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

Middle East: report proposes master plan for water for peace

The Middle East is likely to plunge into a serious humanitarian crisis due to depletion of water resources, unless remedial measures are introduced urgently, says a new report [1]. The Strategic Foresight Group prepared the report, “The Blue Peace”, with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), and input from almost 100 leaders and experts from Israel, the Palestine Territories, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Turkey.

The report assesses the principal challenges linked to the trans-border management of resources. At present a factor of division and tension, water harbours the potential of becoming an instrument of peace and cooperation. This emerges as the report’s central thesis. Subsequently, it compiles a list of ten recommendations, calculated in the short, medium, and long terms, which are aimed to lead to pragmatic solutions.

Arabs to face severe water shortages by 2015

The Arab world is facing severe water shortages as early as 2015, as the annual per capita share will be less than 500 cubic meters. This is below one-tenth of the world’s average, currently estimated at over 6,000 cubic meters of water per capita per year, according to a report [1] released by the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED).

The report [...] warned that without fundamental changes in policies and practices, the situation will get worse, with drastic social, political and economic ramifications. Water supply sources in the Arab world, two-thirds of which originate outside the region, are being stretched to their limits. Thirteen Arab countries are among the world’s nineteen most water-scarce nations, and per capita water availability in eight countries is already below 200 cubic meters annually, less than half the amount designated as severe water scarcity. By 2015, the only countries in the region which will still pass the water scarcity test will be Iraq and Sudan. The Arab region is one of the driest in the world. More than 70% of the land is arid and rainfall is sparse and poorly distributed. Climate change will exacerbate the situation.

Iraq: Drought ‘forces 100,000 from homes’

Not war but drought has forced more than 100,000 people in northern Iraq to abandon their homes since 2005, with 36,000 more on the verge of leaving, says UNESCO.

The four-year drought and excessive well pumping have led to the collapse of an ancient system of underground aqueducts, or karez.

Only 116 of 683 karez systems are operational, according to a titled Survey of Infiltration Karez in Northern Iraq: History and Current Status of Underground Aqueducts. The study says 70 per cent of active karez have dried up. It is the first to research the effects of the droughts on the system of underground aqueducts, concludes that “swift and urgent action is needed to prevent further population displacement”. UNESCO said it considers the plight of the karez system and the migration as an early warning sign for the future of water in the area.

The study provides the Iraqi government with its first inventory of karez, UNESCO said, 84 per cent of which are located in Sulaymaniyah and 13 per cent in Erbil province. A karez can produce enough drinking water for 8640 people and 1440 households, UNESCO said. The technology was developed in ancient Persia.

“Before the onset of the drought, the greatest threats to the karez in Iraq were political turmoil, abandonment and neglect,” a UNESCO statement said. “Today, few people in Iraq know how to maintain or repair them, contributing to their state of disrepair.”

Entire communities have fled because of the lack of water, with populations declining nearly 70 per cent, UNESCO said. It cited as an example the village of Jafaron, where 44 of its 52 karez have gone dry since 2008. The lack of water has left barren 113 hectares of irrigated land.

UNESCO said it has been working with Iraq since 2007 to rehabilitate the karez system. In 2010, it will launch the Karez Initiative for Community Revitalisation, to help Iraqis rebuild the aqueducts.

Source: AAP / Yahoo! 7News, 14 Oct 2009

Palestine: water authority opposes construction of desalination plant

Israel has recently reconfirmed its intention to implement the decision of the Local Israeli Assembly for Organization and Building to give a piece of land from the Hadera area to build a desalination plant for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority. This decision was made based on a recommendation from the American, Israeli and Palestinian Joint Committee on Water. The news was first published by the Israeli media and then republished by Al-Quds on page 2 of its February 8, 2006 issue.

The Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) [...] states that the Palestinian side is unwilling to purchase water at such a high cost from sources that are on the Mediterranean Coast and Jordan River, knowing that this water in fact partially belongs to the Palestinians but is inaccessible for them.

[In addition the PWA states that]:

• The Palestinian side has refused to discuss the issue in tripartite meetings and the issue has not come up in meetings of the American, Israeli and Palestinian Joint Water Committee.
• The Palestinian side refuses to resort to alternative water supplies, such as desalination, before regaining its rights to the water from the aquifers and the River Jordan.
• Israel’s desalination plans do not deal with the issue of Palestinian water rights.
• The PWA is astonished that Israel is publishing this news at the same time as its ongoing attacks on Gaza , which are an attempt to wipe out the Palestinian population living there, have demolished or cause extensive damage to building infrastructure, and have destroyed a number of water pipes.
• The PWA claims that the two desalination projects, one in Hadera and the other in Caesarea, are part of the Israeli strategy to cut back on its water use by approximately 380 million cubic meters by the end of this year and by 700 million cubic meters by 2015.

The PWA has requested that the American side comment on what has been published in the news on this issue, since it has been given the approval to do so by the Israeli, Palestinian, American committee.

Source: EMWIS, 16 Feb 2009

The above news story confirms one of conclusions of a December 2008 case study by Annika Kramer titled “Regional water cooperation and peacebuilding in the Middle East” that  “peacebuilding efforts involving Palestinians, Jordanians and Israelis soon hit a road block when it comes to actual cooperation in water resources management. This is mainly because water issues are characterised by major inequalities among the three parties and are highly
politicised”.

Water and peace for the people [book]

Water and peace for the people : possible solutions to water disputes in the Middle East
Jon Martin Trondalen
Water and Conflict Resolution Series – UNESCO-IHP (New series)
Book, 246 pages, 16 maps, 7 tables, 23 figs, colour photographs, annexes, biblio., index
2008, ISBN 978-92-3-104086-3
Price: € 38.00
Order here

This book proposes practical and objective solutions to the entrenched water conflicts in the Middle East. The author reveals and clarifies the complexity of the water conflicts, drawing on years of experience facilitating and chairing water negotiations in the region.

The bottom line is: Unless the countries involved co-operate, the consequences will be devastating. The lack of plentiful and clean water for the people will not only result in severe human suffering, but could also have grave geopolitical consequences.

The book covers four critical areas:
- the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, where new documentation reveals alarming trends,
- the politically sensitive Golan Heights, with its water disputed by Israel and Syria,
- the Hasbani water dispute between Lebanon and Israel,
- the longstanding water resource dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians.