1

Potentials for Reuse of Treated Effluent in Jordan

Paper presented to the Water Demand Management

Conference in 2004 – Dead Sea, Jordan

By

Fritz Kaeser, Dr.-Ing., Kippenhauserstr. 13, 88677 Markdorf, Germany

For Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ),

Suzan Taha and Nisreen Haddadin

Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Jordan

Abstract

Jordan suffers from scarce resources of water supply to meet the demand of various sectors.

Jordan’s Water Strategy states that the amount of water required for agricultural irrigation has

a low priority. Therefore, related agricultural demand exceeds by far the amount of water

available. The reuse of treated wastewater exposes an important non-conventional water

resource suitable for agricultural irrigation.

Presently some 60 % of the Jordanian population is connected to communal wastewater

disposal systems. Wastewater is treated in 19 treatment plants located in the urban centers of

Jordan. Planned development of wastewater treatment (based on existing studies and

proposals of Ministry of Water and Irrigation of Jordan) foresees the construction of

additional 17 new plants up to 2020. The projection of the effluent of the treatment plants will

reach some 230 MCM in 2020. Treated effluent shall be reused in irrigated agriculture and

industries to substitute as much as possible freshwater in particular to reduce groundwater

overdraft. The effluent quantity would be about 25 % of the amount of future irrigation water.

This paper provides an overview on the present wastewater treatment and effluent reuse

practices as well as planned developments for Jordan.

1. Introduction

In Jordan the scarcity of water is considered as one of the most crucial and limiting factors

that may constrain economic development in the country. There is a serious competition

between municipal, industrial and tourist uses as well as irrigation demand. According to

Jordan’s Water Strategy (1) first priority will be given to the basic human needs (domestic),

followed by tourism and industrial purposes. Water required by the agricultural land in need

of irrigation exceeds the amount of water available. The growth in water demand in Jordan

has led to the exhaustion of surface water and to the over-extraction of ground water. By

overdrawing its ground water aquifers, Jordan is creating serious negative impacts to the

environment, increasing water costs and lowering the water quality.

The fact that most of conventional water resources in Jordan have been developed led the

country to seek non-conventional water resources development. According to the Policy

Paper No.2 “Irrigation Water Policy” of February 1998 (2) wastewater is considered as a

resource and cannot be treated as “waste”. This report outlines the potentials for reuse of

2

treated effluent in Jordan as a non-conventional water resource for agricultural irrigation. The

presented results refer to the works done by the author for the Ministry of Water and

Irrigation partly in the frame of “The Study on Water Resources Management Study in the

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan” in 2001 (3) of JICA (Japan International Cooperation

Agency) and partly in the frame of the “Water Sector Planning Support Project” in 2002 (4)

of GTZ (Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit, the German Agency for Technical

Cooperation).

2. Institutional Background in Jordan

2.1. Wastewater Related Institutions

The Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MOWI) is the responsible body in Jordan for the water

sector. Two authorities are affiliated with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, the Water

Authority of Jordan and the Jordan Valley Authority.

Generally, the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) is responsible as a national government

agency for the provision of water and wastewater services including the development and

management of sewerage systems, treatment plants and reuse of the effluent in all

communities and for all facilities, where private sector is not yet involved.

The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) is responsible for agricultural irrigation and irrigation

water quality. It works in close cooperation with the MOWI on standard settings for treated

wastewater reuse. MOA carries out research projects in field of wastewater reuse and its

effect on crops.

2.2. Water Policy

The Ministry of Water and Irrigation prepared a Water Strategy for Jordan formulating a

series of policies. The Policy Paper No.2 “Irrigation Water Policy” of February 1998 (2)

details the long-term objectives outlined in the Water Strategy of Jordan. It states water

related issues of resource development. The Policy Paper No.4 “Management of Wastewater“

of June 1998 (5) focuses on the management of wastewater as a water resource and includes,

amongst others, development, management, wastewater collection and treatment as well as

the reuse of wastewater and sludge in the agriculture, pricing, selected priority issues,

standards and regulations. Industrial wastewater shall be recycled as much as possible within

the factories. Industries shall treat the remainder of wastewater to meet the

standards/regulations set for the ultimate wastewater reuse. Generally, the “polluter-pays-

principle” shall be applied. Wastewater charges, connection fees, sewerage taxes and

treatment fees shall cover at least the operation and maintenance costs. Also, treated effluent

shall be priced and sold to end users at a price covering at least the operation and maintenance

costs of delivery.

