ReWater MENA - Wastewater Reuse in the MENA Region: Addressing the Challenges (ReWater MENA)

Water scarcity is a serious and growing concern in Egypt. According to the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI) Egypt requires 114 billion cubic meter (BCM) of water per year to cover the country’s increasing demands from the agriculture and industrial sectors, as well as water for drinking and household use. The agricultural sector consumes most of the country’s available water, accounting for nearly 80% of the nation’s total water withdrawals (Noureldin 2016). Egypt practices the use of various types of marginal quality water, such as agricultural drainage water, treated domestic wastewater, and desalinated brackish water. Treated wastewater (after primary treatment) has been in use since 1911 in agriculture (Gabal Al Asfar farm: 3,000 feddans). Water reuse effectively reduces the deficit in the national water balance to about 34 BCM/year. In addition, to the physical shortage of water, poor surface and groundwater quality also contribute to reduction in total suitable water available for different uses. Agricultural drains account for the largest share of marginal water that is reused in agriculture and contribute to reducing the deficit in national water balance. Treated and partially treated wastewater is another source and opportunity for water reuse to meet growing demand for irrigation water. In Egypt, there are two scenarios for water reuse - direct and indirect reuses. Indirect waster reuse involves pumping treated/partially treated wastewater into a watercourse, which is conveying irrigation water (e.g. agricultural drainage systems). The wastewater in this case becomes a component of a water mix and not a sole resource. Direct wastewater reuse in agriculture refers to the direct use of treated wastewater supplied by wastewater treatment plants. The quality of effluent discharged by a WWTP (as well as the characteristics and performance of the WWTP itself) influences options for direct wastewater reuses. Options for indirect wastewater reuse also depend on both the quality of the treated wastewater effluent and the quality and hydrological characteristics of the watercourse that it is disposed into. The project aims to identify different direct and indirect reuse options that are socially acceptable, and environmentally and financially sustainable.

Indirect reuse in the Nile Delta and direct reuse in the Upper Egypt.

Impact; Safe reuse of treated wastewater is substantially expanded in Egypt by 2030 Outcome: Project stakeholders in Egypt are better equipped for the implementation of sustainable reuse models Outputs: 1. Contribute towards the MENA Wastewater reuse sourcebook intended to share lessons learned from existing innovations, validated and promising reuse models and past management bottlenecks in and beyond the region 2. Local direct and indirect wastewater reuse plans prepared. These will include conceptual designs and associated implementation and management plans for feasible wastewater treatment and reuse solutions in the selected settlements. 3. National baseline developed to assist the development of a National Strategic plan for expansion of wastewater treatment and reuse in Egypt 4. Stakeholders’ capacity for safe reuse of wastewater strengthened