Arab experts discuss conditions for reuse of treated wastewater at Cairo Water Week | photo

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of North Africa (FAO – SNE) and the League of Arab States, organized the Technical Session “Framework conditions for reuse of waste water treated in the Arab region – lessons learned from the sub-regions of the Levant and Maghreb “As part of the activities of the third day of Cairo Water Week, now in its third edition.

Participants stressed the need to discuss the reuse of treated wastewater (TWW) within the overall social, economic and political framework, as national water policies and financial and economic incentives, as well as private sector involvement , are central issues in the future direction and development of the use of TWW in agriculture.

The specialists highlighted the current framework conditions for the reuse of TWWs in the Arab region and their review, and compared the favorable environment in the Mashreq and Maghreb sub-regions, resulting from the laws, regulations, policies and capabilities of the institutions concerned, as central elements to enable the reuse of TWWs.

The session identified strengths and weaknesses that help develop future trends; Reuse TWW in the area.

And Dr. Nisreen Lahham, a treated water reuse project in Middle Eastern and North African countries (MENA), notes that treated wastewater is a renewable source of water, and population growth increases and reuse of treated wastewater it is a solution to the problem of water, food and energy, and achieves sustainable development goals. That Egypt is one of the countries with the highest reuse efficiency

Dr. Faisal Shetty discussed the possibilities of reusing treated wastewater and drainage for agricultural development in North Africa and how to raise awareness and knowledge about the safety and sustainability of reusing treated water in agriculture.

Dr Khaled Abu Zaid explained the mechanisms of reuse of treated wastewater in the Arab region, explaining that Egypt is the highest in Arab countries in terms of reuse, stressing the need for countries to be covered with water treatment plants sewage, so that water is collected and treated, and many Arab countries suffer from construction shortages. Purification and purification plants.

Dr Hussein Al-Atfi, former Minister of Irrigation, pointed out that Arab countries are the largest areas suffering from water scarcity, pointing to the most important challenges of water reuse, such as the availability of funds, cadres legal, awareness and a culture of community acceptance.

Dr Walid Abdel-Rahman spoke about the Saudi experience in reusing fully treated industrial wastewater within Saudi Arabia, and taking it as a model for the rest of Arab countries.

Engineer Mazen examined Soul, reuse of treated wastewater in Jordan, updating health standards and risks when using treated wastewater through FAO and the United Nations, as well as defining institutions and joining efforts to raise awareness farmers on the safe use of treated water.

Dr Luna Al-Hadidi highlighted the challenges Jordan faces, as it suffers from water scarcity, so it resorts to unconventional water and that there is an independent water reuse body, which works to raise awareness and publish bulletins for community acceptance of the use of treated wastewater.

Dr. Sayed Abdel Hafeez, from the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture, spoke about Egypt’s experience in reusing treated wastewater in the reclamation of new land in the governorates of (Minya – Qena – South Sinai), the Bahr al drainage project. -Baqar and Mahsma. For reuse.

A spokesperson for the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture hinted at the challenges facing Tunisia for reuse, including financing, and the concentration of wastewater treatment plants in the capital, Tunis, noting that the laws and standards for reuse in agriculture they are rigid and there is no acceptance among farmers.

Dr Mahmoud Paris from Morocco indicated that the lack of widespread reuse of treated wastewater in Morocco is due to a lack of coordination between ministries, as well as the availability of funds.