2.3. Related Standards and Regulations

The Standard on Treated Domestic Wastewater (Jordanian Standard JS 893/1995) defines the

requirements of effluent discharge from treatment plants or reused for various types of

irrigation, fisheries, discharge into natural receiving water (wadis and catchment areas) and

artificial recharge of ground water. Sampling frequency and method as well as standard

methods for water analysis is specified.

The standard pays special attention to the agricultural irrigation:

3

Irrigation must not take place within two weeks before harvesting (fruit collection),

Sprinkler irrigation is prohibited to use,

Irrigation of crops eaten raw by treated domestic wastewater is not allowed,

Closed pipes or lined canals must be used when conveying treated domestic

wastewater through areas of high permeability, which might effect the ground water

aquifer or surface water used for drinking purposes,

Dilution of treated wastewater on-site with freshwater to meet the criteria is

prohibited.

In addition the standard states clearly that it is prohibited to recharge artificially ground water

aquifers used for drinking purposes by treated domestic wastewater.

The Standard on Industrial Wastewater (Jordanian Standard JS 202/91) specifies the

requirements to be fulfilled for the effluent from industries discharged into surface water or

naturally recharging the ground water or those reused for irrigation purposes.

With regard to supervision of wastewater treatment and disposal the Water Authority conducts

daily, weekly and monthly water sampling and analysis to supervise the treatment operation

and to assure effluent compliance with the set standards. The Ministry of Health (MOH)

carries out additional water quality analysis with emphasis on coliforms and nematode eggs in

addition to other parameters.

The reuse of treated wastewater is supervised by WAJ and MOH, if the irrigated land

(restricted irrigation) is within the treatment plant area. MOH, the Ministry of Agriculture

(MOA) monitors restricted irrigation by treated wastewater downstream of the plant. Finally,

the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and Jordan Valley Authority (JVA) supervise the

unrestricted irrigation by treated wastewater mixed with freshwater.

3. Present Wastewater Treatment in Jordan

In 2002, wastewater was treated in 19 treatment plants located in the urban centers of Jordan

(see Figure 1). Most of the plants rely on treatment by wastewater stabilization ponds

consisting of mechanical treatment, anaerobic, facultative and maturation ponds. About 85 %

of the wastewater is treated by these systems, while activated sludge process is applied for 5%

and trickling filters for 10 %.

It has to be mentioned that half of the installed treatment capacity belongs to As Samra

treatment plant with about 68,000 m3/d treating wastewater of Greater Amman. The present

discharge to this plant, however, is the double of its design capacity. About 82 MCM of

wastewater per year is treated in available facilities. Almost 60,000 tons of BOD5 are annually

discharged to the existing plants.

The specific wastewater generation is calculated to about 85 l/c/d including municipal, tourist

and industrial wastewater. Specific BOD5 load is relatively high in Jordan and is estimated at

65 g/c/d. The specific load comprises municipal and industrial sources of organic load, too. In

some cases the reason for this could be that the portion of BOD5 load coming from industrial

activities are higher than the portion of water use reflects it. Therefore, the real specific load

generated per person could be lower. Details of existing wastewater treatment are shown in

Table 1.

4

Wastewater effluent is generally not measured in the treatment plants. Losses due to seepage

and evaporation within the treatment plants are estimated at 13% of the influent. This high

portion may be justified by the fact that 85% of the wastewater is treated by pond systems and

maturation ponds. Therefore, about 71 MCM/year of wastewater would be available at

treatment facility outlets (see Table 1). In addition, transmission and storage losses have to be

considered, particularly for the effluents flowing in the wadis and stored in King Talal, Wadi

Shua’ab and Kafrein Reservoirs. These losses were estimated at almost 10%. Finally, about

65 MCM/year may be available at the agricultural land for restricted and unrestricted

irrigation.

