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Water Reuse
Within a Circular
Economy Context
Water Reuse Within a Circular Economy Context
GLOBAL WATER
SECURITY ISSUES
SERIES
2
2
Providing clean and secure water resources is key to achieving SDG 6,
"Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation
for all”. Water is essential for human activities and is critical to many sectors
of the economy, therefore its sustainable use is fundamental in a circular
economy model.
In accordance with the United Nations’ World Water Development Report
2019, global water demand is expected to increase by 20-30% by 2050 and
this increased demand will exacerbate water security issues generally.
Rapid urbanization and population growth are creating even more
challenges to supplying safe water. Climate Change is also resulting in more
frequent occurrences of oods and severe droughts, which in turn also
aect the availability of secure water supply and sanitation. In this context,
it is now more important than ever to look for non-conventional water
resources to ensure sucient water resources for all basic human needs.
According to UN-Water, 80% of wastewater ows back into the ecosystem
without being reused or treated, and 1.8 billion people are exposed to
contaminated drinking water sources as a result. Wastewater is a potential
resource that can ll this supply gap in industry and agriculture. Reused
water is not just an alternative source of water, it is an opportunity to
provide benets for many human activities.
This second GWSI series examines the critical role of water reuse in the
circular economy, demonstrating that wastewater and other marginal
water sources should be seen as resources that are too valuable to simply
ignore or discard. The case studies within this report explore how water
reuse can be a major tool and part of a strategy to achieve the SDGs. Water
reuse also presents an opportunity to develop sustainable water resources
that protect our communities and ecosystems.
United Nations
Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization
Intergovernmental
Hydrological
Programme
Intergovernmental
Hydrological
Programme
United Nations
Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization
9789231 004131
Water Security and
the Sustainable
Development Goals
Water Reuse
within
a Circular Economy Context
Publishe d by the United Nations Edu cational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO), 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 S P, France,
and UNESCO In ternational Centre f or Water Security a nd Sustainable
Managemen t (i-WSSM), 125, Yuseon g-daero 1689 Beo n-gil, Yuseong-gu,
Daejeon, Republic of Korea
© UNESCO / UN ESCO i-WSSM 2020
ISBN UNESCO 978-92-3-100413-1
This public ation is available in Op en Access under t he Attributio n-Share
Alike 3.0 IGO (CC-B Y-SA 3.0 IGO) license (ht tp:// creativecommons .org/
licenses /by-sa/3.0/igo/ ) from the UNESCO Op en Access Reposi tory
(http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesdoc-open-access) and i-WSSM web
page (http://unesco-iwssm.org).
The pres ent license applie s exclusively to the te xt content of the pu blication.
For the use of a ny material not clearl y identified as b elonging to UNESCO
or UNESCO i- WSSM, prior per mission shall be r equested from: p ublication.
copyrigh t@unesco.org or UN ESCO Publishing, 7, place de Fo ntenoy, 75352
Paris 07 SP Fran ce, or iwssm@une sco-iwssm .org, 125, Yuseo ng-daero 1689
Beon-gil, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
The desig nations employed an d the presentat ion of material throug hout
this public ation do not imply th e expression of a ny opinion whatsoe ver
on the par t of UNESCO or UNESCO i -WSSM concerning t he legal status of
any countr y, territory, cit y or area or of its aut horities, or con cerning the
delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
The ideas an d opinions expres sed in this public ation are those of t he
author s and do not necessa rily reflec t the views of UNESCO o r UNESCO
i-WSSM an d do not commit thes e organizations .
Sugges ted citation: UNE SCO and UNESCO i-WS SM. 2020. Water Reuse wit hin
a Circular Econ omy Context (Ser ies II). Global Water Secu rity Issues (GW SI)
Serie s – No.2, UNESCO Publis hing, Paris.
Editors
Eunher Shin, UNESCO i-WS SM, Republic of Korea.
Seo Hyun g Choi, UNESCO i-WSS M, Republic of Korea.
Alexandros K. Makarigakis, UNESCO, France.
Okjoo Sohn, UNESCO, France.
Callum Clench, Internat ional Water Resource s Associatio n (IWRA), Portug al.
Mary Trudeau, Envirings I nc. and Internation al Water Resources
Asso ciation (IWRA), Cana da.
Peer Reviewers
Hassan Tolba Aboelnga, Unive rsity of Kass el and TH Köln, Germany.
Emmanuel Akpabio, Universit y of Dundee, United Kin gdom.
Amali Abraham Amali, TH Köln, Ger many.
Ximing Cai, University of Illinois, United State s.
Amgad Elmahdi, International Water Management Institute-MENA , Egypt.
Jan Hofman, Universit y of Bath, United Kingdo m.
Muhammad Wajid Ijaz, Go vernment of the Punjab -Lahore, Pakis tan.
Wendy Jepson, Texas A&M Univer sity, United States.
William R . Jones, U.S. Food an d Drug Administration Center fo r Food
Safety and Applied Nutrition, United States.
Kanokphan Jongjarb, Instit ute for Environment and H uman Security
and Univer sity of Bonn, Ger many.
Olivia Molden, Earth Econo mics, United State s.
James Nickum, University of London, United Kingdom.
Amrisha Pandey, International Law Scholar, India.
Charalampos Skoulikaris, Democritus University of Thra ce and Aristotle
University of Thes saloniki, Greece .
Maya Velis, Wo rld Bank, United Stat es.
Authors
Oriana Romano, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), France.
Luis Cecchi, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD), France .
Diego J. Rod riguez, World Bank Group, Mexico.
Hector A. Serrano, World Bank Group, M exico.
Anna Delgado, World Bank G roup, Mexico.
Daniel Nolasco, World Bank Group, Me xico.
Gustavo Saltiel, World Bank Gro up, Mexico.
Cecilia Tortajada, National University of Sin gapore, Singapore .
Ishaan Bindal, National University of Singa pore, Singapore.
Elisa Stefan, Federal University of Paraná, Brazil.
Cristóvão Vicente Scapulatempo Fernandes, Federal Univer sity of
Paraná, Brazil.
Keng Han Tng, Unive rsity of New Sout h Wales Sydney, Australia.
Conna Leslie-Keefe, Unive rsity of New Sout h Wales Sydney, Australia.
Greg Leslie, University of N ew South Wales Sydney, Aus tralia.
Anas Tallou, Sultan Moulay Slimane U niversity of Ben i Mellal, Morocco.
Afaf Belabhir, University C adi Ayyad, Morocco.
Francisco Pedrero Salcedo, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, Spain.
Ayoub El Ghad raoui, Universit y Cadi Ayyad, Mo rocco.
Faissal Aziz, Universit y Cadi Ayyad, Mo rocco.
Mohammad Al-Saidi, Qatar Universit y, Qatar.
Suddeh Dehnavi, TH-Köln—U niversity of App lied Sciences, G ermany.
Enrique Mesa-Pérez, University of Cordoba, Spain.
Alfonso Expósito, University of Seville, Spain.
Rafael Casielles, Bioazul, S.L., Spain.
Julio Berbel, University of Cordoba, Spain.
Emmanuel M. Akpabio, Universit y of Uyo, Nigeria.
Chaya Ravishankar, Xylem Wate r Solutions India Pv t Ltd., India.
Manasi Seshaiah, Insti tute for Social and Econ omic Change, India.
Lesley Rotich, Universi ty of Waterloo, Canada .
Larr y A. Swatuk, Univer sity of Waterloo, Ca nada.
Am Jang, Sung kyunkwan University, Republic of Korea.
Sung-Ju Im, Sungkyunkwan Univer sity, Republic of Korea.
Nguyen Du c Viet, Sungkyunkwan Unive rsity, Republic of Korea.
Nosheen Asghar, Sungkyunkwan Univer sity, Republic of Korea.
Acknowledgement
We acknowle dge with gratitude t he support prov ided by the
Internati onal Water Resources A ssociation (IWR A).
Cover and ins ide design: ©Junghwan K im, Pieona Book s & UNESCO i-WSSM
Cover photo (fr ont): ©juan hung-yen/Sh utterstoc k. Ikegami, Japan
Cover photo (back): ©Mariusz Szcz ygiel/Shutterstock . Wroclaw, Poland
Printed in Se oul, Republic of Kore a by Pieona Books
7 Marginal Water Resources for Food Production 127
7
Marginal Water Resources for Food Production
– Challenges for Enhancing De-growth and Circular Economy
in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries and Iran
Mohammad Al-Saidi and Sudeh Dehnavi
Mohammad Al-Saidi, Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Qatar.
e-mail: malsaidi@qu.edu.qa
Sudeh Dehnavi, Institute for Technology and Resources Management the Tropics and Subtropics,
TH-Köln—University of Applied Sciences, Germany.
e-mail: sudeh.dehnavi@th-koeln.de
Abstract
This contribution reviews current eorts in the region, and compares reuse trends in Iran and Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
Agricultural production in the Gulf region is naturally constrained by water scarcity and alternative water sources are therefore
highly needed. The impacts of unsustainable water use on the limited, non-renewable groundwater resources are disastrous
in terms of declining groundwater table, increased salinity and farm closures. In Iran, water is more available but water scarcity
is increasing due to the rapid growth of economy and population, but also due to waste and overuse. Marginal water resources –
unutilized water of lower quality - such as urban wastewater, stormwater, as well as saline water, can provide important options
for sustainable local food production. Although some new water sources, such as treated wastewater, are being increasingly used,
the use in agriculture or other close-to-person uses are still not common. At the same time, dierent water sources can be used
or combined for food production, e.g. marine-terrestrial agriculture or the utilization of harvested or drained water. In this context,
this comparative review analyses the use of these marginal resources for food production as a way to enhance de-growth
and a circular economy in urban areas of the region. It first highlights the available marginal resources and conceptualizes the use
of these resources in the context of sustainability paradigms, such as de-growth and circular production. At the same time, policy
challenges are highlighted and this paper advocates the use and potential of new resources such as treated municipal wastewater.
