Water is too precious to waste...

You are receiving this monthly email alert for your timely information about forthcoming activities and new materials available on the SWIM websites.

We hope you will find it useful and will bring you even closer to the SWIM family!

With best wishes,

The SWIM-SM Team

SWIM- Support Mechanism

Now available online:

• The materials related to the Training and Study Tour on Operation and Management of Waste Water Treatment Plants (9-20 September 2013, Spain and The Netherlands) can be now downloaded in English and French.

• The Section of the SWIM website dedicated to SWIM Demonstration Projects has been updated in English and French. To access the information select first the language from the home page and then click on the tab related to the Demonstration Projects.

Planned activities:

• A SWIM-SM expert group meeting on cumulative environmental impacts of desalination in the Mediterranean is planned to take place on 23 - 24 June 2014 in Brussels, Belgium.

• Two sub-regional Trainings on the Cost Assessment of Water Resources Degradation – one for countries of the Maghreb region and the other for the Mashrek - are planned to be organized respectively on 16-18 June 2014 in Tunis, Tunisia and 23-25 June 2014 in Athens, Greece. 

www.swim-sm.eu

SWIM – Demonstration Projects

SWIM - ACLIMAS

Adaptation to Climate Change of the Mediterranean Agricultural Systems

The following activities have been implemented:

Algeria

• Training course on the “Use of remote sensing techniques for improving resource use efficiency in cereals cultivation”, Algeria, 14–16 April 2014
• Technical visit to Algeria, 12-26 April 2014

Jordan

• Technical visit to Jordan, 13-17 April 2014
• Training course on “Optimizing Resource Use in Cereals: Application of Physiology in Agronomy and Breeding”, Amman-Irbid, Jordan, 14 – 16 April 2014
• Field Day on “Best management practices for cereal cultivation in arid and semi-arid areas” at Maru Agricultural Research Station, Irbid, Jordan, 29 April 2014

Lebanon

• Technical visit on 21 – 25 April 2014

Morocco

• Field day on: "Rotation under conservation agriculture", Souaka implementation site, Settat, Morocco, 2 April 2014
• Field day on "Constraints of adoption of No-TILL package", Ain Nzagh implementation site, Settat, Morocco, 8 April 2014
• Field day at Ain Nzagh implementation site, Settat, Morocco, 22 Apr 2014
• Field day on: "Water productivity under conservation agriculture", Demonstration trial at Sidi El Aydi Experimental Station, Settat, Morocco, 29 April 2014

Tunisia

• Field day on: “Wheat crop, fertilization, weed and pest control” in Menzel Temime, Nabeul, Tunisia, 2 April 2014
• Technical visit on 24 – 30 Apr 2014

Now available online:

• A leaflet on “Benefits of the rotation under direct sowing” in French

Planned activities:

• Scientific days on: “Climate change and adaptation measures”, INAT, Tunis, Tunisia, 20 – 21 May 2014.
• Field day on: "Harvest for good quality and minimum loss”, Settat, Morocco, 10 June 2014.
• Field days on “The best management practices for cereals cultivation in arid and semi-arid areas of Tunisia”, May-June 2014
• Field day on “The improvement of harvesting practices and reduce of yield loss”, Khemis Miliana, Algeria, May 2014
• Field day on “The improvement of harvesting practices and reduce of yield loss”, Irbid, Jordan, May 2014

www.aclimas.eu

SWIM – All Across the Jordan

Trans-boundary NGO Master Planning of the Lower Jordan River Basin

The following activities have been implemented and/or are planned for the coming months:

A Key Consortium meeting was held in Amman to advance the NGO Regional Master Plan for the Lower Jordan River Basin. Final amendments to the project’s baseline study were discussed, key social and environmental projections and summaries of the public stakeholder meetings that took place in Ramallah and Amman were presented and discussed.