Table 1: Wastewater treatment (2000)

Unit Total Jordan Amman/As Samra

Existing treatment plants (total number) no. 17 1

Wastewater stabilization ponds no. 6 1

Aerated ponds no. 1 -

Activated sludge/Extended aeration no. 5 -

Trickling filters no. 5 -

Installed capacity m3/d 157,100 68,000

Total population million 4.6

Population connected million 2.58 1.95

(of Jordan's total population) % 56 42

Inflow treatment plants m3/d 225,000 171,000

MCM/year 82.1 62.4

Effluent of treatment plants m3/d 195,000 150,000

MCM/year 71.2 54.8

BOD5-load inflow (average) mg/l 730 700

kg/d 164,250 119,700

t/year 60,000 43,700

(related to total BOD5 -load) % 100 73

Specific wastewater generation l/c/d 87 88

Specific BOD5-load g/c/d 64 61

At present the high total nitrogen concentration of the As Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant

effluent contributes to the eutrophication of the King Talal Reservoir (KTR). High chloride

ion concentrations are in the effluent and to a lesser degree at the KTR inlet and outlet. This

may affect sensitive annual and fruit crops when using surface irrigation. Sprinkler irrigation

will particularly affect some tree crops leaves. High levels of sodium concentration measured

in the effluent and along Wadi Zarqa indicate the possibility of sodium toxicity for sensitive

crops. Folia injury of sensitive trees is possible when sprinkler irrigation is used.

Very high nitrogen concentrations are observed in almost all the treated effluents. The high

nutrient concentrations may present restrictions on use. High nitrogen levels may cause

excessive vegetative growth, delay maturation of fruits, and cause deterioration in crop

quality.

Except for the Wadi Arab and Wadi Essir treatment plant, fecal coliform levels exceeding

WHO guidelines may pose health risks for consumers and farm workers. It is unlikely that

helminthiasis would contribute a problem where stabilization pond systems are used. Since

conventional wastewater treatment plants (e.g. activated sludge, trickling filter) are unable to

achieve complete egg removal, secondary treatment should be followed by slow sand

5

filtration, storage or upgrading of the effluent in polishing ponds. Presently all effluents

except the one of Abu Nuseir and Irbid (central) do meet the WHO nematode guideline due to

the removal of eggs by existing polishing ponds. However, effluent is not suitable for

irrigation of food crops to be eaten uncooked because of the high contents of fecal coliforms.

Figure 1: Location of existing and proposed wastewater treatment plants

4. Present Wastewater Reuse Practice in Jordan

Treated wastewater reused for agricultural irrigation purposes of 50 MCM/year corresponds

to 8 % of the total irrigation water use (some 630 MCM/year, see Table 2). Restricted

irrigation by the treated effluent is applied in the direct neighborhood of the treatment plants

and downstream of them without any dilution with freshwater. Unrestricted irrigation takes

place, in particular, in the Jordan Valley by treated effluent of As Samra treatment plant after

mixing it with freshwater (generally one portion wastewater to three portions of freshwater).

Treated wastewater quantity for restricted irrigation is estimated at about 15 MCM/year, and

for unrestricted irrigation at 35 MCM/year (see Table 2).

6

Table 2: Quantities of reused treated wastewater (1999)

Total irrigation water (including treated sewage) MCM/year 630

Total wastewater (treated effluent) for irrigation MCM/year 50

Portion of total irrigation water % 8

Wastewater for restricted irrigation1)

MCM/year 15

Wastewater for unrestricted irrigation2)

MCM/year 35

Via King Talal Reservoir3)

MCM/year 34

Via Wadi Shua'ab Reservoir4)

MCM/year 0.8

Via Kafrein Reservoir5)

MCM/year 0.2 1) Inside, near to or downstream of the treatment plants' area

2) Deducted by 8 % losses during transmission and storage (irrigation the Jordan Valley)

3) Treated effluent of As Samra, Baqa, Jerash and Abu Nuseir Treatment Plants

4) Treated effluent of Salt and Fuhis Treatment Plants

5) Treated effluent of Wadi Essir Treatment Plant

Restricted irrigation covers about 16,000 dunum (1 donum = 0,1 ha), whereas unrestricted

irrigation is applied over 91,000 dunum. Table 3 displays the distribution of irrigated areas

per crop for both restricted and unrestricted irrigation in Jordan.

