ASSESSING BEST AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGIES (BAT) FOR DESALINATION AND WASTEWATER REUSE IN RURAL AREAS WITHIN AN IWRM CONTEXT
SWIM-Support Mechanism is preparing two assessments aiming to provide the decision makers in Partner Countries with a review and close-up look at the state of the art on BAT respectively for desalination and wastewater reuse, including groundwater artificial recharge, with special emphasis on applications in rural areas. The assessments, that shall be concluded in April 2012, will be successively utilized to plan appropriate capacity building and training programs of stakeholders as well as targeted technical assistance under SWIM-SM.
The focus will be on nonconventional water resources priorities identified by PCs, as desalination and wastewater reuse technologies, including groundwater recharge within an IWRM context. Desalination shall encompass both seawater and inland brackish water desalination.
The assessments are designed to move beyond the traditional description and compilation of BAT, aiming to examine and verify the suitability and technical feasibility of BAT in the PCs while considering the prevailing socio-economic, political and cultural specificities and constraints.
In particular, the information produced is intended to provide updated background for the preparation of sector guidelines to assist officials in screening and assessing the applicability of the selected BAT within national/local water management plans in their country based on a set of considerations (including environmental, regulatory, social, environmental, management and administrative ones, etc.) and recommended modalities for the evaluation of local community needs for these technologies.
Finally, since the development of wastewater reuse and/or desalination infrastructures based on BAT in rural areas cannot be established in separation from National water resources plan within an IWRM context, proper mechanisms to ensure the integration of rural BATs into IWRM plans will also be identified.
For the BAT on desalination contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For the BAT on wastewater reuse contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.