10 officials from Algeria, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco and Palestine have actively participated in a 2 days training in Murcia, Spain followed by a study tour in Spain and The Netherlands on the proper operation and management of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs).
The training, which consisted of theoretical and practical presentations given by professionals in the field, included legal and institutional frameworks, administrative and financial management, models and experiences from Murcia that are considered benchmarks for Europe in terms of management, operation efficiency and optimization and low cost in the production of treated effluent.
The course also dealt with the reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture, including research related to the effects of using it on irrigated crops.
The training was followed by visits to WWTPs of different sizes and types (mechanical and natural), sludge treatment plants and agriculture plantations using treated wastewater for irrigation in Murcia, Seville and The Netherlands.
In Murcia several stations were visited ranging in capacity from 90 m3/ day to 155,000 m3 day treating municipal and industrial effluents. Each station had a certain particularity that was focused upon and, accordingly, the participants were exposed to several treatment capacities and different technologies (high tech and low tech) including conventional and non-conventional (natural) systems.
The choice of Murcia as location is due to the climatic (semi-arid) and hydrologic similarities with those of the SWIM Partner Countries (PCs). Like them, Murcia suffers from water scarcity and has taken major steps to reduce pollution due to wastewater (WW) and provide non-conventional water for agriculture with a 98+ % reuse factor.
In Sevilla a visit was organized at the Centre for New Water Technologies (Fundacion Centro de Las Nuevas Technologias del Agua-CENTA) where an overview of all technologies that can be used for remote/rural areas and small communities was provided. Some of these are high-tech, where electricity is generated by wastewater through a process called bio-electro-genesis.
Through the course and visits, participants gained insights about the main pillars for the success of the Spanish model, including basic treatment technology, highly optimized treatment processes, careful monitoring of costs including personnel and energy – the two highest cost centers in a WWTP - a strict maintenance program, a functional institutional structure, a research program for performance improvement.
The activities in Spain were implemented in partnership with the Spain based Fundacion Instituto Euromediterraneo del Agua in Murcia and with the participation of the Region of Murcia, of ESAMUR - a public entity in charge of the management of wastewater treatment also based in Murcia - and of the higher council for scientific research (CEBAS-CSIC).
In The Netherlands visits were organized to a very large, well operated and managed wastewater treatment plant and successively to one form of natural wastewater treatment systems, the “constructed wetlands”, used for different purposes such as: polishing wastewater to be used by a golf course and recreational water-park where children and families come to play; treating and storing storm water for slow release in a canal; polishing wastewater coming out of a WWTP and creating a 9 ha green recreation park with open water surfaces. The low cost (capital and O&M) advantage of such large surface treatment systems was highlighted during each visit using actual comparison data with mechanical systems.
The visits to the wetlands contributed to the understanding of participants about the environmental aspects of treated wastewater and low cost technologies.
Detailed explanations and replies to all their questions, along with information materials such as manuals, were provided during the visits.
For more information and to download the materials of this activity click here