Table 3: Areas irrigated by treated wastewater (1998)

Area of Irrigation Unit 6)

Total Jordan Amman/ As Samra

Area of restricted irrigation near

treatment plants

Fodder dunum 1,770 300

Olives dunum 1,697 1,500

Forests dunum 3,187 1,500

Total dunum 6,654 3,300

Area of restricted irrigation downstream

of treatment plants

Fodder, cereal 1)

dunum 2,000

Forests trees 2)

dunum 500

Fruit 3)

dunum 6,500

Vegetables 4)

dunum 0

Total dunum 9,000

Area of unrestricted irrigation

downstream of treatment plants 5)

Fodder, cereal 1)

dunum 6,500

Forests trees 2)

dunum 1,000

Fruit 3)

dunum 25,000

Vegetables 4)

dunum 58,500

Total dunum 91,000 1) Barley, sudan grass, alfalfa, maize (forage) 4) Different vegetables

2) Acacia, cassorina, eucalyptus, etc. 5) After mixing with freshwater in the Jordan Valley

6) 1 dunum = 0,1 ha 3) Olive, citrus, banana, others

7

5. Future Development in Jordan

5.1. Planned Development of Wastewater Treatment

Various studies were prepared on behalf of the Ministry for Water and Irrigation and WAJ

dealing with the expansion/rehabilitation of existing treatment plants and the construction of

new ones (see Table 4, items 1 through 35). A further study was prepared on behalf of the

Jordan Valley Authority for a tourist development project at the east coast of the Dead Sea

(see Table 4, item 36). Figure 1 shows the location of the existing and proposed treatment

plants.

Table 4 summaries future wastewater treatment capacity in Jordan: In 2002, 19 treatment

plants were in operation. In addition the construction of 17 new plants and, furthermore,

extension of the existing ones is proposed over a period of 15 years. After completion of all

planned measures the total number of treatment plants will increase to 36. In several of the

newly planned treatment plants sand filtration is proposed as tertiary treatment instead of

maturation ponds.

According to Table 4 installed treatment capacity of existing treatment plants after completion

of all upgrading and expansion measures will be increased to 390,000 m³/d, while the capacity

of additional planned plants will be about 260,000 m³/d, leading to a total capacity of about

650,000 m³/d.

Two different scenarios were considered with regard to future wastewater production: A

Scenario 0 (based on wastewater quantity projection according to Consultants’ Studies) and a

Scenario 1 (based on MOWI’s own water demand projection, which are described in the

following.

5.2. Future Wastewater Quantity According to Consultants’ Studies (Scenario 0)

Consultants have prepared studies on the wastewater collection, treatment and disposal for

various Jordanian cities. For Scenario 0 population growth rates and per capita water

consumption were considered as assumed by the Consultants having prepared the related

study. Future population (connected and non-connected to the sewerage system) in each

project town is projected up to 2020. Estimations of wastewater collected have taken into

account connection rates to the sewer network, losses of/inflow in the sewerage system and

return flow factor following the Consultants’ assumptions. Effluent quantities of the plants

were estimated based on inflow and on a reduction caused by losses due to evaporation and/or

infiltration in the underground within the treatment plants.

Based on the existing studies and reports on the planning of related sewerage systems as

prepared by the various Consultants (see Table 4), development of connected population and

wastewater quantities were estimated up to the target year 2020. Table 5 shows the overall

development of total population living in the service area, connected population, total

wastewater inflow and effluent of the treatment plants taking into account the assumptions as

presented in the previous paragraph.

8

Table 4: Existing and planned treatment plants (status 2002)

Treatment Plant Governo-

rate

Type of

treatment

1)

Status of planning

(October 2002)

Planned

completion

3)

Plant

capacity

(m³/d)

Capacity in

2020

(m³/d) 2)

