The coming era of intensive wastewater reuse in the Mediterranean region

Abstract

Reuse of wastewater will intensify in the coming decades in the Mediterranean countries due to water shortage, the climatic conditions, the need for agricultural irrigation, the necessity of improving health and environmental conditions for the growing population as well as for the large tourists population. Reuse in agricultural irrigation of unrestricted crops as well as municipal uses of watering of public parks, sport fields and golf courses are of first priority. Groundwater recharge and toilet flushing in high-rise hotels and office buildings should be also considered in the near future. These reuses require considerable treatment and a high and uncompromising quality of effluent. A brief review of the current experience in various countries in the Mediterranean ranging from demonstration to full-scale plants is given. Some reuse schemes in Israel are briefly described as examples of the reuse trends and practices as well as some of the cost and economics of various reuse existing and proposed schemes.