One of the main challenges that faces

Alexandria city is the shortage of waterresources especially in the west zone of thecity. So the use of treated wastewater isone of the solutions to solve this problem as

well as the financial resources problem.Therefore it was necessary to useinnovative marketing techniques toovercome the problems of safe wastewater

reuse and over come the challenges thatface the application of this concept.

One of the problems is that the location

of the wastewater treatment plants existsso far from the areas that will be used in.Another problem is marketing issues, suchas 1) The bad reputation of the wastewater

and how you can convent the client to useit, 2) The public awareness to the citizens ofAlexandria city that they can use this watersafely in the fields which mentioned in the

3.1 Effluent demand:

3.1.1 Industrial demand:

According to our search no industries are willing to consider using

treated effluent from Alexandria wastewater treatment plants due to

the concern about the safety of using this effluent and the risk of

loosing their market.

3.1.2 Urban demand:

Only urban areas located outside Alexandria especially in arid zones

can use treated effluent in irrigating green yards (this is mainly due to

the shortage of water resources allover the year). Example: ASDCO

contract with Alex West Housing compound to receive treated

wastewater from the km 26 wastewater secondary treatment plant

(4000 m3/d) to be reused in irrigating the green areas all around the

compound. Figure (1) shows Alex West compound using treated

wastewater in irrigation.

3.1.3 Agricultural demand:

The feasibility of treated wastewater reuse for irrigation will largely

depend on Type of treatment and of industrial pollutants; Availability

of suitable areas for irrigation; Irrigation methods and soil types;

Cropping pattern; Matching supply and demand; Environmental

3.3 Reuse options of Alexandria WWTPs effluent:

3.3.1 Effluent form East treatment plant

3.3.2 Effluent form west treatment plant

3.3.3 Effluents form small WWTPs :

3.3.3.1 El-Agamy (km 21) WWTP

3.3.3.2 Borg Al-Arab WWTP.

3.3.3.3 El-Maamora, El-Seiouf and Abis WWTPs

3.4 Proposed public awareness Pilot Project:

To raise the public awareness of the young and adults about the idea

of sanitation and wastewater treatment stages. It consists of 2 parts

3.4.1 Educational part:

To construct a Maquette demonstrating the journey of wastewater

starting from houses entering the public sewerage network and

ending with arrival of the sludge to site 9N to be treated and the

treated effluent reaching an agricultural land where it is used in

irrigation. Figure (3) presents a similar pilot project.

3.4.2 Field part:

This part requires allocating a piece of land, divided into three parts.

1st ) constructed with a greenhouse for planting some ornamental

plants, figure (4), 2nd ) grown with artificial grass, 3rd ) planted with

The term wastewater reuse is often used synonymously

with the terms wastewater recycling and wastewater

reclamation. The most common reason for establishing a

wastewater reuse program is to identify new water

resources for increased water demand and to find

economical ways to meet increasingly more stringent

discharge standards.

The Use of treated wastewater is an attractive option as 1)

the quantity generated will rise with population and

increased industrial activity; 2) Treated wastewater could

be substituted in applications such as potential non-

agricultural uses; 3) For agriculture, it can be mixed with

fresh water, thereby economizing on the use of the latter;

4) The nutrients in reclaimed water reduce the need for

applying chemical fertilizers; 5) It can serve as an

environmentally superior alternative to disposing of

wastewater in the sea or other water bodies.

However, there are risks requiring that the quality of

treated wastewater will be taken into account in deciding

appropriate uses. It is important to allow safe and

economically responsible reuse of Alexandria treated

INTRODUCTION DISCUSSIONRESULTSABSTRACT

The Marketability of Wastewater Reuse in Alexandria Sanitary Drainage CompanyDr. Helaley A. H. Helaley 1, Dr. Samaa M. Z. Abdel Aziz 2, Acc. Islam F.T. Okka3

1 Chief of Industrial Drainage, Sludge and Reuse Sector, 2 Manager of Industrial Wastewater Research Dept., 3 Manager of Development and Technical office Depts.,

Alexandria Sanitary Drainage Company, Alexandria, Egypt.

