The Jeezrael Valley project for wastewater reclamation and reuse, Israel

Abstract

The Jeezrael Valley is one of the richest agricultural regions of Israel, with urban communities in and around the valley. Irrigation in the valley follows the general trend of irrigation in Israel, where potable water is replaced by reclaimed wastewater. In the near future, reclaimed effluent is expected to form 80% of all irrigation water used in valley. This paper discusses a new regional wastewater reclamation and reuse project in the Jeezrael Valley which takes advantage of the proximity of the urban communities to the cultivated areas. The project combines semi-intensive wastewater treatment plants situated near the urban areas with wastewater reservoirs situated in the rural areas. The rationale behind the scheme is discussed and the performance during the first year of operation is presented. During this first year this combined reclamation system was able to release effluent of high quality. The system is expected to release effluent of unrestricted irrigation quality when all its components are installed, enabling the reservoirs to be operated in a full sequential batch mode.