Application of natural treatment systems for wastewater reuse in agriculture in Gaza Strip

Water supply represents a constant worldwide challenge for people and authorities. This problem is significantly severe in arid and semiarid regions such as Gaza Strip, where groundwater constitutes the only freshwater source. Furthermore, Gaza Strip area suffers from water scarcity due to the decrease in water recharge, constant groundwater over-pumping, seawater intrusion, and the huge gap between water demand and water supply, which cause serious problems in freshwater supply by quantity and quality point of view. In that region, agriculture represents the second-highest sector for water consumption, using more than 50% of the water from the stressed polluted Gaza’s coastal aquifer. Treated wastewater reuse and recycling could represent a sustainable approach to increase water resource availability, alleviate stressed polluted Gaza’s coastal aquifer, and contribute to local agriculture. This study presents an analysis for applying of natural wastewater treatment system in Al-Mawasi District, Rafah Governorate, Gaza Strip, where the inadequate management of wastewaters has a high impact on public health and the environment. The experimental study began at the end of 2018 with an environmental and territorial framework of the Southern area of Gaza Strip and in-depth research to choose the appropriate technology (phytoremediation and aerated lagoon). Firstly, a pilot-scale plant has been designed and installed to evaluate the feasibility of a municipal wastewater recovery for agricultural purposes in Rafah (Gaza Strip), reproducing real working conditions and performances of a real plant. The pilot plant has been fed by the sewage coming from the municipal WWTP of Rafah City after the primary treatment. The technology was monitored with physico-chemical, and microbiological analysis, which has been carried out in the “Coastal Municipalities Water Utility Central Lab – State of Palestine”, to evaluate the quality of treated water in comparison with the Palestinian legal limits for wastewater reuse in irrigation. The preliminary results highlighted that the phytoremediation system, followed by natural disinfection, improves the overall wastewater treatment process. The analysis of the effluents demonstrates that, under controlled conditions, treated municipal wastewater can be used for agriculture purposes with effective economic and environmental benefits. The results have allowed the construction, in summer 2021, of a real scale finishing treatment plant, in the same area, able to treat a municipal wastewater flow of about 1000 m3/day that will be used for local crops (such as olives, citrus, potatoes, grapes, and guava) by many farmers, final beneficiaries of the project. In the meantime, a socio-economic study to identify the beneficiaries and evaluate the social impact of the project was carried out. The whole project has been designed according to a sustainability approach, demonstrating actual environmental, social, and economic effectiveness. This study has been developed inside a research project carried on by the University of Bologna together with the Italian NGO “Overseas”, the University of Applied Sciences (UCAS), Gaza, and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees Association (UAWCA) – Gaza, in the context of a longtime collaboration between University of Bologna and Palestine.