1、Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and ManagementVol. 7, No. 4 (December 2005) pp. 735C750. Imperial College PressOPTIMAL UTILIZATION OF RECLAIMED WASTEWATERFOR IRRIGATION PURPOSES: CASE OF AS-SAMRAWASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTBASSAM MRAYYANDirector of Environmental Studies CenterInstitute of L
2、and, Water and EnvironmentThe Hashemite University, P. O. Box 150459Zarqa, Jordanmrayyanhu.edu.joReceived 28 November 2004Revised 22 September 2005Accepted 10 October 2005Due to the rapid population growth and industrial development in Jordan, the demand onwater resources for different purposes, mai
3、nly agriculture has been elevated. The shortageof fresh water resources and the high demand make the reclaimed wastewater a key factorin the water budget. This paper examines both positive and negative impacts of wastewaterreuse for agriculture. Currently, Jordan has more than 27 wastewater treatmen
4、t plants allover the country; the largest is As-Samra treatment plant. The objective of this article is toset a framework for optimal utilization of the said reclaimed water taking into considerationthe technical, financial, economical and social aspects at the end user demand centers andthe new upg
5、rading project at the study area, in addition to promoting the anticipated findingsfor other similar regional cases in terms of knowledge disseminations and setting a pilotcases for neighboring countries.Keywords: Jordan; wastewater reuse; As-Samra; irrigations; constraints; recommendations.Introduc
6、tionThe scarcity of water resources alongside the rapid population growth and increaseof development activities have increased water consumption. This demand of waterusagemade conventional sources unable to supply the required quantities needed forirrigation purposes. Decision makers realized the ma
7、gnitude of problem and startedprograms to investigate utilizing non-conventionalwater resources; discharged fromdomestic wastewater treatment plants.735736 B. MrayyanThe purpose of this article is to investigate the feasibility of utilizing wastewater,(reclaimed water), for agricultural purposes. Re
8、use of TreatedWastewater (TWW),not only serve the agricultural sector, but also solve the sludge (an inevitable nutrientrich by-product of wastewater treatment) pollution problems. (Bernard J. et al.,2000). The use of treated or reclaimed water for agriculture is an international widespread concept.
9、 Even, countries that have adequate supplies of water resources utilizesreclaimed water for agriculture. In countries like Denmark, France, Germany,Italy, United Kingdom and Sweden with 98, 68, 90, 60, 88 and 98 percent of theirpopulations are served by treated wastewater respectively. Moreover, som
10、e middleeastern countries such as Syria, Egypt, Morocco and the Gulf states use treatedwastewater directly or indirectly where sewage effluent for irrigation is sociallyaccepted. In Jordan, farmers have been long ago utilizing indirectly sewage waterfor agriculture. (EL-Eshbeeli; A.M 1071/1072.)Wast
11、ewater from Amman, Zarqa, Russifa, Sukhnenh, Hashemiyeh and WadiDhuleil municipalities are collected and transported to As-SamraWastewater TreatmentPlant (AWTP). The station consists of natural stabilization ponds covering200 ha. and treats approximately 80% of the countrys production of TWW. Table
12、1represents a comparison between AWTP and others in Jordan with respect to designfeatures, operation and flow percentages (Al-LafiM., 1996). Figure 1 represents theincrease of wastewater influent within the years of 1997C2000.As-Samra treats both domestic and industrial water, whereas 75% and 44%of
13、municipal houses and industries are connected consecutively. The effluent ofK. As-Samra wastewater treatment plant is currently being discharged into Zarqariver causing deterioration to the quality of surface water reaching King TalalDam (KTD). The quality of the dam effluents are characterized by h
14、igh contentof suspended solids (SS) , Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), nutrients and somepathogenic species.Once stored atKing TalalReservoir (KTR), the quality of the treated effluentwillbe enhanced; this is attributed to the run off from the countrys upstream drained toKTR.Aftermixed water is being
15、 settled for severalmonths atKTR, itwill be directlyreleased for irrigation or down streaming Yarmouk River, where more mixing willtake place resulting in further improvement of the water quality.Treated wastewater is generated at sixteen wastewater treatment plants locatedmainly in populated areas.
16、 The quantity of TWW was 46 MCM (million cubicmeters), in 1991 and is expected to reach 270 MCM in 2020. Utilization oftreated reclaimed wastewater for agricultural purpose is essential since the availablewater is characterized by scarcity and, thus, considered as a limiting factorfor development. In addition to that, reclaimed water should be c