The project team is now focused on the development of detailed interventions all aimed at advancing peace, prosperity and sustainability in the Lower Jordan River Valley. Additional public stakeholder meetings are planned to take place next in Israel and Palestine. 

www.foeme.org

SWIM – IMPROWARE

Innovative Means to Protect Water Resources in the Mediterranean Coastal Areas through Re-injection of Treated Water

The following activities have been implemented and/or are planned shortly:

Nobariya Wadi El-Nutrun- Egypt

• The tender for performing geophysical logs within the four production boreholes and one piezometer at Nobariya for hydrogeological investigations has been updated and the contract with the drilling company has been defined.
• Borehole drillings, pumping tests and collection of water samples are expected to be conducted in May-June.
• The information gathered from the borehole investigations will be integrated with the results of the geophysical survey and used for a groundwater model to be established for the project site in June.
• A  Data Integration Report on the Geophysical survey carried out will be successively prepared. The report will integrate and highlight the Transient Electromagnetic (TEM) Method and MRS results in a public manner.
• A two-days training course on the TEM Method for mapping of fresh and salt water resources in the subsurface will be delivered in Egypt. The students will work with the TEM data collected in Nobariya and learn all aspects of the method, from basic theory to data collection, processing, interpretation and visualization.
• The IMPROWARE Geographic Information System (GIS) related to the project sites will be updated in the coming months with new data provided by the Egyptian Project Partner, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agencies (EEAA), and with further available satellite maps.
• The works for building the Constructed Wetland (CW) to treat the effluent from Nobariya Waste Water Treatment Plant have started and will continue for the coming months.
• The CW will improve the quality of the treated water for irrigation or potential aquifer recharge.
• As part of the communication and awareness raising efforts, the event “Building Trust on the Reuse of Treated Water” (29 April, Cairo-Egypt) provided local NGO’s with an overview of Water Saving and Water and Waste Water Treatment in Egypt, as well as a detailed presentation of the pilot project in Nobariya. 
• Dissemination activities with the students of secondary schools in Nobariya are planned to start in May with focus on water scarcity and aiming to promote water saving as an opportunity to raise public awareness on the issue.
• A meeting with local industries is also planned to be organized in Nobariya (end of May) to present and discuss the pilot project (i.e. the upgrade of the present Waste Water Treatment Plant and the construction of a Constructed Wetland for the tertiary treatment of waste water) and its effects.

Korba – Tunisia

• The IMPROWARE Geographic Information System (GIS) of the Tunisian project site has been updated with the datasets provided by the Centre de Recherche et des Technologies des Eaux (CERTE), after the signature of a Memorandum of Scientific Collaboration with this Institute.
• A preliminary survey at Korba has been carried out by experts of the Danish Project Partner Aarhus University (AAR). This served to plan for the survey to be implemented (19-31 May), to identify the measurement area, collect existing geological knowledge and calibrate geophysical instruments. For the survey the Ground Transient Electromagnetic (TEM) Method will be used with the aim to collect crucial information about the geological setting as well as saltwater intrusion of the aquifers.
• A small course on the Transient Electromagnetic (TEM) Method by the experts of Aarhus University (AAR) will be given to students identified by the General Directorate of Water Resources (DGRE) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resources and Fishery that will collaborate with the project during the geophysical survey.
• A Data Integration Report will be successively prepared, by processing and interpreting the Transient Electromagnetic (TEM) measurements collected within the Geophysical survey. The report will show the results as surface maps and profiles and summarize the main findings.

Regional activities

• Combining the effects of the Participatory Processes developed in Tunisia and Egypt through an array of meetings with Institutional and local Stakeholders, IMPROWARE has launched its Communication Campaign “ANY DROP OF WATER” (2-3 April, Tunis -Tunisia). The aim of the campaign is to boost and develop public interest on the crucial topic of water.
• The 2nd part of the Campaign will include the organization of an international workshop in Cairo (June 2014) to illustrate the outcomes of the project and strengthen the participation of Civil Society in the ongoing regional debates on water resources and water quality.
• The IMPROWARE E-Learning module “Scientific and Technical Aspects of Groundwater Resources Management”, including lessons, materials, one case study and reading lists has been prepared and is ready to be delivered starting May 2014.