Existing

1 Abu Nuseir Amman AS+RBC No particular planning - 4,000 4,200

2 Aqaba Aqaba EA+MP Final design in 2000 2003 24,000 43,000

3 As-Samra Amman AS Tendering for BOT 2000 2005 268,000 340,000

4 Baqa Balqa TF+MP Upgrading/rehabilitation 2000 15,000 15,000

5 Fuhis Balqa EA+MP No particular planning - 2,400 3,300

6 Irbid (Central) Irbid TF+AS No particular planning - 11,000 12,000

7 Jerash (East) Jerash EA+MP No particular planning - 3,500 8,500

8 Karak Karak TF+MP Feasibility study in 2001 2004 2,700 4,300

9 Kufranja Ajlun TF+MP Feasibility study in 2001 2004 5,800 9,900

10 Ma'an Ma'an WSP No particular planning 2005 2,000 5,100

11 Madaba Madaba EA+MP Constr.tendered 2000 2003 7,600 11,600

12 Mafraq Mafraq EA+MP Feasibility study in 2000 2003 3,500 4,500

13 Ramtha Irbid EA+MP Constr.tendered 2000 2003 5,400 9,000

14 Salt Balqa EA+MP No particular planning - 7,700 11,700

15 Tafielah Tafielah TF+MP No particular planning - 1,600 3,500

16 Wadi Arab Irbid EA No particular planning - 21,000 35,800

17 Wadi Essir Amman AP No particular planning - 4,000 2,500

18 Wadi Hassan Irbid EA+MP Start of operation 2001 - 1,600 2,500

19 Wadi Mousa Ma'an EA+MP Start of operation 2001 - 3,400 4,800

Subtotal 1 394,200 531,200

Planned

20 Al Jeeza Amman EA+MP Final design in 1995 2005 7,200 8,800

21 Al Mazar Al

Shamali Irbid EA+SF Prefeasibility study 1998 2010 4,500 4,500

22 Dair Abi Said Irbid EA+SF Prefeasibility study 1998 2013 4,900 4,900

23 Dair Alla Balqa EA+SF Prefeasibility study 1998 2005 8,900 10,400

24 Jerash West Jerash EA+SF Prefeasibility study 1998 2008 7,200 7,200

25 Kofur Asad Irbid EA+SF Prefeasibility study 1998 2007 11,900 11,900

26 Aqaba South Coast Aqaba EA+SF Final design in 2000 2003 1,000 1,600

27 Naur Amman EA+MP Feasibility study in 1995 2008 5,200 5,200

28 North Q.A.Airport Amman EA+MP Final design in 1995 2005 23,000 28,500

29 North Jord. Valley Irbid EA+SF Final design in 2000 2003 8,000 9,400

30 Shuna South Balqa EA+SF Prefeasibility study 1998 2004 5,600 6,500

31 Torra Irbid EA+SF Prefeasibility study 1998 2012 5,600 5,600

32 Um Al Basateen Amman EA+MP Fin.des. 1995 (Al Jeeza) 2005 incl.AlJeeza incl,AlJeeza

33 W.Shallala/Irb.East Irbid EA+SF Feasibility study in 1998 2005 15,000 18,000

34 Wadi Zarqa Zarqa AS Feasibility study in 1997 2009 146,000 183,000

35 Mazar/Muta/Adna. Karak WSP Feas.study not available 2009 3,500 3,500

36 Dead Sea Ea.Coast Balqa EA+MP Prefeasibility study 1997 2005 4,350 8,470

Subtotal 2 261,850 317,470

TOTAL 656,050 848,670

1) WSP - Wastewater stabilization ponds RBC - Rotating biol. contactor EA - Extended aeration

MP - Maturation ponds (tertiary treatment) AP - Aerated ponds SF - Sand filtration (tertiary)

2) Planned completion of next phase according to Consultant's Study Report

3) Required capacity (for existing treatment plants: Rehabilitation, upgrading and extension measures).

9

Table 5: Future development of wastewater treatment (Scenario 0)

Unit 2005 2010 2015 2020

Total population of Jordan1)

mio. inh 5.72 6.47 7.25 8.04

Total population (living in service area) mio. inh 4.53 5.51 6.64 7.95

Connected population mio. inh 3.79 5.10 6.28 7.56

Relative to the total Jordan population % 66 79 87 94

Wastewater inflow to treatment plants MCM/a 147 198 252 313

Wastewater effluent of treatment plants MCM/a 138 185 237 294 1) Taking into account global growth rates according to MOWI (as for Scenario 1)

5.3. Future Wastewater Quantity According to MOWI’s Scenario 1

The MOWI has developed another Scenario 1 to estimate the future water demand for the

various purposes, i.e. municipal, industrial and tourist purposes. Scenario 1 considers different

population growth rates and specific water demands for different socio-economic zones.

