Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
IPN-ISRAEL WATER WEEK
(I2W2)
Jacobo Sack
IPN representation in Israel
Adin Holdings Ltd.
Sept. 2014
Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
The scarcity of water in many
regions of the world is bringing
more and more the attention to the
potential that exists in the use of
wastewater treated effluent for
increasing the water potential
available in arid and semi-arid areas
Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
 Wastewater treated effluent is
99.7-99.9% water
The available amount of water
effluent is more or less constant
along the year.
Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
Effluent disposal
Water effluent reuse is a very good
solution for water effluent disposal
In areas with water scarcity
problems
In areas with plenty of water but
have problems with the disposal of
sewage effluent.
Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
Israel as an example
• about 75% of the effluent produced in the country is being
used for irrigation purposes
•about 20% of the total yearly use of water in the country
•50% of the water used yearly for agricultural purposes.
•more than 60 years of effluent use for agricultural purposes
in Israel.
Development procedures, standards, guidelines,
regulations practices and supervision to protect health and
environment from negative impacts
Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
•Every reuse project has an impact on the
environment.
slight to significant
 short or long term
 local, national, regional or global level (or
a combination thereof)
•Sewage effluent reuse might affect human
health.
When designing a treatment plant, these
potential impacts have to be addressed
Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
Change in wastewater treatment technology
• from biological active ponds (almost no external energy)
• to mechanical activated biological reactors (high energy
consuming processes)
Biological active ponds: minimum amount of manpower and
low technological level.
•"activated sludge”
construction of concrete basins
 the use of big motors and machinery
 sophisticated software control and electrical systems.
• Mechanical plants: specialized, high tech manpower level
Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
The effluent quality obtained by the
mechanical activated biological reactors
systems is quite “better” than the effluent
quality obtained by biological active ponds
Paradoxically, a better effluent quality results
in a smaller concentration of organic matter,
nitrogen, phosphorous and other beneficial
elements for crops.
Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
Treatment plants design today
No consideration of the benefits of a lower
effluent quality- supply to the food chain of
crops
Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
•The natural inclination of the wastewater
treatment plants engineers, is to design the
most advanced and sophisticated treatment
plant that can be designed within the allotted
budget, resulting in the design of mechanical
reactors with high energy demand and a
demand of high level engineers and
technicians to operate and maintain them.
•Part of this trend (designing sophisticated
wastewater treatment plants) is due to the
regulatory constraints.
Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
In many instances:
•There is no budget for the energy required
•The technical manpower of the level
required is not available. (Especially in
relatively small towns located in remote
areas). Or,
•There is no budget for the energy and
there is no technical manpower available
with the required level.
Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
standard design of wastewater treatment plants is
not always the best approach to waste water
treatment plant design
Consequences of an inadequate treatment plant
design may be:
•untreated or partially treated effluent may flow to
the surrounding of the treatment plant causing
environmental contamination problems
• inefficiency in achieving the best results for the
intended reuse of the water.
Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
Making Water Reform happen in
Mexico
OECD Studies on Water 2013
Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
Mexico has the opportunity to invent its
own model for water governance
Mexico needs to bring more flexibility into
its water policies to ensure that the
policies can meet future challenges.
Mexico needs to pay more attention to the
cost-effectiveness of water-related public
spending and investment decisions.
Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
A wastewater treatment proposal
for the sewage of the city of Mexico
might be a good example of how
unorthodox and simple thinking
might establish wastewater treated
effluent quality aims, different from
the regulatory demands but that are
practical, viable and with an
enormous positive cost benefit ratio.
Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
Another example:
Design and construction of
wastewater treatment lagoons in “La
Solana” and 25 other communities in
Spain.
Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
Conclusion
Considerations to be looked into when designing a new
wastewater treatment plant:
•Optimal effluent quality required for the purpose of the intended water
reuse
• The environmental effects that such quality effluent will have on water
bodies (rivers, lakes, aquifers, etc)
• The impact that such quality effluent would have on human beings' health
among the population exposed to the effects of the effluent reuse.
•The technological and economic capabilities of the wastewater treatment
plant owner
Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
All these consideration combined will
determine the "minimum" water
effluent quality to be achieved by the
wastewater treatment plant.
Such an approach will probably result
in the design of simple pond treatment
plants in many small towns in rural
areas
Wastewater effluent reuse focus for
designing wastewater treatment plants.
Thank you