For a wide use to happen, such new water sources need to be appropriately identified, treated, delivered and accepted by society
and end-users.
Keywords
Marginal water resources, treated wastewater, water reuse, de-growth, circular economy, Gulf Cooperation Council, Iran
128 Understanding Challenges of Water Reuse
01
Introduction
Water scarcity is a constraining factor for food production in
most riparian countries of the Persian/Arabian Gulf.
This is particularity true for the hyper-arid region of the Gulf
Cooperation Council countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates). These countries,
which have a small cultivated land ratio of between 2-4%
in comparison to the global average of around 10%, are
increasingly impor ting most of their food supplies due to
rising populations and increasing food consumption per
capita (Al-Saidi & Saliba, 2019). Both the GCC region and Iran
face a similar challenge with regard to water supply security
threats due to growth, waste and ineective policies.
Further, all countries have a high rate of urban population of
more than 85% for the GCC region, and around 74% for Iran in
2017 – both above the global average of around 55% (World
Bank, 2019). Supplying the growing, and increasingly urban,
population with suicient amounts of food in decent quality
without causing a deterioration of water resources availability
and quality is an important challenge.
In Iran, water is more available but water scarcity is increasing
due to the rapid growth of economy and population, but also
due to other combined factors such as mismanagement,
overuse, economic sanctions, expansion of the cultivation
area in the context of the food suiciency policies
(Madani et al., 2016; Pirani & Arafat, 2016).
The high rate of food imports is expected to continue due to
local population growth, constraints of land, and the presence
of large numbers of expats who fuel markets for international
food (Kodithuwakku et al., 2016). At the same time, local
food markets are increasingly finding more attraction due to
societal demands for healthier food and political initiatives
to decrease the dependence on food imports (Alpen Capital,
2017). In addition, wastage by households and in the tourism
sector is also a major concern (Pirani & Arafat, 2016).
However, the environmental impact of local food production
is significant. Groundwater resources are largely used for
agriculture, which consumed 67-93% of total annual water
used in GCC countries in 2010, and have witnessed a steep
decline, leading to water quality problems, seawater intrusion
and many farm closures (Saif et al., 2014). Similarly in Iran,
the local agricultural sector, which consumes around 92%
of water, has been heavily subsidised, and, particularly aer
the Islamic Revolution in 1979, has achieved higher rates
of suiciency of more than 90% which also resulted cheap
food prices, increased food demands and the promotion of
consumerism culture (Amid, 2007; Saatsaz, 2019).
The water demands for agricultural in the Gulf region can be
partially met through the use of marginal water resources
(World Bank, 2019). These resources are defined here as
unutilised water resources of typically lower quality.
Marginal water resources such as urban wastewater from
domestic, commercial and industrial eluents, stormwater,
as well as saline water, can provide important options for
sustainable local food production. At the same time,
the use of these resources can reduce the need to desalinate
more water. The desalination increase to meet future
demands has raised several concerns about the future of
the Gulf water body, e.g. the deterioration of water quality
(e.g. through increased salinity) and an increase of supply
risks in the case of failures of mega desalination plants
(Al-Saidi & Saliba, 2019). Although some marginal water
resources such as treated sewerage eluents are increasingly
being used, mostly for non-edible agriculture (i.e. uses
and products not directly for human consumption such as
landscaping or forage cultivation), there are many other
unused resources. For example, treated wastewater is
an important emerging source of reused water for urban areas
due to the closeness of wastewater treatment plants to urban
areas. If these plants were to become more integrated with
urban agriculture, the beneficial uses of this water source
are numerous as it can replace earlier mentioned freshwater
use for non-edible agriculture. Fur ther, saline water and
wastewater can be used for combined marine-terrestrial
agriculture, while water harvested or drained water is oen
suitable for vertical farming.
In this context, this contribution aims to analyse the use of
these marginal resources for food production as a way to
enhance de-growth (a food economy characterized by
low-metabolism and high-reuse rates) in the cities of
the region, with a particular focus on challenges facing
the emerging use of treated wastewater. This study uses
recent academic reviews, primar y literature as well as policy
documents to highlight directions for marginal water use in
the Gulf region. It does not provide detailed national-level
analysis of technologies, projects or trends in marginal
water use per type and region since such data are largely
not available and/or consistent. In fact, academic research
on reuse trends, policies and constraints in the region is
limited, with only a handful of papers mainly on wastewater
treatment either in the GCC region or in Iran. We assume that
the comparison between Iran and GCC countries can provide
valuable insights. Both Iran and the GCC region have similar
economic characteristics (middle and upper-middle income
carbon economies with strong state involvement) as well
as water scarcity pressures (due to natural scarcity and/or
growing populations and economies).
At the same time, they dier in terms of hydrological
conditions as well as the technological advancement and
policies with regard to water reuse. The chapter first briefly
conceptualises the use of these resources in the context of
the sustainability paradigms such de-growth and circular
economy. Here, marginal water resources are seen as more
sustainable alternatives to the use of freshwater.
Therefore, they constitute an instrument to curb waste
of water, energy and produce through the use of local
production. This contribution also outlines current eorts
in the GCC countries and in Iran to utilise these resources.
Later, the main policy challenges are analysed in more detail
in order to outline recommendations for the potential use of
these resources for urban food production.
7 Marginal Water Resources for Food Production 129
02
Marginal Water Resources,
Circular Economy and Degrowth
– Conceptual Remarks
2.1. Linking De-growth to Reuse and the Circularity
Idea
The need for, and benefits from, the utilization of marginal
water resources can be derived from broader sustainability
paradigms that oer generic recommendations for
a better (more sustainable) production, consumption and
resource utilization. Here, we are not concerned about these
paradigms as precise scientific ideas or political economic
propositions, but more as general, but useful, sustainability
frameworks and entry points for debates.
For example, we do not understand the de-growth idea as in
contrast to growth per se. In fact, de-growth resembles
a “banner” that rallies critics of uncontrolled growth – more
production and more consumption – that is evidently
crossing impor tant planetary or environmental boundaries,
thus becoming destructive and unsustainable (Latouche,
2009). In fact, although the idea of de-growth has been
around for a while, it has gained much attention in recent
years as a common demand by some scholars, activists and
policymakers for a transformative change towards a new era
in which growth is not an ultimate and absolute objective
(D’Alisa et al., 2015). The concrete implications of this concept
are oen captured in principles such as re-conceptualizing
(redefining desirable growth and development ideas),
restructuring (e.g. through structural change of industries),
re-localizing (e.g. local food), reducing (e.g. minimization of
waste), recycling or reusing (e.g. reuse of water) (Latouche,
2009). This is done through a downscaling of the physical
throughput in order to achieve a sustainable steady-state
(Büchs & Koch, 2019). We use this understanding of de-growth
and define it in the food sector as a steady-state in which
the food value chain (production, distribution, consumption
and disposal) is characterized by low-metabolism and reuse
is widely practiced in the food economy (e.g. water reuse for
agriculture, food sharing or donations). In this sense,
the de-growth idea cannot be eectively separate, nor should
it be, from other concepts such as the circular economy
narrative since both address the narrowing and slowing of
material flows and the importance of increasing circulation
of materials (Schröder et al., 2019). In fact, the core of circular
economy’s definition lies in the ideas of reduction, reuse and
recycling (3R framework) (Kirchherr et al., 2017), while most
of the concrete applications of such a concept are driven by
the business community or pioneer countries (e.g. Germany,
China) advocating low-metabolism economies and reuse
systems for valuable/scarce resources (Korhonen et al., 2018;
Geissdoerfer et al., 2017 ).
Sustainable production and utilisation of food/land as well as
water are prerequisites, as well as a means, for the fulfilment
of the de-growth premise while circularity of resource
utilization helps achieve this premise. De-growth, and some
circular economy concepts, can be closely associated with
the idea of strong sustainability which postulates that one
capital type should not be substituted by another one to
generate growth. Here, water and food policies are evolving
to incorporate strong sustainability ideas through the use of
ecosystems services, natural infrastructure and community-
based management approaches that utilise and protect
both water and land resources (Al-Saidi & Buriti, 2018).
Furthermore, both water and food are non-substitutable and
satiable, basic needs whose satisfaction should not be traded
against each other in a way that jeopardises the sustainability
and the long-term availability of the underlying resources,
e.g. destroying arable land or polluting/overusing water
resources (Büchs & Koch, 2019). In this context, the
transformation of the agricultural sector requires rethinking
current practices and their potential to contribute to a low
metabolism in line with the de-growth idea. Gomiero (2018)
explored de-growth criteria for the agricultural sector,
namely the availability of an “appropriate technology” for
creating jobs as well as the use of “convivial tools” such as
do-it-yourself tools and tools that increase productivity and
have an open-access character. Using these criteria, some
current practices, such as bio-tech agriculture or organic
farming, face limitations such as the lack of conviviality
for a large-scale and user-driven practice. Therefore, more
experimentation is needed to identify food practices that
correspond to the proclamations of de-growth in the
agricultural sector in terms of increasing local food self-
suiciency, reducing waste, recycling, using renewables, and
eliminating environmental damage caused by products such
as agrochemicals (Gomiero, 2018).
130 Understanding Challenges of Water Reuse
2.2. Marginal Water: Content and Examples
In order to implement better agricultural practices that
produce more local, healthy and environmentally friendly
food, water needs to be analyzed as the constraining input in
arid or water-scarce regions. In this contribution, we regard
marginal water resources as a key solution for such regions.
We define marginal water as water which is neglected or
underutilized in comparison to other water resource types.
Therefore, the marginality refers to the relational use pattern
of marginal water of oen lower quality (e.g. unutilized saline,
brackish, treated or storm water) in comparison to higher
quality water (e.g. to freshwater or desalinated water).