These zones were defined by MOWI taking into account specific regional social and

economical conditions in Jordan. As far as the wastewater collection and treatment is

concerned, future development is generally based on the Consultants’ studies available for

each sewerage system and wastewater treatment plant except of the water demand

estimations.

Future development of total, connected and non-connected population as well as wastewater

quantities are summarized in Table 6 with respect to the assumptions as outlined above. In

comparison to the results according to the Consultant’s Studies (Table 5, Scenario 0) the

present Scenario 1 shows lower figures for the connected population. Wastewater inflow and

effluent of the treatment plants for 2020 would be about 22 % lower in case of Scenario 1.

Table 6: Future development of wastewater treatment (Scenario 1)

Unit 2005 2010 2015 2020

Total population of Jordan million 5.72 6.47 7.25 8.04

Total population (living in service area) million 4.20 4.68 5.24 5.80

Connected population million 3.50 4.30 4.91 5.47

Relative to the total Jordan population % 61 66 68 68

Not-connected population million 2.22 2.18 2.34 2.57

Relative to the total Jordan population % 39 34 32 32

Waste water inflow to treatment plants MCM/year 144 180 213 245

Waste water effluent of treatment plants MCM/year 135 168 200 230

5.4. Future Reuse of Treated Wastewater

Proposed Reuse Schemes

Table 7 summarizes the proposed reuse measures for final target year 2020 and the present

status of planning. For some cases existing reuse concept will be kept (e.g. Jerash, Baqa i.e.

the discharge of treated effluent via King Talal Reservoir to the Jordan Valley). Irrigation

schemes for the effluents of Irbid and Wadi Arab has to be implemented in the Northern

Jordan Valley, while the transmission pipe exists already. The existing reuse schemes of

Madaba, Mafraq and Ramtha have to be rehabilitated, improved and/or extended.

10

Table 7: Proposed future reuse schemes (in 2020)

Treatment Plant Proposed future reuse

scheme

Status of planning (July 2000)

Existing

1 Abu Nuseir Local reuse Proposal of JICA 2000

2 Aqaba Local reuse Proposal Montgom./AJ 2000

3 As-Samra Industrial (upland) & Agricultural

(upland & Jordan Valley)

Proposal USAID/ARD 2000

4 Baqa Jordan Valley via King Talal Res. Existing

5 Fuhis Local reuse Proposal GKW/CEC 1994

6 Irbid (Central) Jordan Valley (pipe along Wadi

Arab)

Proposal of JICA 2000

7 Jerash (East) Jordan Valley via King Talal Res. Existing

8 Karak Local reuse Proposal of JICA 2000

9 Kufranja Local reuse Proposal of JICA 2000

10 Ma'an Local reuse Proposal of JICA 2000

11 Madaba Local reuse Existing/Prop. JICA 2000 for improv.

12 Mafraq Local reuse Existing/Prop. JICA 2000 for improv.

13 Ramtha Local reuse Existing/Prop. JICA 2000 for improv.

14 Salt Jordan Valley via Shua'ab Res. Existing

15 Tafielah Local reuse Proposal of JICA 2000

16 Wadi Arab Jordan Valley (pipe along Wadi

Arab)

Proposal of JICA 2000

17 Wadi Essir Local reuse Proposal of JICA 2000

18 Wadi Hassan Local reuse Proposal of JICA 2000

19 Wadi Mousa Local reuse Proposal CDM 1996

Planned

20 Al Jeeza Local reuse Proposal Montgom.1995/JICA 2000

21 Al Mazar Al Shamali Not or only partly used Proposal TYPSA 1998

22 Dair Abi Said Local reuse Proposal TYPSA 1998/JICA 2000

23 Dair Alla Local reuse Proposal TYPSA 1998

24 Jerash West Jordan Valley via King Talal Res. Proposal TYPSA 1998

25 Kofur Asad Local reuse Proposal TYPSA 1998

26 Aqaba South Coast Local reuse Proposal Montgom./AJ 2000

27 Naur Local reuse Proposal MOTT/CEC 1996

28 North Queen Alia

Airport

Local reuse Proposal Montgom.1995/JICA 2000

29 North Jordan Valley Local reuse Proposal Metcalf&Eddy/JICA 2000

30 Shuna South Local reuse Proposal TYPSA 1998

31 Torra Local reuse Proposal TYPSA 1998

32 Um Al Basateen Included in Al Jeeza Proposal Montgom./AJ 1995

33 Wadi Shallala (Irbid

East)

Local reuse Proposal DAR 1998/JICA 2000

34 Wadi Zarqa Jordan Valley via King Talal Res. Proposal USAID/ARD 2000

35 Mazar, Muta, Adnaniya Local reuse Proposal of JICA

36 Dead Sea East Coast Local reuse Proposal SIGMA 1997

In most of the new planned treatment plants local reuse systems were selected in particular for

the small treatment plants of low effluent quantities. However, most of the effluent quantity

will be conducted to irrigation systems more or less far from the treatment plants site due to

11

the fact that the treated wastewater of the big plants (e.g. As Samra, Zarqa, Irbid) is not reused

close to the treatment facilities.

Effluent Reuse and Substitution of Freshwater for Irrigation

The following paths of disposal or reuse are considered:

0. Not used (or only partly) used

1. Local reuse for irrigation (close to the treatment plant, in general less than 2 km)

- in the upland and

- in the Jordan Valley

2. Discharge via pipe along Wadi Arab to Jordan Valley

3. Reuse of effluent of As Samra

- in the upland for agricultural purposes and

- for industrial purposes

4. Discharge via King Talal Reservoir to Jordan Valley

5. Discharge via Wadi Kufranja to Jordan Valley

6. Discharge via Shua’ab Reservoir to Jordan Valley

7. Discharge via Kafrein Reservoir to Jordan Valley

Category “local reuse” means that total effluent quantity will be reused close to the treatment

plant’s site with minor quantities discharged into the natural receiving water. Potential areas

for agricultural irrigation will be generally in a distance less than 2 km from the related

treatment plant. This form of reuse is practiced e.g. at Madaba, Mafraq and Ramtha presently.

At additional sites this form of reuse is proposed, whereby new irrigation schemes including

transmission facilities from the plant to the irrigable areas have to be implemented.

It is proposed to reuse a portion of the effluent from the new As Samra Wastewater Treatment

Plant of As Samra for industrial purpose (in the area of Greater Amman, Zarqa and Russeifa

including the existing and new thermal power plant). This will reduce in the future the

effluent quantity discharged to the Jordan Valley via Wadi Zarqa and King Talal Reservoir.

With the concept described above the quantities available for substitution of freshwater for

irrigation and industrial purposes were determined. Table 8 summarizes the local availability

of treated wastewater and related quantities for both considered scenarios.

The quantities for substitution as mentioned in Table 8 are cumulated ones available in related

planning horizons. Most of the effluent flow is presently already used for agricultural

irrigation.

Not available for substitution of freshwater for agricultural irrigation and industrial purposes

as shown in Table 8 are treated effluents consisting of:

quantities not usable because of lacking land suitable for irrigation (only a minor

flow)

quantities locally reused in additional irrigation schemes newly constructed in the

frame of the wastewater treatment system

losses during long transmission and storage (e.g. discharge from the uplands to the

Jordan Valley)

12

Table 8: Major areas of treated effluent reuse

Available treated

wastewater/effluent (MCM/a)

2005 2010 2015 2020

Scenario 0 (Consultants' Studies)

1. Not (or only partly) used 0.0 1.2 1.3 1.6

2. For reuse in Up/Midland for irrigation 29.5 36.9 50.4 58.5

3a. For reuse for industrial purposes Amman/Zarqa 15.0 15.0 15.0 20.0

3b. For reuse for industrial purposes Irbid 0.0 5.0 5.0 5.0

3c. For reuse for industrial purposes Aqaba 0.0 0.0 5.0 5.0

4. For reuse to Jordan Valley (without Aqaba) 87.4 119.1 153.3 193.9

5. For agricultural reuse in Aqaba 5.7 8.2 6.6 9.8

Total 137.6 185.4 236.6 293.8

Losses (8 %) during transmission/storage to Jordan Valley 5.9 8.2 10.4 13.2

Not available for substitution of freshwater in

irrigation/industry1)

