Decision Support Tool for Water Reclamation Beyond Technical Considerations—Egyptian, Moroccan, and Tunisian Case Studies

• Published in: Integrated environmental assessment and management Vol. 16; no. 6; pp. 885 - 897
• Main Authors: Oertlé, Emmanuel, Mueller, Sandra Regina, Choukr‐Allah, Redouane, Jaouani, Atef
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2020
• Subjects: Case studies; Conservation of Natural Resources; Costs; Decision analysis; Decision support systems; Decision support tool (DST); Drainage canals; Economics; Egypt; Environmental legislation; Food; Foods; Humans; Impaired water use; Industrial crops; Industrial wastes; Industrial wastewater; Irrigation; Irrigation water; Legal aspects; Legislation; Life cycle assessment; Life cycle costs; Market prices; Middle East and North Africa (MENA); Morocco; Multicriteria analysis (MCA); Multiple criterion; Municipal wastewater; Nonfood crops; Policies; Random Allocation; Reclaimed water; Security; Subsidies; Tunisia; Waste Disposal, Fluid; Waste Water; Wastewater; Wastewater renovation; Wastewater treatment; Water; Water management; Water Purification; Water reclamation; Water resources management (WRM); Water reuse; Water reuse (WR); Water security; Water Supply; Morocco; Tunisia; Egypt; Water reuse (WR); Decision support tool (DST); Multicriteria analysis (MCA); Water resources management (WRM); Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
• ISSN: 1551-3777; 1551-3793; 1551-3793
• DOI: 10.1002/ieam.4303

ABSTRACT While the Middle East and North African (MENA) region is facing challenges to sustain water security, water reclamation has received increasing consideration as a favorable mitigating solution. Despite the availability of adequate technologies, economic, political, legal, social, and environmental constraints often hamper stakeholders, and especially decision makers, from exploiting the existing potential into solution implementation. In the present paper, a comprehensive assessment for water reclamation and reuse was developed. This assessment consisted of 4 objectives: 1) apply a decision‐support tool (DST) for water reclamation potential for municipal wastewater, 2) apply a DST for simulating and estimating the lifecycle costs of project‐related technologies for water reclamation (municipal and industrial wastewater, as well as drainage canal water), 3) assess the national‐level conditions for water reuse with a multicriteria decision analysis (MCA), and 4) establish exemplary strategies, barriers, and measures for water reuse. The present MCA considered 6 thematic subjects: policy and institution, economy, society, water management, legislation, and environment. The assessment was applied to food and nonfood crop irrigation in Egyptian, Moroccan, and Tunisian case studies. For all defined case studies, adapted treatment trains that could treat wastewater to the desired quality at reasonable costs were identified and are presented in the present paper. Results showed that technological options are available for water reuse, but the concept is not widely implemented in Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. The present paper identifies key barriers and drivers for the implementation of water reclamation for irrigation. In particular, the considered countries showed different characteristics regarding efficient water management, water pricing, subsidies and wastewater tariffs, implementation of monitoring and reporting systems, or legal aspects regarding the use of reclaimed water for food crop irrigation. Further exploration of case studies on high potential water reuse and financially affordable wastewater reclamation, particularly case studies that explore the impacts of policies and practices across countries, would be useful for helping the MENA region improve their water security situation. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2020;16:885–897. © 2020 SETAC KEY POINTS The present paper identifies key barriers and drivers for the implementation of water reclamation for irrigation in Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. A comprehensive assessment for water reclamation and reuse was developed using a decision‐support tool and multicriteria decision analysis. Results showed that technological options are available for water reuse, but the concept is not widely implemented in Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. In particular, the countries showed different characteristics regarding efficient water management, water pricing, subsidies and wastewater tariffs, implementation of monitoring and reporting systems, or legal aspects regarding the use of reclaimed water for food crop irrigation.