Dr. Helaley Abdel Hady Helaley

Alexandria Sanitary Drainage Company.

drhelalley@yahoo.com

01005201367- 01229388878

safely in the fields which mentioned in the

Egyptian code, 3) Psychological factors thatmake the people don’t be convinced to usethis water and in the same time they knowthat this water is safe to use but they prefer

to don’t use it, 4) There are no motives tomake people use this water, and the mostimportant motive for the client to make himuse this water is the price and we are trying

to make a challenging price which to motivehim to use this water.

Alexandria Sanitary Drainage Company

(ASDCO) has about 16 secondarywastewater treatment plants producingabout 1.6 million m3 per day of treatedeffluent. We made the first step in this

project which is selling the treatedwastewater that is the output of the kilo 26secondary treatment plant to Alex WestHousing Compound for irrigating

landscapes.

Cropping pattern; Matching supply and demand; Environmental

impacts and Costs. The current needs for all purposes at Alexandria

are fulfilled from the available resources. The required demand will

increase by 2017 to approx. 3 million m3 which should be provided

from non-regular resources like reuse of treated wastewater .

This situation could change under the case if there would be a

decrease in Alexandria’s share of water resources. Thus, it would be

worth to reuse all treated wastewater in irrigation within Alexandria.

3.2 Cultivation Options:

The substitution of domestically produced wood instead of

imported wood in industry improves the balance of payments and

reduces inflation. The Egyptian code 501/2005 discusses the

possibilities of using treated wastewater in agriculture that could help

in increasing income.

plants, figure (4), 2 ) grown with artificial grass, 3 ) planted with

types of rare palm trees that have fast economic return. These 3

parts will be irrigated using treated wastewater and fertilized by

composted sludge as an organic fertilizer produced out of

wastewater.

A laboratory will be built near this area to provide periodic analysis

of both soils and plants to determine the effect and long term effect

on using both treated wastewater and treated sludge, and the validity

for reuse.

2.1 A survey was done to search for facilities or areas that

could possibly use treated effluent from Alexandria

wastewater treatment plants in any possible activities.

2.2 Survey of the wastewater treatment plants of ASDCO,

their capacities and the areas around each treatment plant

that could be considered for reuse.

2.3 Proposing a pilot project to raise the public awareness

of the young and adults about the idea of sanitation and

wastewater treatment stages.

The plan for marketing this treated effluent could be applied as the

system (contract) already used between ASDCO and Alex West

housing compound. The contract states that the client (Alex West)

receives 4000 m3/day of treated effluent with a price of 0.25 + 10%

annual increase (the current price reached 0.33 L.E/m3 at 2011) and

the conveyance system is constructed by the client and on his own

expenses. This price 0.33 L.E/m3 is feasible for investment to any

client along the North coast as the current price of turbid water

currently reaching these areas is 0.65 L.E/m3 and with lower qualities

than the treated effluent.

economically responsible reuse of Alexandria treated

wastewater in order to make the best use of the existing

resources and to protect the environment and human

health. Wastewater reuse can reduce Lake Maryout

deterioration, while minimizing the amount of wastewater

discharged to the aqueous environment of the lake.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

1- Egyptian code for re-use 501 of 2005.

2- Maximizing the use of treated sanitary wastewater in agriculture, Professor

Dr.Nabil Fathi Mr. Kandil, Research Institute of Land and Water and the

Environment-Agricultural Research Center.

3- Environment Law No. (4) for the year 1994.

4- Wastewater reuse conserves water and protect water ways By Caigan

McKenzie • NESC Staff Writer.

5- European Union Water Initiative (EUWI) Dialogues, Egyptian Dialogue on

National Planning for Wastewater Reuse

6- Integrated water resource management 2 , Feasibility of wastewater reuse

Report no.14, Russell Misheloff, IRG Principal, IWRM II Project Manager,

Senior Economist

CONCLUSIONS

REFERENCES

Figure 2. Proposal for marketing effluent of Hanoville,

Amriya and Agamy WWTPs.

Figure 3. Maquette showing the

wastewater treatment process.

Figure 1. Alex West Housing compound receiving treated

wastewater for irrigation.

CONT ACT

Figure 4. Greenhouse using treated

wastewater irrigation system.