37.2 55.3 73.2 90.1

Available for substitution of freshwater in irrigation2)

85.4 110.1 138.5 173.7

Scenario 1 (MOWI’s water demand projection)

1. Not (or only partly) used 0.0 1.0 1.1 1.3

2. For reuse in Up/Midland for irrigation 30.5 38.1 49.5 55.0

3a. For reuse for industrial purposes Amman/Zarqa 15.0 15.0 15.0 20.0

3b. For reuse for industrial purposes Irbid 0.0 5.0 5.0 5.0

3c. For reuse for industrial purposes Aqaba 0.0 0.0 5.0 5.0

4. For reuse to Jordan Valley (without Aqaba) 83.8 102.4 120.7 138.3

5. For agricultural reuse in Aqaba 5.9 7.0 3.4 4.9

Total 135.2 168.5 199.8 229.5

Losses (8%)during transmission/storage to Jordan Valley 5.6 6.9 8.0 9.1

Not available for substitution of freshwater in

irrigation/industry1)

37.7 53.2 65.0 74.9

Available for substitution of freshwater in irrigation2)

82.5 95.3 109.7 124.7

1) All quantities: not used plus local reuse plus losses during transmission/storage to Jordan Valley

2) All quantities: discharged to Jordan Valley (excl.losses during transmission) plus upland area (As Samra)

6. Summary

As a result of the treated effluent projection it may be concluded that treated effluent not

available for substitution of freshwater will be about 75 MCM/a (30-35 %) in 2020.

The quantities available for substitution of freshwater in irrigation are mainly composed of the

quantities to be discharged from As Samra treatment plant to the upland area and all the

quantities discharged to the Jordan Valley (excluding the losses by transmission and storage).

In 2020 the quantities for substitution of freshwater may reach not more than some 125

MCM/a (55 %) in the best case assuming that storage facilities of sufficient capacity exist.

Even if As Samra’s effluent would not be used in the upland areas it may contribute to the

substitution in the Jordan Valley.

Table 8 shows resulting quantities not available for substitution of freshwater, quantities

available for substitution of freshwater in irrigation as well as quantities for substitution of

freshwater for industrial activities (see line items 3a, 3b and 3c). It seems that in 2020 the

13

quantities of 30 MCM/a (or 10-15 %) may be usable for industrial purposes, if there is an

equivalent demand and the industries accept the effluent quality.

Summarizing with regard to substitution of freshwater used for irrigational and industrial

activities some aspects and limitations have to be considered:

Generally administrative measures have to be applied that irrigated agricultural land

will not be extended.

Farmers may consider available treated effluent as additional sources for irrigation.

To substitute freshwater used for irrigation and industrial purposes administrative

measures have to be undertaken to reduce the use of freshwater in case of the

provision of additional treated effluent.

Treated effluent is produced during the whole year, while generally irrigation water

is required in particular during summertime. Therefore, adequate storage facilities

have to be provided to optimize the reuse of treated wastewater quantities.

Locations of treated effluent production are not the same areas, where are the highest

needs for freshwater substitution. It would be no economic solution, if high pump

cost would occur to discharge the effluent to related areas.

Most of the new wastewater projects (particularly of small and medium size)

consider effluent reuse close to the treatment plant. This is acceptable in the view of

minimizing water losses by transmission. However, in these cases the project will

not contribute to freshwater substitution, because treated effluent is used for

additionally constructed irrigated land.

In several locations farmers use already raw wastewater for irrigation. In such cases

the construction of a wastewater treatment plant does not lead to a substitution of

freshwater but to an improvement of the reused water’s quality.

Considering these facts there are additional technical and administrative measures to be taken

to maximize the reuse of treated effluent from wastewater treatment plants as available

downstream of the plants.

References

1. MOWI: “Jordan’s water strategy”, Amman, April 1997.

2. MOWI: “Irrigation water policy”, Amman, February 1998.

3. MOWI/YEC/JICA: “The Study on Water Resources Management Study in the Hashemite

Kingdom of Jordan. Final Report”, 2001.

4. MOWI/GTZ: “National water master plan. Non-conventional water resources”, 2004.

5. MOWI: “Wastewater management policy”, Amman, June 1998.