Technological and environmental health aspects of wastewater reuse for irrigation in Egypt and Israel : final project evaluation

The project has been implemented by the University of Michigan, Egypt's Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, and the Hebrew University in Israel. The evaluation covers the period 4/90-4/93. Overall, the project has been a success. The Suez Experimental Station, completed under the project's predecessor, has been well operated and maintained. Station trials have demonstrated (with the caveats noted below) that fish and crops can be safely and efficiently grown in treated wastewater. The Station, the only site in Egypt to systematically examine the public health aspects of such a technology, has become a sustainable asset for the Egyptian government's National Institute for Oceanography and Fisheries. Because of the project's activities (reciprocal visits between Israeli and Egyptian researchers; their joint participation in workshops and seminars and other training activities; and joint research and publication) a core group of senior researchers linked by strong professional and personal bonds has emerged in the region. However, the political context in which the researchers have worked is intimidating; it is still an act of courage for an Egyptian researcher to become a visible participant in the project, as evidenced in the fact that only 6 of the 40 Egyptian participants have visited Israel. The following issues remain unsolved. (1) The extreme salinity of the influent, and the much greater salinity of the pond effluent at the Suez Station, have presented practical problems for agronomic trials and leave open a number of questions regarding pond operation and wastewater reuse. (2) Helminths are still present in the maturation pond of the treatment system and in the fishraising pond at levels that equal or exceed WHO guidelines. (3) Viral analyses of the treated wastewater have not yet been performed, despite training provided to Egyptian scientists; such analyses are need to assure that the wastewater is acceptable for use in agriculture and aquaculture. (4) Researchers do not know the actual retention time of wastewater; no dye tests have been performed. (5) Israeli researchers have not solved thermal stratification problems in Israeli ponds. There may be implications for Egyptian attempts to replicate the Suez technology. (6) The performance of the Suez pond system regarding coliforms is better than predicted, although the reasons why, necessary if the technology is to be replicated, have not yet been determined. Unfortunately, the project has been delayed in: implementing local and national workshops to discuss the application of Suez research in Egypt; completing economic and sociological analyses on costs and benefits, changing social and cultural attitudes, and investment opportunities and risks with different wastewater re-use applications; and producing operational manuals for pond operation and monitoring, fishrearing practices, and agricultural applications. In addition, the rate of publication by Egyptian researchers has been low. While some of the above activities cannot be implemented until the project's near end, others such as the workshops, publications, and social and economic analysis should have been already been launched or completed.