In this sense, the types of these marginal water resources are
site-specific, e.g. treated wastewater can be widely used in
some areas (e.g. Singapore) and therefore not considered of
marginal use there.
Utilizing commonly neglected water of lower qualit y can be
seen as an entr y point and a means for the dissemination of
de-growth ideas in the agricultural sector. For this to happen,
such marginal water resources need to be appropriately
identified, analyzed, treated, delivered and accepted
by the producers and the end consumers. These steps
represent serious challenges in the Gulf region.
At the same time, marginal water resources are being
discovered as a valuable and viable option, particularly
for rapidly growing urban areas of the region. In fact,
the potential use of a par ticular type of marginal water
resource diers from a region to another. Table 7-1 gives
some examples of the current uses of non-conventional
water resource types in the Gulf region, including some
sources having marginal use, namely treated, produced and
brackish water. This simplification applies specifically for
GCC countries, although the use pattern is very similar in
Iran expect for the fact that treated wastewater is not yet
systematically (e.g. through large public investments) used
for purposes such as groundwater recharge. This use in Iran is
rather bottom-up in certain regions as we will explain later.
Detailed analyses of the use/reuse patterns countries are
provided in other studies, e.g. (Brown et al., 2018; Aleisa &
Al-Zubari 2017; Zubari et al., 2017) for GCC countries, and
(Abulof, 2014; Charkhestani et al., 2016; Tajrishy, 2012)
for Iran. In GCC example in Table 7-1, it is noticeable that
desalination water is commonly accepted and widely used for
many purposes. In contrast, the use of treated wastewater is
confined to use purposes that are not close to persons due
to the relative novelty and concerns about the quality of this
marginal water type. The use of treated wastewater for forage
production and groundwater recharge is currently promoted
on a wide scale in the region (Aleisa & Al-Zubari, 2017). Further,
produced water – water as a by-product from oil and gas
productions – is largely not utilized despite the huge amounts
produced in the Gulf.
Water type
Use type Industrial Use Non-edible
agriculture Recreational Indirect
potable Reuse
Edible
Agriculture
Direct
potable Reuse
Tre ated
Wastewater
uses in district
cooling; road
projects
use for forage
cultivation
landscaping;
small artificial
lakes
recharge of
groundwater
aquifers
Produced
Water
reinjection
into oil and gas
fields
Brackish
Water
mangroves
parks; natural
reserves
aquaculture;
growth of fish
food
Desalinated
Water
high quality
water used in
industry
use generally in
agriculture in
the absence of
groundwater
aqua parks;
swimming
pools
livestock and
agricultural
production
Domestic
drinking water
BLUE commonly not used CYAN some uses exist GRAY widely used
Table 7-1 Water reuse source s for dierent reuse purposes in the Gulf region
7 Marginal Water Resources for Food Production 131
03
Benecial (Re)Use of Marginal Water in Iran
and the GCC Region
- Wastewater Reuse as a Case
3.1. Iran
3.1.1. Potential and Use Patterns
Unconventional water resources of marginal utilisation
(marginal water resources) are being considered as a par t
of the solutions to the increasing scarcities and recurrent
shortages. In Iran, the use of these water types has only
started recently, but is still not suiciently highlighted as in
comparison to other water management problems,
e.g. the high leakage of water from potable water distribution
networks (unaccounted for water or UFW) of around 32%
(Saatsaz, 2019). The (re)use of marginal water resources in Iran
is beginning to emerge but is still far from its full potential.
The potential has been explored by Charkhestani, Ziri, and
Rad (2016) who reviewed reuse potential for agriculture,
industry and municipal consumption. Accordingly, the most
important reuse option in agriculture in Iran is related to
drainage water from irrigation, which can amount to around
30 billion cubic meters by 2021. This type of water can be
used in conventional or saline agriculture (e.g. irrigation
of halophytes which grow in low and moderate salinity
levels) as well as for livestock and restoring or sustaining
wetlands. However, the reuse of such water requires careful
management to match the cropping pattern to the quality
of the water, and also to introduce practices of integrated
drainage management that considers the overall drainage
system design together with the soil and water quality
aspects (Charkhestani et al., 2016). Other water reuse
options are related to the use of water provided by municipal
wastewater treatment plants for industrial parks, landscaping
in cities, construction of lagoons or even as indirect potable
water reuse if the reused water is mixed with other water of
better quality (Karandish & Hoekstra, 2017; Ministry of Energy,
2016; Ministry of Energy, 2010; Kayhanian & Tchobanoglous,
2016).
Table 7-2 provides some key data on water use and reuse
patterns in Iran, with a focus on treated wastewater.
According to oicial numbers by the NWWEC (National Water
and Wastewater Engineering Company, 2018), in 2017, 74%
of the collected sewage was treated in 194 wastewater
treatment plants. The number of wastewater treatment plants
in 2017 was 4.97 times higher than 2001. Another 109 plants
are under construction. The wastewater treatment plants
serve about 27% of cities and 48.90% of the urban population
in Iran. The cost for connecting the remaining population
is anticipated to be higher. Considering the total amount
of produced sewage in urban areas, full urban wastewater
treatment in Iran would create a potential of about 4.5 billion
cubic meters of treated wastewater per year for reuse.
In 2010, around 0.33 billion cubic meters of treated municipal
wastewater (this number was around 0.86 billion cubic
meters in 2012) was used for irrigation (AQUASTAT, 2019).
However, according to Tajrishy (2012), over 90% of the treated
wastewater in Iran is reused in some way although such reuse
is not systematically done, i.e. due to a lack of considerations
of adequate quality and reuse purposes. Further, while a high
amount of collected municipal water is treated, the collection
rate remains quite low (see Table 7-2). The treated wastewater
is mostly mixed with storm water or water in tributaries of
Groundwater
abstracted
a
Surface
watera
Desalinated
Water
b
Municipal
wastewater
Produced
d
Municipal
Wastewater
Collecteda
Municipal
Wastewater
Treateda
Treated
Wastewater
as % of
Collected
Wastewater
Reused
Water for
irrigation
purposesc
Iran 3,375 2,786 730 4,500 1,785 1,785 74% 328
a. Data for the Iranian year between 21 March 2017 to 20th March 2018, retrieved from (National Water and
Wastewater Engineering Company, 2018).
b. Exact year for this figure unknown, however published in 2019 and retrieved from (Tansim News Agency, 2019).
c. Reused water is defined here as the direct use of treated municipal wastewater for irrigation purposes.
It includes treated municipal wastewater applied artificially (irrigation) and directly (i.e. with no or little prior
dilution with freshwater during most of the year) on land to assist the growth of crops and fruit trees.
Treated municipal wastewater applied artificially and directly for landscaping and forestry also falls under this
category. This figure is for the year 2010 from the (AQUASTAT, 2019).
d. Data for the year 2010 retrieved from (Charkhestani et al., 2016).
Table 7-2 Key wa ter use and reuse statist ics for Iran, in million cub ic meters (MCM)
132 Understanding Challenges of Water Reuse
large water bodies before use mostly for irrigation of
low-value crops, particularly in the suburban areas.
In such a case, wastewater treatment plants would discharge
water to the environment, where it mixes with freshwater, and
is then withdrawn by unregulated users downstream (Tajrishy,
2012). In the same process, intentional groundwater recharge
happens around the major cities. In this case, the plants
release the eluent to recharge brackish water aquifers,
and then it is later used through springs and qanats by
downstream farmers for irrigation purposes (Tajrishy, 2012).
Moreover, transportation of treated wastewater directly to
the point of use is becoming more common. Farmers can
negotiate the right for direct use of treated wastewater
through special contracts. Dierent literature reports
direct use of par tially treated or untreated wastewater for
agricultural purposes (Jimenez & Asano, 2008; Tajrishy, 2012;
WHO, 2005). This raises concerns about monitoring of treated
wastewater quality for irrigation and health or soil related
problems. The untreated wastewater mixed with storm water
or small streams or tributaries of larger water bodies – in
order to allow for self-purification – is used for irrigation,
especially downstream of urban centers where wastewater
treatment facilities are inadequate. Increasing the capacities
for wastewater treatment and reuse could reduce the amount
of indirect use of untreated wastewater for agricultural
purposes.
3.1.2. Policies, Options and Constrains
Recently, the periodic development plans of Iran have
considered the use of marginal water resources, particularly
wastewater, although most of the current use for agricultural
purposes is unplanned and uncontrolled (Karandish &
Hoekstra, 2017). With regard to the use of wastewater,
the central government assumes the lead role for the
development of this water source. In Iran, water and
wastewater supply are highly centralised with the Ministry of
Energy and the National Water and Wastewater Engineering
Company (NWWEC) (under the latter ministry) supervising
a number of provincial urban, municipal and provincial
rural Water and Wastewater Companies (WWC). As most
wastewater eluents are currently not treated, the NW WEC
Vision 2021 foresees the increase of wastewater treatment
to 60% in urban areas, and 30% in suburban areas by 2021
(Ministry of Energy, 2016). Alongside wastewater use, there are
other types of marginal water that can be used in Iran such
as stormwater runo, rainwater harvested from rooops,
greywater (e.g. for uses in households e.g. for toilet flushing)
or saline water. However, up until now, most of these types
are not systematically used.
Environmental guidance for reuse of treated wastewater
was developed by the Ministry of Environment in 2011
stipulating the quality standards for dierent uses of the
treated wastewater. The main sectors that take in the treated
municipal waterare those of irrigation, landscaping and
forestr y near to urban areas. The use of treated wastewater
for aquifer recharge is a second priority (Ministry of Energy,
2010). In some major cities, seepage pits and eluents
from wastewater treatment plants are used to recharge
groundwater aquifers. The long-term goal is to use water
from these recharged aquifers and underground strata for
irrigation in some urban communities. At the same time,
despite concerns about water quality, treated wastewater can
be used directly for irrigation, to augment water supply and
reduce pressures in the case of droughts (e.g. in the city of
Mashhad) (Kayhanian & Tchobanoglous, 2016).
In fact, the options for incorporating marginal water resources
as a part of the sustainable water management in urban
settings are plenty, but they are largely not systematically
approached in Iran. For example, the integration of treatment
plants in closed loop systems with the water users – i.e.
water consumption sites lined directly to treatment plants
producing water for use again - can help deliver water at
dierent qualities for dierent purposes, and eluents
can be treated aer the use. The users can produce edible
agriculture, forage, or mix the water with other water types,
such as harvested water from rain or saline water, in order to
provide other products.
In order to encourage a wide use of treated wastewater in Iran
(i.e. higher collection, treatment and reuse rates),
there is a need to overcome the obstacles by creating
appropriate technologies for dierent reuse purposes,
decentralized wastewater treatment systems as well
as enhancing social acceptance (Rezaee & Sarrafzadeh,
2017). For example, a study by (Hamidi & Yaghubi, 2018)
shows that the availabilit y of high quality potable water
for irrigation purposes is the main constraint to the use of
treated wastewater in urban agriculture. Reuse of treated
wastewater could foster the use of the right water quality
for the right agricultural purpose. Furthermore, considering
that 7,505 hectares for urban and industrial landscaping
area exist in Iran, expanding the reuse of treated wastewater
for landscaping purposes could reduce the pressure on
water resources. In order to encourage water reuse, the
Expediency Discernment Council of Iran (an administrative
body appointed by Iran’s Supreme Leader) has outlined some
plans for recycling water nationwide. The proposed policies
and strategies include replacement of the agricultural water
right for fresh water with treated eluents, promoting reuse
of treated eluents, use of low quality water instead of high
quality urban water to create green spaces, and expand
relevant research projects (Tajrishy, 2012).
7 Marginal Water Resources for Food Production 133
3.2. GCC Region
3.2.1. Wastewater Reuse as a Primary Option
In recent years, water reuse has been a key item
in the water strategies of GCC countries, with the reuse
of treated municipal wastewater expected to increase
significantly. Other marginal water types, such as drainage
water, treated industrial wastewater, produced water, or
harvested water, are much less used. While only around 50%
of total domestic wastewater is collected in the GCC region,
and around 40% of the volume collected is treated, the reused
wastewater was used to satisfy only 3% of water requirements
in 2010/2012 (Zubari et al., 2017). At the same time,
treated wastewater is largely used for gardening, parks,
highway landscaping and fodder production (Saif et al., 2014).
For all member countries collectively, the GCC targets,
by 2030, to collect 60% of municipal water and, by 2035,
to reuse 90% of treated wastewater (Zubari et al., 2017).
The eorts of the GCC countries regarding wastewater
treatment and reuse have been reviewed by Aleisa and
Al-Zubari (2017). The main sectors that take in the reused
wastewater are landscaping and for the irrigation of livestock
feed crops.
In some exceptional cases, the treated wastewater is used
for aquifer recharge through reinjections and the irrigation of
edible crops if higher water quality is produced (e.g. through
the use of reverse osmosis wastewater treatment).
Currently, treatment plants have units for primary, secondary
and tertiar y treatment, while some plants, e.g. in Kuwait,
also use reverse osmosis (RO) and ultrafiltration (UF) (Aleisa
& Al-Zubari, 2017). Other uses of treated wastewater such as
toilet flushing, firefighting, recreational purposes and crop or
fish production have been limited in the GCC region.
At the same time, the reuse of treated wastewater (largely
of good quality) has been lower than the policy aspirations,
with some of the excess treated wastewater stored in lakes or
discharged into the sea (Aleisa & Al-Zubari, 2017).
Considering the large per capita water use footprints in
GCC countries, the use of treated wastewater is expected to
generate impor tant quantities of additional water.
Table 7-3 indicates current use patterns. Although much
of the collected municipal water is treated, large amounts are
not used – note that the indicated reuse quantities in Table 7-3
do not exclusively originate from municipal wastewater.
At the same time, the treatment quality in some GCC
countries is quite high, i.e. at least tertiary levels of treatment.
Therefore, treated wastewater is used for agriculture but not
on a large scale. While some GCC countries have reported
some agriculture use for irrigating date palms and forage
crops or watering livestock, the wide-scale utilization of
treated wastewater is still hindered by the lack of integrated
and connected infrastructure for deliver y, the heavy
subsidization of other water sources, the weak appreciation
of treated wastewater benefits, the need for strict regulation
and monitoring of water quality, and the potential impact
on public health (Jasim et al., 2016; Jaar Abdul Khaliq et al.,
2017; Ouda, 2016). It is therefore not surprising that some of
the treated wastewater is collected in small lakes awaiting
customers willing to utilize it. More recent wastewater reuse
or food security strategies envision locating livestock or
forage projects in close proximity to wastewater plants in
order to benefit from the high-quality water.
GCC
country
Groundwater
abstracted
Desalinated
Water
Wastewater
Collected
Wastewater
Treated
Treated
Waste
Water as %
of Collected
Wastewater
Reused
Waterb
Reused
Water as %
of Collected
Wastewater
Bahrain 144 242 158 69 44% 39 25%
Kuwait 85 712 319 247 77% 96c-
Oman 1,084 280 68 67 99% 33 49%
Qatar 250d535 198 194 98% 97 49%
Saudi Arabia
21,595 1,947 2,503 1,604 64% 216 9%
UAE 3,536 2,005 724 711 98% 452 62%
a All figures are for the year 2016 from the source (GCC-STAT, 2016), except for figures with the notes c and d.
b Reused water is defined as any water received from another user with or without treatment. It includes treated wastewater
for further use, excludes water discharged into watercourses and recycling within industrial sites.
c Figure from the year 2010 from the source (Zubari et al., 2 017).
d Figure from the 2012 from the source (Zubari et al., 2017).
Table 7-3 Key water use and reuse statistic s for GCC countries for the year 2016, in million cubic meters (MCM)a
134 Understanding Challenges of Water Reuse
3.2.2. Reuse Constrains and Other Reuse Options
It is not only treated wastewater that constitutes a marginal
water source that can be utilised. Brown, Das, and Al-Saidi
(2018) reviewed several types of marginal water resources
that enhance sustainable agriculture in the Gulf region,
namely domestic wastewater, produced water, saline water,
marginal water for the production of microalgae, marine
aquaculture, and integrated seawater agriculture. The main
insights from this review can be summarised briefly here.
With regard to wastewater, it can be used for the production
of drought-tolerant plants (xerophytes) or other native species
that do not require much water, while irrigation and on-farm
monitoring strategies (e.g. high leaching fraction, monitoring
of heavy metals and salts) need to be deployed
in order to ensure safe use. Produced water
is generated during the extraction of oil and
gas and represents an important water type in
the Gulf region. This water might require more
sophisticated treatment due to high content
of salt, chemicals and hydrocarbons, but it can
be utilised for the production of salt-tolerant
crops or algae. Further, a promising option
for sustainable agriculture in the region is the
use of saline water for terrestrial agriculture
through the production of halophytes.
Halophyte species can be used in many
products, e.g. firewood, fresh vegetables,
oilseeds, grains, medicine, forage, biofuels etc.
Similarly, saline water can be used for the
production of microalgae which, due to its high
protein content, is a component of aqua-feeds
for aquaculture. Marine agriculture is another
promising alternative to counteract
the overfishing problem by producing high
value products such as finfish, shellfish,
crustaceans or shrimps. Aquaculture projects are spreading
across the GCC countries in close proximit y to coastal cities,
while these projects are tr ying to solve problems such as
a lack the local knowledge and capacities, high temperature
and salinity of the Gulf seawater and the selection of
appropriate species. Finally, aquaculture can be integrated
with high salinity agriculture where wastewater from
aquaculture can be enriched with nutrients and used to
irrigate halophytes or produce microalgae to be reused later
as fish feed.
3.3. Comparative Insights
Both Iran and the GCC region are increasingly interested in
developing marginal water resources for domestic, industrial
and agricultural uses as well as for other purposes such as
recreation and landscaping. However, some dierence exists
with regard to geography and the type of available marginal
water. First, despite the similar water scarcity pressures
(water availability in relation to current use) to the GCC region,
Iran has a higher rainfall and thus a higher natural water
availability, with annual rainfall ranging between 50 and 2,275
mm (the national average annual rainfall is 228 mm) and the
total renewable water resources per capita was estimated at
around 1,700 cubic meter in 2014 (AQUASTAT, 2019).
In contrast, GCC countries are hyper-arid with an average
rainfall of less than 100 mm, almost no surface water and
shallow groundwater aquifers as the only renewable water
source (Saif et al., 2014). Therefore, Iran possesses higher
quantities of certain marginal water resources, such as
stormwater, brackish water and water harvested from rain.
Second, with most of the major cities in the GCC cities located
in close proximity to the Gulf water body, saline water is
a convenient resource under consideration for utilisation for
the production of halophytes, fish or feed. Conversely,
the major cities in Iran are in the inner lands while the bulk of
aquaculture projects in Iran are concentrated
in the southern coastal parts of the country
(Hadipour et al., 2015). For the major urban
areas in Iran, the reuse of wastewater and
the recovery of drainage water constitute
the primary marginal water utilisation forms
under consideration, while other sources such
as stormwater and rain water have not been
systematically explored.
Another dierence is with regard to
the reliance on high technologies by GCC
countries to expand the reuse potential.
In the GCC region, the reuse industr y seems
to have gained strong momentum and to be
supported by ambitious government goals for
collection, treatment and reuse.
Wastewater treatment plants with higher
capacities and more advanced technologies
are producing more treated water than
the current capacities to use this water, i.e.
some high quality treated water is not used
due to the lack of demand, delivery infrastructure and/or
acceptance one can argue that the water treatment and reuse
industry in GCC countries exhibits higher levels of planning
and control while policymakers are still reluctant to use the
high-quality water for sensitive purposes, such as aquifer
recharge, edible agriculture or (indirect) potable use.
For example, in GCC states, the establishment of treatment
plants is carried out through public works authorities,
while the operators of the plants are in charge of finding
suitable users for the treated water in the short run (e.g. for
landscaping companies, district cooling plants or farmers).
Further, national water supply providers can engage in
major projects for aquifer recharge and infrastructure
development (e.g. construction of pipelines) for the transfer
of treated water for recharge sites. Despite this national-level
involvement, some quantities of treated wastewater are
le unused in treatment plants. This is due to acceptability
problems and safety concerns that are not necessarily
supported by evidence related to water quality (Aleisa &
Al-Zubari, 2017). Solving these issues can help advance the
current ambitious reuse policy goals. In contrast, some of
the treated wastewater in Iran is used spontaneously by
farmers in semi-urban areas or is used, in case of droughts,
to augment irrigation supply (Charkhestani et al., 2016;
Wastewater
treatment plants
with higher
capacities and
more advanced
technologies are
producing more
treated water
than the current
capacities to use
this water.
7 Marginal Water Resources for Food Production 135
Kayhanian & Tchobanoglous, 2016). In the GCC region, farmers
might be reluctant to use treated wastewater since they
enjoy an easy and universal access to good quality and free
groundwater or desalinated water at highly subsidised prices.
In fact, the issue of the low water prices is a common problem
in the region and is a major impediment to eicient and
sustainable use of the scarce water resource in both the urban
and agricultural sectors (Al-Saidi & Dehnavi, 2019).
Since low water taris fuel high water consumption rates
in the Gulf region, such issues of pricing and demand
management need to be considered in any de-growth
discussion of a low metabolism society.
04
Directions and Common Challenges
for Urban Food Production
The common challenges for marginal water utilisation
extend from a lack of comprehensive strategies, inadequate
infrastructure, concerns about quality aspects, to public
acceptance and awareness. Some recommendations exist
for the GCC region and Iran in order to advance the use of
marginal water resources. For example, for wastewater reuse
in the GCC region, Aleisa and Al-Zubari (2017) stressed
the importance of adopting adequate legal frameworks,
reducing water consumption, awareness raising, finding uses
for sludge from sewerage plants and advancing the research
and development of wastewater treatment technologies.
Further, most GCC countries do not have national water
strategies that include clear investment targets (including
wastewater treatment), water reuse plans, or explanations
of roles and responsibilities. While some regulations on
wastewater quality exist, they are not specific with regard to
the dierent reuse purposes and processes. In fact,
it is important that the role of governments in setting up
the institutional frameworks for regulating wastewater reuse
goes beyond par tial regulations (e.g. focusing only on safety
and quality regulations) or the simple incorporation of
wastewater in sectoral policies (e.g. wastewater reuse as
a sub-target in food and environmental protection policies).
This has been the current practice so far. For example,
in Oman, the government has created regulations for the
protection of environment and public health and the use of
sewage wastewater for agricultural use and landscaping
(Jaar Abdul Khaliq et al., 2017). In Saudi Arabia,
the government has encouraged several initiatives for
the utilization of the large quantities of treated wastewater
produced through the National Water Company which
promotes the production, marketing and utilization of this
water (Ouda, 2016). In fact, similar initiatives exist in other GCC
countries, e.g. in Qatar where elements from its food security
plan are linked to the use of water from wastewater treatment
plants.
In Iran, various studies recommend an increase in the number
and quality of treatment plants, improvements to collection
networks, expansion of seawater desalination – to
accommodate additional potable water use demands,
improved monitoring networks, enhanced drainage systems
in irrigation, removal of regulatory barriers and increased
public acceptance through (religious) education (Kayhanian
& Tchobanoglous, 2016; Charkhestani et al., 2016). Some of
these regulatory barriers include the absence of guidelines
for the construction and operation of wastewater treatment
plants, the need for clear water quality standards for various
uses of marginal water including potable use, and the lack
of environmental monitoring regarding wastewater quality
and suitable uses of this water. Further, there are conflicting
responsibilities with multiple agencies working on water reuse
136 Understanding Challenges of Water Reuse
issues and no clear national guidance for mainstreaming roles
and enhancing cooperation (Kayhanian & Tchobanoglous,
2016).
At the same time, the use of marginal water for food
production brings along additional challenges related to
quality, infrastructure, cost and acceptance.
Some of these challenges lie in the ability to upscale the food
production using treated or saline water despite the low
cost of desalination and freshwater, i.e. low or non-existent
volumetric prices of water for domestic use and agriculture.
This low-cost water has been the norm in Gulf countries as
a part of the rentier states’ ideologies of providing free
benefits to citizens – a political-economic strategy towards
increasing regime legitimacy.
In recent years, water taris
have been reformed in
some GCC countries (Krane,
2018). However, water (and
electricity) taris remained
significant, especially
if the total water costs,
including environmental
externalities, are calculated.
Other challenges can
only be solved if public
trust and the perception
of wastewater quality
improves, e.g. through
concerted campaigns by
public authorities.
At the same time, some
alternative agricultural
production systems, e.g. the use of saline water or the
cultivation of microalgae, need some initial subsidisation
while some practices, such as microalgae, are still not
considered as a par t of agriculture (Brown et al., 2018).
Further, it is important to consider integrating treatment
plants with accompanying networks to deliver the right water
amounts with the right quality to the right place.
However, since much of the treated wastewater is not done
for potable use, it would be diicult to create dual distribution
networks and deliver treated wastewater everywhere.
Instead, the sites for use of treated wastewater need to be
carefully chosen – e.g. in the vicinity of wastewater treatment
plants, while some new distribution networks can be
constructed. This is especially important for the (re)use of
marginal water resources for urban food production since
such practice demands careful design with regard to space as
well as energy and nutrient supply.
International experience with the utilisation of marginal water
resources for urban food agriculture emphasises multiple
benefits of, and the need for, more integrated systems.
For example, with wastewater reuse in urban agriculture,
there is a good potential for nutrient recycling and the
reduction of carbon emissions (Miller-Robbie et al., 2017).
Further, integrating water and nutrient reuse systems
(i.e. reuse of nutrient-rich water in sanitation) with crop
production sites can be a viable resource recovery system
that enhances sustainable sanitation and urban agriculture
in arid regions (Woltersdorf et al., 2018).
Such coupled systems of wastewater and nutrients needs
also to monitor the salt flow in order avoid soil salinization
(Woltersdorf et al., 2016). While these systems seem plausible
and technically feasible for other regions, they might face
diiculties in the Gulf region due to the problem of poor
acceptance and the cautious approach of decision makers
regarding the water quality. In order to ensure high quality
water supply for urban agriculture, countries can invest
in advanced wastewater treatment technologies using
membranes as these tend to minimise unwanted constituents
in treated wastewater for urban irrigation (Bunani et al.,
2015). Furthermore, the utilisation of saline water for fisheries
through aquaculture has been expanding in urban and peri-
urban areas, for example in African cities exhibiting high
population growth rates (Miller & Atanda, 2011).
Aquaculture can also be developed using wastewater
and this specific use is rising globally (Bunting & Edwards,
2018). Finally, renewable energy is increasing in the region
for desalination – in order to face the rising energy cost of
high-quality desalinated water – and other applications
in the water-energ y-food supply infrastructure (Gorjian &
Ghobadian, 2015; Al-Saidi & Elagib, 2018; Al-Saidi & Saliba,
2019). This advancement, together with the energy recovery
capacity from treatment plants, can open up more
cost-eective ways to reuse water for urban agriculture.
It is important to
consider integrating
treatment plants
with accompanying
networks to deliver
the right water
amounts with the
right quality to the
right place.
7 Marginal Water Resources for Food Production 137
05
Conclusions
Iran and the GCC region share major concerns related
to increasing incidents of water resources overuse,
the deterioration of groundwater resources, and the health
of the Gulf water body. Realizing the potential of water reuse
in augmenting supply and providing needed water to cities
facing rapid growth, Gulf countries are investing in their
capacities to utilise previously neglected water sources.
Marginal water resources for food production serve as
a useful instrument for sustainable agriculture in urban areas
and can help achieve the de-growth idea of a low metabolism
society. The bulk of eorts for the utilisation of marginal water
resources have concentrated on the expansion of wastewater
treatment and reuse capacities. Wastewater treatment is
capitalizing on the large footprints of water used in urban
areas. The set-up of treatment technologies able to process
water to advanced levels in terms of produced water quality
opens up several potential uses including irrigation of certain
crops such as forage or date palms.
While the reuse levels are still far from achieving the
ambitious future targets for municipal wastewater, large
water quantities are already produced. In light of the lack of
infrastructure, monitoring and regulations to ensure
that treated wastewater is delivered to the desired use
and users at the right time and quality, most current uses
are confined to landscaping or industrial uses (e.g. district
cooling, roads construction, firefighting etc.).
Other uses such as the recharge of vulnerable aquifers or
a wide-scale use in urban agriculture, or even for drinking
water, are contingent on public acceptance and
the commitment of public authorities to move beyond
experimentation and single reuse initiatives to full utilization.
While wastewater reuse
is a potentially significant
new water source, other
sources such as saline water,
greywater, rainwater, storm
water, or produced water are
not adequately considered.
Iran exhibits higher water
availability and a significant
potential for utilizing runo
water or drainage water
for irrigation. In contrast,
water reuse in the GCC
region is more ambitious,
technologically-driven and
planned, while water reuse
in agriculture is still limited
to some forage production
activities. At the same time,
there is a big potential
for food production using
aquaculture, algae, and combined marine-terrestrial systems
that can supply the coastal cities of the GCC region with high-
value fish products. For wide utilisation of marginal water
resources in Iran and the GCC region, coherent regulatory
and investment policies, as well as the right economic
and pricing incentives, are needed alongside better public
engagement and awareness. As this study did not compare
current national-level legal, regulator y and policy frameworks
for (marginal) water use/reuse in the region, future research
in this area is needed. Further, urban planning systems
that provide integrated infrastructure between the treated
water and nutrient sources to the suitable agricultural
production sites are needed. Finally, the practice of utilizing
marginal water resources for urban food production needs
a high degree of experimentation. A future research agenda
can include more site-specific analysis regarding the right
integrated system design, the quality and health impacts,
the acceptability of the end products by the consumers and
the integration of renewables components, such solar energy
and bioenerg y, in order to minimise the costs and negative
environmental impacts.
Marginal water
resources for food
production serve as
a useful instrument
for sustainable
agriculture in urban
areas and can
help achieve the
de-growth idea of
a low metabolism
society.
138 Understanding Challenges of Water Reuse
Glossary of Terms
• Vertical farming: The practice of growing crops in a vertical manner in order to optimize plant growth, minimize the need for
soil and save place. This include growing plants in not used cites, e.g. buildings or tunnels, or in controlled-environments such
as hydroponics, aquaponics and aeroponics.
• Produced Water: Water produced as a by-product in the hydrocarbon industry.
• Greywater: Water produced from any household sources other than toilets.
• Halophytes: A category of salt-tolerant plants that grow in soils or water of highly levels of salinity.
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Water Reuse
Within a Circular
Economy Context
Water Reuse Within a Circular Economy Context
GLOBAL WATER
SECURITY ISSUES
SERIES
2
2
Providing clean and secure water resources is key to achieving SDG 6,
"Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation
for all”. Water is essential for human activities and is critical to many sectors
of the economy, therefore its sustainable use is fundamental in a circular
economy model.
In accordance with the United Nations’ World Water Development Report
2019, global water demand is expected to increase by 20-30% by 2050 and
this increased demand will exacerbate water security issues generally.
Rapid urbanization and population growth are creating even more
challenges to supplying safe water. Climate Change is also resulting in more
frequent occurrences of oods and severe droughts, which in turn also
aect the availability of secure water supply and sanitation. In this context,
it is now more important than ever to look for non-conventional water
resources to ensure sucient water resources for all basic human needs.
According to UN-Water, 80% of wastewater ows back into the ecosystem
without being reused or treated, and 1.8 billion people are exposed to
contaminated drinking water sources as a result. Wastewater is a potential
resource that can ll this supply gap in industry and agriculture. Reused
water is not just an alternative source of water, it is an opportunity to
provide benets for many human activities.
This second GWSI series examines the critical role of water reuse in the
circular economy, demonstrating that wastewater and other marginal
water sources should be seen as resources that are too valuable to simply
ignore or discard. The case studies within this report explore how water
reuse can be a major tool and part of a strategy to achieve the SDGs. Water
reuse also presents an opportunity to develop sustainable water resources
that protect our communities and ecosystems.
United Nations
Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization
Intergovernmental
Hydrological
Programme
Intergovernmental
Hydrological
Programme
United Nations
Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization
9789231 004131
Water Security and
the Sustainable
Development Goals
Water Reuse
within
a Circular Economy Context
Publishe d by the United Nations Edu cational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO), 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 S P, Fr ance,
and UNESCO In ternational Centre f or Water Security a nd Sustainable
Managemen t (i-WSSM), 125, Yuseon g-daero 1689 Beo n-gil, Yuseong-gu,
Daejeon, Republic of Korea
© UNESCO / UN ESCO i-WSSM 2020
ISBN UNESCO 978-92-3-100413-1
This public ation is available in Op en Access under t he Attributio n-Share
Alike 3.0 IGO (CC-B Y-SA 3.0 IGO) license (ht tp:// creativecommons .org/
licenses /by-sa/3.0/igo/ ) from the UNESCO Op en Access Reposi tory
(http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesdoc-open-access) and i-WSSM web
page (http://unesco-iwssm.org).
The pres ent license applie s exclusively to the te xt content of the pu blication.
For the use of a ny material not clearl y identified as b elonging to UNESCO
or UNESCO i- WSSM, prior per mission shall be r equested from: p ublication.
copyrigh t@unesco.org or UN ESCO Publishing, 7, place de Fo ntenoy, 75352
Paris 07 SP Fran ce, or iwssm@une sco-iwssm .org, 125, Yuseo ng-daero 1689
Beon-gil, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
The desig nations employed an d the presentat ion of material throug hout
this public ation do not imply th e expression of a ny opinion whatsoe ver
on the par t of UNESCO or UNESCO i -WSSM concerning t he legal status of
any countr y, territory, cit y or area or of its aut horities, or con cerning the
delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
The ideas an d opinions expres sed in this public ation are those of t he
author s and do not necessa rily reflec t the views of UNESCO o r UNESCO
i-WSSM an d do not commit thes e organizations .
Sugges ted citation: UNE SCO and UNESCO i-WS SM. 2020. Water Reuse wit hin
a Circular Econ omy Context (Ser ies II). Global Water Secu rity Issues (GW SI)
Serie s – No.2, UNESCO Publis hing, Paris.
Editors
Eunher Shin, UNESCO i-WS SM, Republic of Korea.
Seo Hyun g Choi, UNESCO i-WSS M, Republic of Korea.
Alexandros K. Makarigakis, UNESCO, France.
Okjoo Sohn, UNESCO, France.
Callum Clench, Internat ional Water Resource s Associatio n (IWRA), Portug al.
Mary Trudeau, Envirings I nc. and Internation al Water Resources
Asso ciation (IWRA), Cana da.
Peer Reviewers
Hassan Tolba Aboelnga, Unive rsity of Kass el and TH Köln, Germany.
Emmanuel Akpabio, Universit y of Dundee, United Kin gdom.
Amali Abraham Amali, TH Köln, Ger many.
Ximing Cai, University of Illinois, United State s.
Amgad Elmahdi, International Water Management Institute-MENA , Egypt.
Jan Hofman, Universit y of Bath, United Kingdo m.
Muhammad Wajid Ijaz, Go vernment of the Punjab -Lahore, Pakis tan.
Wendy Jepson, Texas A&M Univer sity, United States.
William R . Jones, U.S. Food an d Drug Administration Center fo r Food
Safety and Applied Nutrition, United States.
Kanokphan Jongjarb, Instit ute for Environment and H uman Security
and Univer sity of Bonn, Ger many.
Olivia Molden, Earth Econo mics, United State s.
James Nickum, University of London, United Kingdom.
Amrisha Pandey, International Law Scholar, India.
Charalampos Skoulikaris, Democritus University of Thra ce and Aristotle
University of Thes saloniki, Greece .
Maya Velis, Wo rld Bank, United Stat es.
Authors
Oriana Romano, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), France.
Luis Cecchi, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD), France .
Diego J. Rod riguez, World Bank Group, Mexico.
Hector A. Serrano, World Bank Group, M exico.
Anna Delgado, World Bank G roup, Mexico.
Daniel Nolasco, World Bank Group, Me xico.
Gustavo Saltiel, World Bank Gro up, Mexico.
Cecilia Tortajada, National University of Sin gapore, Singapore .
Ishaan Bindal, National University of Singa pore, Singapore.
Elisa Stefan, Federal University of Paraná, Brazil.
Cristóvão Vicente Scapulatempo Fernandes, Federal Univer sity of
Paraná, Brazil.
Keng Han Tng, Unive rsity of New Sout h Wales Sydney, Australia.
Conna Leslie-Keefe, Unive rsity of New Sout h Wales Sydney, Australia.
Greg Leslie, University of N ew South Wales Sydney, Aus tralia.
Anas Tallou, Sultan Moulay Slimane U niversity of Ben i Mellal, Morocco.
Afaf Belabhir, University C adi Ayyad, Morocco.
Francisco Pedrero Salcedo, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, Spain.
Ayoub El Ghad raoui, Universit y Cadi Ayyad, Mo rocco.
Faissal Aziz, Universit y Cadi Ayyad, Mo rocco.
Mohammad Al-Saidi, Qatar Universit y, Qatar.
Suddeh Dehnavi, TH-Köln—U niversity of App lied Sciences, G ermany.
Enrique Mesa-Pérez, University of Cordoba, Spain.
Alfonso Expósito, University of Seville, Spain.
Rafael Casielles, Bioazul, S.L., Spain.
Julio Berbel, University of Cordoba, Spain.
Emmanuel M. Akpabio, Universit y of Uyo, Nigeria.
Chaya Ravishankar, Xylem Wate r Solutions India Pv t Ltd., India.
Manasi Seshaiah, Insti tute for Social and Econ omic Change, India.
Lesley Rotich, Universi ty of Waterloo, Canada .
Larr y A. Swatuk, Univer sity of Waterloo, Ca nada.
Am Jang, Sung kyunkwan University, Republic of Korea.
Sung-Ju Im, Sungkyunkwan Univer sity, Republic of Korea.
Nguyen Du c Viet, Sungkyunkwan Unive rsity, Republic of Korea.
Nosheen Asghar, Sungkyunkwan Univer sity, Republic of Korea.
Acknowledgement
We acknowle dge with gratitude t he support prov ided by the
Internati onal Water Resources A ssociation (IWR A).
Cover and ins ide design: ©Junghwan K im, Pieona Book s & UNESCO i-WSSM
Cover photo (fr ont): ©juan hung-yen/Sh utterstoc k. Ikegami, Japan
Cover photo (back): ©Mariusz Szcz ygiel/Shutterstock . Wroclaw, Poland
Printed in Se oul, Republic of Kore a by Pieona Books
United Nations
Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization
Water Reuse
within a Circular
Economy Context 2
GLOBAL WATER
SECURITY ISSUES
SERIES
Improved water resources management to access safe and clean water for
all is essential for basic human livelihood. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development emphasizes the critical role of water by addressing
the Goal 6 “Ensure access to water and sanitation for all” of the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
We are experiencing a global pandemic that is leading us to a new normal.
COVID-19 gave a significant adverse impact on our lives. Providing safe
and clean water for all is a critical key to fight this crisis. Still, one third of
people do not have access to safe drinking water, two out of five people
do not have a basic hand hygiene facility globally, which places the already
vulnerable in a higher risk.
The figures on access makes evident that the current system is not able
to meet the increasing demand of water due to climate change and rapid
urbanization. Lack of water availability will reduce crop production,
augment environmental degradation and social conflict. In this context,
unconventional water resources can play a critical role to achieve water
security. The availability of safe and clean water supplies, depends on how
this water is managed aer its use. Worldwide, 80% of wastewater flows
untreated back into the environment and 1.8 million people are exposed to
contaminated water for their drinking water source. Water reuse is
an opportunity. It provides new approaches to meet the increasing urban
demand. According to UN-Water, water reuse can further be a solution
to our response to the lack of water availability for crop production and
industrial development.
The Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP), as the only
intergovernmental programme of the United Nations system in water
sciences and education, aims at enhancing the scientific base through
research for sound decision making and related education and capacity
development. Currently, the eighth phase of the Programme focused on
water security. In line with UNESCO IHP’s strategy, the GWSI series provide
case studies to achieve water security.
Foreword
Abou Amani
Director, UNESCO Division of Water Sciences a.i.
Although there is a plethora of evidence related to the positive benefits from
water reuse, still not enough is being done. A comprehensive approach based on
scientifically driven solutions, appropriate legislation steps and regulations,
as well as institutional setting (governance), is essential to water being reused.
I wish to express our gratitude to i-WSSM, all authors, editors, and sta
involved in publishing this series, which I believe can become a stepping stone
to the path of Member States in achieving water security through water reuse.
Abou Amani
Director, UNESCO Division of Water Sciences a.i.
Abou Amani
Director, UNESCO Division of Water Sciences a.i.
Climate change, rapid urbanization, and population growth are threatening
the basic human rights to use sustainable water resources.
The United Nations emphasizes the importance of providing clean and safe
water resources as stated in the Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), “Ensure access to water and sanitation for all”.
Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the critical importance
of water security for preventing diseases. Hand hygiene is a very important
way to save lives and combat COVID-19, according to the World Health
Organization. The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted again the critical
importance of securing access to safe and clean water to help prevent
the spread of disease.
The UNESCO International Centre for Water Security and Sustainable
Management (i-WSSM) was established to contribute water security
strategies through research, education, and global networks. In line
with UNESCO’s eorts, the Centre publishes the Global Water Security
Issues (GWSI) Series to highlight the importance of knowledge-sharing to
enhance capacity building to support water security. Following the first
series, “Water Security and the Sustainable Development Goals”,
this series is entitled “Water Reuse within a Circular Economy Context”.
This second publication has been produced in collaboration with
the International Water Resources Association (IWRA). Water reuse is one
of the most important practices for water security and can be a solution
to meet the lack of availability of water resources.
Ensuring an adequate amount and acceptable quality of water is
fundamental for sustainable water resources. A lack of water availability
resulting from climate change and an increase in demand from
urbanization, population growth, and economic development, require
new solutions to reduce the gap between availability and demand.
The circular economy model aims to optimize resource use and reuse in
the economy and minimize the generation of waste. In this context,
the circular economy model for water resources primarily focuses on
more sustainable practices of using wastewater and other marginal water
sources.
Foreword
Yang Su Kim
Director of UNESCO i-WSSM
Even though water reuse has benefits that include improved agricultural
production, reduced energy consumption, and environmental benefits,
water reuse is not widely exploited due to a number of barriers, including
the conventional approach of seeking new freshwater sources rather than
reusing available water.
Non-traditional water resource use supports sustainable resource use and
oers options to face water crises. Water reuse has the potential to fill the gap
between availability and demand for agricultural, industrial and domestic
purposes, while also providing financial benefits. Appropriate water reuse
should be based on the state-of-the-art technology, standards, legislation and
sound knowledge. We sincerely hope that this GWSI series can support decision-
makers to include water reuse in their basket of solutions to achieve the SDGs.
Yang Su Kim
Director of UNESCO International Centre for Water Security and Sustainable Management
Yang Su Kim
Director of UNESCO i-WSSM
I. WATER REUSE AND PRINCIPLES
1
Water and the Circular Economy in Cities: Observations and Ways Forward 27
01 Megatrends in Cities 28
02 Circular Economy and Water: Technical and Governance Approaches 29
03 Water in Circular Economy Strategies in Cities 30
04 Ways Forward: A Governance Approach for The Circular Economy in the Water Sector 32
2
From Waste to Resource:
Shifting Paradigms for Smarter Wastewater Interventions in Latin America and the Caribbean 37
01 Context 38
02 The Opportunities Presented by Circular Economy 40
03 Existing Challenges 42
04 Framework to Promote the Paradigm Shift 43
05 Conclusions and the Way forward for the Region 48
Contents
INTRODUCTION 20
3
Water Reuse in Singapore: The New Frontier in a Framework of a Circular Economy? 55
01 Introduction 56
02 Water Resources Management 57
03 Institutional and Legal Frameworks 57
04 NEWater 60
05 Final Remarks 61
Part I
Water Reuse and
Principles
II. DECISION-MAKING FOR WATER REUSE
4
Water Availability and Water Reuse: A New Approach for Water Resources Management 71
01 Introduction 72
02 The Current Paradigm of Urban Water Resources Management 72
03 Water Availability: The Decision-making Key 73
04 Case-study on Urbanized Brazilian River: Iguazu River at MRC 75
05 Results 78
06 Conclusions and Recommendations 82
5
Industrial Water Recycling in Australia’s Circular Economy 85
01 Introduction 86
02 Features of Industrial Water Recycling 89
03 Performance and System Evaluation 95
04 Discussion 99
05 Conclusions 101
6
Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Best Practices in Morocco: Targeting Circular Economy 105
01 Introduction 106
02 Water Scarcity and Climate Change Impact on Africa 107
03 Reuse of Treated Wastewater as an Alternative, Moroccan Situation 109
04 Impact of Wastewater Reuse on the Soil, on Plants on the Water Ressources and Consumer Health 111
05 Wastewater Reuse and Acceptance Challenges from Moroccan Society 114
06 Wastewater Reuse Policy in Morocco 117
07 Conclusion 120
Part Il
Decision
Making for Water Reuse
III. UNDERSTANDING CHALLENGES OF WATER REUSE
7
Marginal Water Resources for Food Production 127
01 Introduction 128
02 Marginal Water Resources, Circular Economy and Degrowth – Conceptual Remarks 129
03 Benecial (Re)Use of Marginal Water in Iran and the GCC Region - Wastewater Reuse as a Case 131
04 Directions and Common Challenges for Urban Food Production 135
05 Conclusions 137
8
SWOT Analysis of Reclaimed Water Use for Irrigation in Southern Spain 141
01 Introduction 142
02 Background and Case Study Description 143
03 Material and Methods 144
04 Results 145
05 Discussion and Concluding Remarks 151
9
Wastewater Production, Reuse and Management Practices in Nigeria 155
01 Introduction 156
02 Nigeria’s Water Resources Availability and Utilization Practices 157
03 Methods 159
04 Urban settlements and wastewater 159
05 Wastewater and Irrigation Agriculture 160
06 Wastewater and Industries 160
07 Practical and Institutional Challenges of Wastewater Reuse in Nigeria 161
08 Discussion and Concluding remarks 163
Part Ill
Understanding
Challenges of Water Reuse
IV. WATER REUSE AND KEY STAKEHOLDERS
10
Market for Reclaimed Water through Private Water Tankers
– Sustainable Service Provision in Peri-urban Areas 169
01 Introduction 170
02 Research Objectives 174
03 Methodology 175
04 Findings 178
05 Recommendations 183
11
Toward SDG 6: Exploring the Potential for Wastewater Reuse in Nairobi, Kenya 191
01 Introduction 192
01 Methodology 193
02 Results 194
03 Discussion 197
04 Conclusion and Recommendation for Future Research 199
Part lV
Water Reuse and
Key Stakeholders
V. TECHNOLOGY FOR WATER REUSE
12
The Capability of Forward Osmosis Based Hybrid Processes in Adaptation
to Water Scarcity and Climate Change 207
01 Introduction 208
02 Water Security and Sustainable Development 208
03 Advanced Solutions for Water-Related Issues 209
04 Application of Advanced Water Treatment Technology to Adapt to Water Scarcity 211
05 Case Studies 213
06 Future Perspectives 216
07 Conclusion 216
Part V
Technology
for Water Reuse
Figures
Figure 2-1 Access to sanitation services in selected countries of Latin America and the Caribbean region, 2017 38
Figure 2-2 Potential revenue streams and savings from implementing resource recovery projects 40
Figure 3-1 Water cycle in Singapore 60
Figure 4-1 Water Availability Concept 73
Figure 4-2 Ilustrated water pathways possibilities 74
Figure 4-3 Iguazu River Location 75
Figure 4-4 Current framework of the waterways at the study point 76
Figure 4-5 Strategy for obtaining BOD concentration serie by regression 76
Figure 4-6 Strategy for obtaining BOD concentration serie simulating the upstream released loads 77
Figure 4-7 Closing Loop with water reuse in the study case 77
Figure 4-8 River Water Availability (95% frequency monthly flow serie) 79
Figure 5-1 Changes in decade average rainfall patterns and location of water intensive industries in Australia 86
Figure 5-2 Percentage of water recycling in Australia with projection to 2030 88
Figure 5-3A Water Recycling Processes Utilised in the Beer Brewing Industry 91
Figure 5-3B Water Recycling Processes Utilised in the Pulp and Paper Industry 91
Figure 5-3C Internal and external water recycling in Poultry processing. 91
Figure 5-4 Membrane Filter Permeate Turbidity for Scald Tank and Spin Chiller in Poultry Abattoir
over 30-Day Performance Test 95
Figure 5-5
Sankey Diagram Comparison of Energy Consumption for End-of-Pipe and Internal Recycling in Poultry Abattoir
96
Figure 5-6 Dissolved Organic Removal Eiciency in Paper Mill Recycling by Ion Exchange, Activated Carbon and
Nanofiltration 96
Figure 5-7 Triple Bottom Line (TBL) Analysis of Water and Energy Recovery Technology Implementation 97
Figure 5-8 Life Cycle Assessment Comparison of Greenhouse Gas Emission for End-of-Pipe and Internal Recycling
in Poultry Abattoir 98
Figure 6-1 Land use and population growth in North Africa 107
Figure 6-2 Trend of urban wastewater volume produced in Morocco 109
Figure 6-3 Distribution of dierent kinds of wastewater treatment technologies existing in Morocco 110
Figure 8-1 Strengths relevance 146
Figure 8-2 Weaknesses relevance 147
Figure 8-3 Opportunities relevance 148
Figure 8-4 Threats relevance 150
Figure 10-1 Cauver y Water Supply services in the BBMP area (in MLD) 171
Figure 10-2 Figure 10-2 Capacity of Private Sewage Treatment Plants installed from 2009 to 2015 172
Figure 10-3 Source BWSSB portal 173
Figure 10-4 Schematic representation of a Ward with localities of varying demands 174
Figure 10-5 Stages and Processes for attaining blue circular economy 174
Figure 10-6 Sample distribution based on the mode of supply of water 175
Figure 10-7 BWSSB Advertisement for selling reclaimed water 177
Figure 10-8 Every day, mud streets are washed to suppress dust using a hosepipe from own borewell 179
Figure 10-9 To the extreme le of the image, we see a lady drawing Rangoli 179
Figure 12-1 Water-Food-Energy Nexus 208
Figure 12-2 Forward osmosis process 210
Figure 12-3 Applications of forward osmosis 211
Figure 12-4 Applications and advantages of FO hybrid systems 212
Figure 12-5 The world’s first commercial FO plant in Oman 213
Figure 12-6 FO-RO hybrid system in Korea 213
Figure 12-7 Water cost according to the particular system 213
Figure 12-8 Pilot-scale of FDFO-NF hybrid system in Australia 214
Tables
Table 2-1 SDG 6 targets and indicators 41
Tab le 4 -1 Global Water Availability Analysis 80
Tab le 5 -1 Market size, employment and water demand of selected water intensive manufacturing industries 87
Table 5-2 Modality of recycling and typical characteristics wastewater for selected water intensive manufacturing
industries 90
Table 5-3 Summary of features of legislation governing internal industrial water recycling in food and beverage
applications at national and state level 94
Tab le 6 -1 Comparison of the yield obtained by irrigation using treated wastewater and that obtained
by using fresh water 112
Table 6-2 Physical and geometrical characteristics of the wastewater treatment process of the M’Zar WWTP 116
Table 6-3 Principal Authorities and oices managing water sector and resources in Morocco 117
Tab le 7-1 Water reuse sources for dierent reuse purposes in the Gulf region 130
Table 7-2 Key water use and reuse statistics for Iran, in million cubic meters (MCM) 131
Table 7-3 Key water use and reuse statistics for GCC countries for the year 2016, in million cubic meters (MCM) 133
Tab le 8 -1 Percentage of wastewater according to the point of discharge 143
Table 8-2 Strength aspects 146
Table 8-3 Weaknesses aspects 147
Table 8-4 Opportunities aspects 148
Table 8-5 Threats items 150
Tab le 9-1 Wastewater reuse categories 156
Table 9-2 Wastewater sources and possible contaminating elements 162
Table 9-3 Institutional authorities for wastewater management 162
Tab le 10-1 Water related challenges (Author’s compilation) 170
Table 10-2 Water supply and groundwater withdrawal (as of year 2013) by Water Supply Zone 172
Table 10-3 Sewage Treatment infrastructure gaps for domestic sector 172
Table 10-4 Quantity of reclaimed water sold 173
Table 10-5 Percentage distribution of dierent water users within the Survey Sample 176
Table 10-6 Water demand and wastewater generated by dierent end users 178
Tabl e 10-7 Total water demand in the sampled commercial units 178
Table 10-8 Challenges for estimating demand of non-consumptive uses 179
Table 10-9 Classification of tankers catering to dierent consumers 180
Table 10-10 Classification of tankers based on source of water supply 180
Tab le 10-11 Classification based on years of starting the business 180
Tab le 10-12 Classification based on type of capacities or volume of water 180
Tab le 10-13 Cost per tanker load supplied to dierent land use types 180
Tab le 10-14 Willingness of Tanker vendors to buy reclaimed water 181
Tab le 10-15 Reasons for not buying reclaimed water by Tanker vendors 181
Tab le 10-16 Feasibility of public private partnership for formalizing reclaimed water supply through tankers 183
Tab le 10-17 Challenges for Reclaimed water usage for non-consumptive uses 184
Tab le 11-1 Average Grey/Wastewater Household System Cost in The First Year 195
Tab le 12-1 Conventional technologies for water treatment and reuse 210
Abbreviations & Acronyms
ADB Asian Development Bank
ANA National Water Agency (Brazil)
AQIS Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service
AQUASTAT FAO Global Information System on Water
Resources and Agricultural Water Management
ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers
ASP Activated Sludge Process
ATD Association Tissilte pour le Développement
AWTP Advanced Water Treatment Plant
BBMP Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (India)
BOD Biological Oxygen Demand
BOM Bureau of Meteorology (Australia)
BWSSB Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board
(India)
CCP Critical Control Point
CFE Federal Electricity Commission (Mexico)
CMF Ceramic Microfiltration
CNEREE Centre National d’Etudes et de Recherche sur
l’Eau et l’Energi (Morocco)
COD Chemical Oxygen Demand
CONAGUA National Water Commission (Mexico)
CTA Cellulose Triacetate
CTLSP Local Technical Committee of the Project
Supervision (Morocco)
CWSS Cauvery Water Supply Scheme (India)
DEA Oice of Water and Wastewater Network
(Morocco)
DO Dissolved Oxygen
DOC Dissolved Organic Carbon
DOM Dissolved Organic Matter
DPA Provincial Technical Department (Morocco)
DPR Department of Petroleum Resources (Nigeria)
DS Draw Solution
DSRM Direction Régionale de Souss-Massa (Morocco)
DTSS Deep Tunnel Sewerage System
eGHG Equivalent Greenhouse Gas Emission
EIA Environmental Impact Assessment
EU European Union
FAO Food and Agricultural Organization of the United
Nations
FDFO Fertilizer Drawn Forward Osmosis
FGN Federal Government ofNigeria
FO Forward Osmosis
FOMBR Forward Osmosis Membrane Bioreactor
GAC Granular Activated Carbon
GCC Gulf Cooperation Council
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GHG Greenhouse Gas Emission
GLA Giga Litres per Annum
GRI Global Reporting Initiative
GWP Global Water Par tnership
HACCP Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points
HLPW High-Level Panel on Water
HRI Health Risk Index
IBGE Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics
IEA International Energ y Agency
IER Ion Exchange Resin
IHP Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme
(UNESCO)
IMF International Monetar y Fund
INE Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain)
IWA International Water Association
IWRM Integrated Water Resource Management
i-WSSM International Centre for Water Security and
Sustainable Management (South Korea)
JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency
KNBS Kenya National Bureau of Statistics
KSPCB Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (India)
LAC Latin America and the Caribbean
LCA Life Cycle Assessment
LCI Life Cycle Inventory
LCIA Life Cycle Impact Assessment
LNG Liquefied Natural Gas
MEWR Ministry of Environment and Water Resources
(Singapore)
MF Microfiltration
MoUD Ministry of Urban Development (India)
NEA National Environment Agency (Singapore)
NEMA National Environmental Management Authority
(Kenya)
NESREA National Environmental Standards and
Regulations Enforcement Agency (Nigeria)
NF Nanofiltration
NWS National Water Strategy (Morocco)
O&M Operations and Maintenance
OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development
OHT Ove rhea d Tan k
ONEE National Oice of Electricity and Water (Morocco)
PIR Policy, Institutional, and Regulatory
PNA National Liquid Sanitation and Wastewater
Treatment Program (Morocco)
PPCP Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care Product
PPP Public-Private Partnership
PREM Sustainability of Water Resources (Morocco)
PUB Public Utilities Board (Singapore)
R&D Research and Development
RADEEMA Autonomous Agency of Distribution of Water and
Electricity of Marrakech (Morocco)
RCF Recycled Fibre Content
RFC Recycled Fibre Content
RO Reverse Osmosis
RWMP Recycled Water Management Plan
SAP Structural Adjustment Programme
SDG Sustainable Development Goal
SEEA System of Environmental and Economic
Accounting
SFA Singapore Food Authority
SS Suspended Solids
STP Sewage Treatment Plant
SUWANU Sustainable water treatment and nutrient reuse
options (Europe)
SWOT Strengths-Weakness-Opportunities-Threats
TBL Triple Bot tom Line
TDS Total Dissolved Solids
TMP Thermomechanical Process
TSS Total Suspended Solids
UF Ultrafiltration
UN United Nations
UNDESA United Nations Department of Economic and
Social Aairs
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization
UNICEF United Nations Internationals Children’s Fund
UN-Water United Nations-Water
USAID United States Agency for International
Development
USEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency
WARMA Water Resources Management Authority (Kenya)
WDI World Development Indicators
WEF World Economic Forum
WFE Water, Food and Energy Nexus
WHO World Health Organization
WRT Wastewater Treatment/Reuse System
WTP Water Purification
WWAP World Water Assessment Programme
WWT Wastewater Treatment
WWTP Wastewater Treatment Plant
