed at schools and kindergartens, as part of the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) Maia project, which was launched in September 2009, to provide Palestinian children with clean drinking water. Other organizations involved in the Maia Mural Brigade project are the Break The Silence Mural and Arts Project and the Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural Project.

Water experts say that more than 90% of ground water in Gaza is not suitable for human consumption, adding that Palestinians get only a quarter of the water Israelis have access to. According to the Gaza Coastal Municipal Water Utility, Gaza will not have any fresh groundwater by 2015. Gazans consume more than 170 million liters from an aquifer which is the only source of groundwater in the strip.

The ongoing five year siege of Gaza has meant an increasingly long waiting list of spare parts and building materials. This directly has affected Gaza’s ability to maintain its sanitation and water treatment facilities.

Related web sites:

• Estria Foundation – Water Writes project
• Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) Maia project
• Facebook – Maia Mural Brigade

Source: Yousef al-Helou, Press TV [Iran], 11 Jul 2011

USAID supports MENA Network of Water Centers of Excellence with US$ 1.5 million grant programme

Seventeen water centres from 10 countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) came together in February-March 2011 to create the MENA Network of Water Centers of Excellence (MENA NWC).  The launch of the network took place during a meeting co-sponsored by USAID and the Qatar National Food Security Program (QNFSP) held from 28 February to 2 March 2011 in Doha, Qatar.

The network aims to link technical institutions across the Middle East and North Africa with each other, with counterpart institutions in the United States and elsewhere, with governments, and with the private sector to solve the critical water problems confronting the region.

On 8 May 2011, USAID Egypt launched the US$ 1.5 million MENA Water Grants Program. The focus is on training, applied research and the dissemination of information to transform water policy, management and capabilities within the MENA region. The grants are available for activities lasting 12-24 months up to a maximum of US$ 500,000 per year. The deadline for applications is 15 June 2011.

Web site: MENA NWC – mena-nwc.net

Source: John Wilson, USAID Impact Blog, 10 Mar 2011

Saudi Arabia: wastewater reuse gains importance

As Saudi Arabia faces an increasing demand for water to support its rapid population and economic growth, General Electric (GE) held the Saudi “Used to Useful” Water Reuse Summit in April 2011 to explore water reuse solutions to support water security in the Kingdom and the region.

Saudi Arabia’s advanced treated water reuse capacity is growing at more than 30 percent annually and is expected to reach 2.2 million cubic meters per day by 2016, from a current level of 260,000 cubic meters per day.

Saudi Arabia has mandated a target of 11 percent of its water use to come from treated wastewater, which is suitable for domestic and industrial uses such as landscaping.

On World Water Day 2011, GE released a white paper called “Creating Effective Incentives for Water Reuse and Recycling“.

Source: Saudi Gazette, 06 Apr 2011

Jordan: 300,000 year old Disi aquifer to quench water shortage

Jordan is considering “unconventional” and “environmentally unfriendly” plans to solve its water shortage, experts say. These plans include tapping into the ancient southern Disi aquifer, despite concerns about high levels of radiation, and the controversial Two Seas Canal running from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea.

Disi Water Conveyance Project

The US$ 990 million Disi project (2008-2012) involves extracting 100 million cubic metres of water a year from a 300,000-year-old aquifer and transporting it over 325 km south to the capital Amman. The plan would ensure enough water for Amman for the next 50 years.

However, Disi’s water has 20 times more radiation than is considered safe, according to a 2008 study by Duke University in the USA. The government said the problem can be solved by diluting the water with an equal amount of water from other sources. Jordan University professor Elias Salameh also stated it was not complicated to deal with the radioactivity.

Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME) warned against the threat of overpumping, which could cause problems likes problems like sinkholes. The group also says there were no studies that said for certain how long the aquifer water would last.

Two Seas Canal

The World Bank is conducting a feasibility study on this project, but environmentalists warn that saline water intrusion could damage Dead Sea’s fragile ecosystem.

The degradation of the Dead Sea began in the 1960s when Israel, Jordan and Syria began to divert water from the Jordan River – the Dead Sea’s main supplier.

Over the years 95% of the river’s flow has been diverted by the three neighbours for agricultural and industrial use, with Israel alone diverts more than 60% of it, according to FoEME.

The impact on the Dead Sea has been compounded by a drop in groundwater levels as rainwater from surrounding mountains dissolved salt deposits that had previously plugged access to underground caverns.

Water mismanagement

Water expert and a former Jordan Valley Authority chief Dureid Mahasneh, says that Jordan is suffering from massive water mismanagement due to a lack of a proper strategy. The country cultivates crops with a large water footprint that easily could be imported to save water. Over 60% of Jordan’s annual water consumption of 900 million cubic metres goes to agriculture, which only contributes 3.6% to the gross domestic product. In addition, around 48% of pumped water supplies are lost annually due to worn-out pipes and theft, Mahasneh claimed.

Source: Sapa / Saving Water SA, 06 Apr 2011

The Blue Gold: Water Supply in the Middle East

More so than any other region, countries in the Middle East rely heavily on technology to guarantee their water supply. Elisabeth Fischer profiles some innovative large and small-scale projects in Abu Dhabi and Yemen designed to overcome the severe water problems in the region in water-technology.net (28 March 2011).

The Water Security Risk Index, released by the British risk consultants Maplecroft, at the World Water Day 2011 on 22 March, found that 18 countries around the world are at ‘extreme risk’ of danger to their water security. Of these countries 15 are in the Middle East.

 Several key oil exporters such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Libya and Algeria are worst off, according to the study, and the insecurities surrounding the water supply contribute to heighten political risks in an already volatile region and may even lead to higher oil prices in the future.

“Awareness about water shortages in the Middle East is undoubtedly growing,” says programme officer of the global team at the International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC), in The Hague, the Netherlands, Cor Dietvorst. “Maplecroft’s Water Risk Index identifies the Middle East as exposed to the most overall risk.”

Obviously, the need for innovative solutions to the problem of water supply is there. “Water plays a very important role in the Middle East,” says Dietvorst and quotes International Development Research Centre (IDRC) senior program specialist, Naser I. Faruqui, who wrote in his 2001 book Water management in Islamthat “it seems that in the Quran, the most precious creation after humankind is water.”

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