Wastewater with advanced treatment: an option for meeting Kuwait's non-potable water demands

Abstract

During the past few years, Kuwait has been encouraging the development of alternative water resources. This stems from the fact that the available natural water resources are scarce, and water demands are growing due to increasing population growth. A potential alternative water resource which may replace existing water resources in non-potable utilization is renovated wastewater. Currently, huge amount of municipal wastewater is conventionally treated in Kuwait sewage treatment plants and major portion of this treated effluent is discharged to the Gulf. Advanced treatment of treated wastewater would yield a better quality effluent which can be used as an alternative water resource and therefore reduce the demand in fresh and brackish water supplies. This paper intends to explore the potentials of using advanced treated wastewater in meeting the growing water demands in the State of Kuwait.