A kit designed to treat household wastewater (greywater) for reuse has been developed for rural areas in the Middle East and North Africa by the Regional Water Demand Initiative (WaDImena) of the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

The kit consists of two large PVC barrels about 1.2 meters high, each able to contain up to 200 litres of water, pipes and sand. Before reaching the barrels, solid matter is removed by a pre-treatment filter. The wastewater then goes through a sand filter to remove organic matter by anaerobic digestion. The sand filter also improves chemical and bacteriological quality, and removes parasite eggs. To tackle the problem of smell, a system to remove gas was developed.

The treated wastewater can be used for productive purposes such as irrigation of olive trees and for household reuse like flushing toilets. Another advantage is that the kit reduces the amount of water that goes into cesspits, which only have to be cleaned once every three months instead of once a week. This reduces the cost of emptying the cesspits.

The cost of the kit, US$ 300-400 (€ 230-300) or less depending materials used, can be recovered within a year in countries like Jordan and Lebanon, according to IDRC, if productive use and cost savings in cesspit evacuation are taken into account.

Related news: Improving wastewater agriculture by involving stakeholders, Source Bulletin, Aug 2008

Related publication: Devotta, S. … [et al.] (2007). Greywater reuse in rural schools: wisewater management. Guidance manual. Nagpur, India, NEERI and and Bhophal, India, UNICEF. Read more

Related web sites: IDRC - WaDImena ; WASPA Asia

Contact: Hammou Laamrani, WaDImena Project Coordinator, IDRC, Egypt, hlaamrani@idrc.org.eg

Source: IRIN, 23 Mar 2009

Tags: middle east & north africa, rural wash, technology, wastewater treatment, water and livelihoods