The following updates have been published on the website:

An article about IMPROWARE on the March issue of the “Arab Water World Magazine

Agenda of ANY DROP OF WATER

Photo Gallery of ANY DROP OF WATER

Presentations and materials of ANY DROP OF WATER

Workshop in Cairo: April, 29th

www.improware.eu

SWIM – Sustain Water MED

Network of demonstration activities for sustainable integrated wastewater treatment and reuse in the Mediterranean countries

Now available online:

The Final announcement of SWIM Sustain Water MED conference to be held from 1-2 December 2014 in Cairo, Egypt was published. Announcement and Registration form can be downloaded by clicking here

Planned activities in May-June 2014

May 2014

• 3rd Regional Training course on Water Quality Management and Environmental Impact, 12 - 16 May 2014 in Djerba/Tunisia;
• Launch of the tender for preparation of the TOR/EIA and technology design for the construction of the  Egyptian pilot  activity at al Guzayera Village in Ismailia Governorate;
• Launch the tender for the construction of the Tunisian pilot activity, Medinine, Tunisia;
• Visit of water and environmental experts to the Jordanian SWIM Sustain Water MED wastewater pilot plant at the public security directorate on 20 May 2014, in the framework of the German-Jordanian Week.

June 2014

• 4th regional meeting of SWIM Sustain Water MED to be held in Rabat/Morocco on 16 - 17 June 2014
• Opening ceremony of SWIM Sustain Water MED wastewater treatment pilot plant at the public security directorate under the patronage of His Excellency the Jordanian Minister of Water and Irrigation Dr. Hazem El Nasser on 22^nd of June 2014

www.swim-sustain-water.eu

SWIM – WADIS-MAR

Water Harvesting and Agricultural techniques in Dry lands: an Integrated and Sustainable Model in MAghreb Regions

The following activities have been implemented:

• The 2nd Hydro-chemical-isotopic campaign took place from 20-25 January 2014 in Tunisia. 14 water samples and 2 solids samples have been collected and chemical and isotopic analysis performed.
• The 3rd Hydro-chemical-isotopic campaign was carried out on 3-6 March 2014 in Algeria. 22 water samples, 3 solids samples and 1 rain water sample have been collected and chemical and isotopic analysis were performed.

Such a detailed (hydro)geochemical characterization of the intervention zones has been done (1) to identify and characterize groundwater recharge dynamics, (2) to determine groundwater quality and contaminants sources and (3) to assess the occurrence of natural attenuation processes. However the interpretation of concentration data alone is insufficient and isotopic data must be also collected and analysed. Multi-isotopic methods were hence used as useful tools to identify the possible sources of contaminants and to more precisely assess and quantify their natural attenuation processes.

• Geoelectrical survey campaign on 6 selected sites of the oued Oum Zessar in Medenine on 7-9 April 2014 with the aim to achieve a precise detection and reconstruction of the aquifers that are planned to undergo the artificial aquifer recharge intervention.
• The final results of the analysis of water samples gained through the two hydro-chemical-isotopic campaigns in Tunisia and the three in Algeria carried out between 2012 and 2014 have been shared with partners and stored in the web-based project’s facility.
• 3D geological models were finalized in Tunisia and Algeria and allowed the detailed  reconstruction of the regional geological setting as well as of the local geological/hydrogeological setting of intervention areas in Tunisia and Algeria.
• The artificial Aquifer Recharge intervention plans were finalized for both Algeria and Tunisia.
• A cooperation agreement within the framework of WADIS-MAR project has been signed between the Algerian relevant agencies: the Agence Nationale des resources Hydrauliques (ANRH) and the Institut Technique du Développement de l'Agriculture Saharienne (ITDAS).
• The sites for agronomic interventions have been selected and the agricultural plan has been finalized in Algeria. These sites are actually representing main agricultural system of the area of Biskra (Cereals, vegetable crops on greehouses or in open fields and date palms). WADIS-MAR will apply irrigation practices aiming to a more efficient use of water in the area.
• A Regional Training on Geoelectrical Prospection of Aquifers was held in Medenine (TN) on 7-12 April 2014.

Planned activities:

• A Participatory GIS activity is planned in October/November 2014: A field workshop will be organized aiming at involving a high number of farmers in view of disseminating the results obtained through the agricultural activity implemented in greenhouses that applied more efficient irrigation management practices.

www.wadismar.eu