APPENDIX B
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
CDM International was retained by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
to undertake the Water/Wastewater Infrastructure Project (WIP) for the purpose of improving the
utilization of limited water resources in Jordan for the next 25 years and bring about urgently needed
enhancements to the water and wastewater systems.
The following specific tasks have been identified within the project.
 Task 1. Feasibility Study and Design of Zarqa Wastewater Treatment Facilities. This task has
subsequently been deleted.
 Task 2. Assessment of Greater Amman Water and Wastewater Systems.
 Task 3. Feasibility Study and Design for Expansion of Jerash Wastewater Treatment Plant.
 Task 4. Assessment of the Water and Wastewater Systems of Tafilah and Ma’an Governorates
 Task 5. Construction of the Reuse Knowledge Centre in Wadi Mousa/Petra. This Task is
currently on hold pending the determination of responsibility for the operation and
maintenance of the facilities.
 Task 6. Feasibility Studies, designs, tendering and construction management of small scale
water and wastewater project as identified under the project. Currently feasibility studies are
in progress for Wadi Rum site sewerage handling, Hisban wells, Awajan wells and solar
energy farming.
This Feasibility Report focuses on the requirements of Task 3 and future wastewater treatment and
disposal in the City of Jerash. East and west catchment areas divide the City into two distinct sewer
networks, one older system in the East and the other recently constructed in the West. Additional
sewer areas that will connect to both existing networks have been designed, but yet to be
implemented. This report makes estimates for future wastewater characteristics in these areas,
provides treatment and disposal options, and recommends improvements to meet the City’s needs in
2035.
The scope of the feasibility study includes an assessment of the wastewater treatment facilities within
the catchment areas served by the existing East Jerash WWTP and the newly constructed West Jerash
WWTP. This report also presents options for providing wastewater treatment for flows and loads
from the study area, up to the design horizon of 2035. Different alternatives for the expansion of
treatment facilities at East and West Jerash within the study area were developed and the most
feasible solutions to meet the Task objectives are presented.
Meeting the wastewater treatment needs of Jerash in 2035 can be accomplished by considering and
implementing various alternatives for expansion and/or upgrade of existing WWTPs. The feasible
alternatives are explored, evaluated, and analyzed to arrive at a recommended alternative. Financial
and socio-economic analyses and proposed implementation schedules are also present to fulfill the
required scope of the Jerash Wastewater Treatment Feasibility Study.
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JERASH WASTEWATER CHARACTERISTICS
The first step in planning any wastewater infrastructure improvements is to define current and projected
wastewater characteristics. The following are the analyses performed and parameters defined;
Current and future population estimates and percentage of the population served
Water consumption and wastewater generation rates per person
Historical characteristics of wastewater tributary to the East Jerash WWTP
Current characteristics of wastewater entering the East Jerash WWTP
Current and projected wastewater flow rates and pollutant concentrations and peaking factors
The following table summarizes the current and future, population and flow data, for all of Jerash.
Table E-1
Current and Projected, Population and Flow Data
Parameter
East Jerash
West Jerash
Total
Current (2010) Population Served
51,461
0
51,461
Projected (2035) Population Served
100%
100%
100%
Projected (2035) Population Served
118,637
113,655
232,292
Current (2010) Average Flow (m3/d)
3,499
0
3,499
Projected (2035) Average Flow (m3/d)
9,491
9,092
18,583
When calculating projected flow rates, an individual water consumption of 100 lpcd was used with an 80
percent return as wastewater. This results in 80 lpcd of wastewater generated per person.
Based on historical water quality, specific characteristics can be summarized and used to predict future
conditions. The following are summarized from historical conditions:

The relationship (peaking factor) between average and maximum flows

The relationship (peaking factor) between average and maximum loading

The ratio of BOD to other pollutants
These site specific wastewater characteristics were used to estimate the future flows and loadings for the
different pollutants of concern, which are summarized in Section 2. It is important to note that the
methods used (herein) to predict future wastewater characteristics in the West Jerash Catchment, differ
from those used by the designers of that facility. They assumed that wastewater concentrations would be
much less than those currently observed in the East Catchment. CDM took a different approach and
assumed that future wastewater characteristics in the West Catchment would be similar to current
wastewater characteristics in the East. This approach is slightly more conservative.
ASSESSMENT OF EXISTING WASTEWATER TREATMENT IN JERASH
As previously mentioned, Jerash has two treatment facilities with one serving the East Catchment and the
other serving the West Catchment. The following paragraphs describe the current treatment
infrastructure within these catchments, along with existing design criteria, assessment of existing
conditions, and ability to meet wastewater treatment requirements in 2035.
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The existing East Jerash WWTP was constructed in 1982 and then expanded in 1992 to its current capacity
of 3,750 m3/d and BOD load of 2,415 kg/d. A combination of two different biological treatment processes
(oxidation ditch and conventional aeration tanks) is not able to meet the performance requirements and
effluent standards. The mixture of mechanical challenges, lack of sufficient tank volumes, and operation
complications result in effluent water quality exceeding effluent standards by greater than 200 percent of
the current limits. A rehabilitation of this facility with some process improvements could occur but would
provide far less capacity than needed in the future. A plant expansion with an upgrade has the potential
to meet these needs and has been included as one alternative for future treatment in the East Catchment.
Construction of the existing West Jerash WWTP was completed in late 2010 and operation began soon
thereafter. The plant was designed to operate through 2025 with an average flow rating of 10,000 m3/d
and BOD loading of 7,500kg/d. This is a modern facility with treatment processes to provide a high
quality effluent which meet current Jordanian discharge standards. Although, the objective of this
Feasibility Report is to provide planning for all of the existing service areas of Jerash through 2035,
including the West plant and flows tributary to that facility. It has been determined that the existing
facility lacks the capacity to operate reliably through the design year and would require an upgrade or
expansion in approximately 2024. The hydraulic capacity is sufficient, but there lacks adequate loading
capacity to treat BOD, COD, TSS, and nitrogen after 2024.
TREATMENT OBJECTIVES
The objectives of wastewater improvements in Jerash are to provide facilities that can produce an effluent
(liquid and solid) that meets current Jordanian standards and optimizes wastewater and sludge reuse for
agricultural and other potential uses.
The Jordanian Standards (JS893/2006) for Category A, dedication for irrigation of cooked vegetables,
parks, playgrounds, and urban roadsides was selected as the basis of design for defining wastewater
treatment requirements. The intent of the recommendations presented herein is to exceed the discharge
requirements, including the low nitrate-nitrogen limit of 6.8 mg/L. This limit conflicts with the desire to
optimize wastewater reuse and is not in balance with anticipated effluent total nitrogen. CDM is
currently designing to the low limit but has requested a variance, which would increase nitrate-nitrogen
to 10 mg/L. If accepted, appropriate modifications to process design will be made during the Design
Report development.
To maintain compliance with the objective for reuse, advanced treatment will be required to meet the
Second Class standards for sludge disposal. If particular conditions are met, this quality of sludge can be
used for soil conditioning but not direct application for vegetable crops. The Jordanian Standards
(JS1145:2006) require volatile suspended solids reduction of 38 percent or greater. This requirement
influences the selection of processes for liquid and solids treatment. Sludge stabilization
recommendations are made that promote future reuse of sludge, as a market for this product becomes
more abundant.
ALTERNATIVES FOR FUTURE WASTEWATER TREATMENT IN JERASH
Alternatives for future wastewater treatment and disposal in Jerash are numerous because of the two
catchment system and the need to expand the service of West Jerash WWTP from 2025 to 2035. All
options have been considered and include the following general criteria:

Upgrade of an existing treatment facility

Expansion and upgrade of an existing treatment facility

Construction of a new facility on the same site as the existing
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
Construction of a new facility on a new site, and

Transfer of flow from one catchment to another.
Before alternatives were developed, a treatment technology screening and selection were performed
which recommended the liquid and solids process train. The recommendation is for typical preliminary
treatment systems, followed by primary clarifiers, oxidation ditches, secondary clarifiers, and ending with
disinfection. Sludge treatment will include gravity thickeners, aerobic digesters and mechanical
dewatering with the option for using drying beds. High strength influent wastewater creates the need for
primary clarifiers and digesters are provided for the most feasible method of stabilization. For the
alternatives presented below, the same technologies and process trains were compared.
Alternatives focused on the East Catchment with secondary consideration for improvements required at
the West Jerash WWTP. In addition, options for catchment flow transfers are included. The alternatives
considered for the East Jerash Catchment wastewater treatment improvements are:
Alternative 1: Decommissioning of the existing East WWTP and transfer all East Jerash catchment
wastewater for treatment at the West Jerash WWTP.
Alternative 2: Upgrade of the existing East WWTP to operate at a flow rate that will meet effluent
discharge limits, but not to handle future (2035) flows and loads – the balance would be conveyed to the
West Jerash WWTP through a transfer system.
Alternative 3: Upgrade and expansion, or complete on-site replacement, of the existing East Jerash
WWTP facility to meet current effluent discharge limits and future (2035) East Jerash Catchment influent
flow and load conditions.
Alternative 4: Decommissioning of the existing East Jerash WWTP, and construction at another site of a
new WWTP facility to meet current effluent discharge limits and future (2035) East Jerash Catchment
influent flow and load conditions.
The 3rd alternative has two sub-alternatives for upgrade with expansion (3A Upgrade Existing East
WWTP and Construct Expansion Facilities on Existing Site), or replacement (3B Construct New East
WWTP on Same Site and Decommission Existing East WWTP) of the existing East Jerash WWTP, all in
an effort to meet design criteria in the year 2035. Both sub-alternatives are for work to be performed on
the existing site.
Along with treatment alternatives for the East Catchment, three options were considered to increase
capacity of the existing West Jerash WWTP to successfully treat influent wastewater in 2035 which would
be required in some form in all cases. The options include:
Option A: Installation of primary clarifiers with a sludge treatment capacity expansion
Option B: Installation of a third oxidation ditch, and
Option C: Modification of the operating procedures to increase treatment capacity or a reduction in the
solids retention time and increase solids treatment capacity.
All alternatives and options are compared in the Study using qualitative criteria including
constructability, reliability, flexibility, required maintenance, space requirements, odors, process
performance, noise level, public impact, energy use, capital cost, and O&M costs. A balanced scoring
system was used to rank each alternative and a summation of scoring was used to select the most
desirable alternative.
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RECOMMENDED PLAN
The following is the recommended plan for future wastewater treatment and disposal in Jerash:

Proceed with Alternative 3B and construct a new wastewater treatment plant on the existing East
Jerash WWTP site.

At a future date, modify operation at the West Jerash WWTP (lower SRT) and install greater solids
treatment capacity.

Do not install a catchment transfer system.
A new oxidation ditch treatment plant with a capacity of 9,500 m 3/d is recommended to be constructed
while the existing WWTP remains in operation. A preliminary site layout was developed to confirm that
the existing sludge drying beds and or polishing lagoons could be abandoned and the space then used for
the new process tanks. The existing East WWTP would be demolished and the resulting space used for
ancillary facilities for the new WWTP. The recommended process flow diagram for the new East Jerash
WWTP is present in Figure E-1.
Figure E-1
Process Flow Diagram for Recommended Alternative
The recommended treatment plant contains many processes common to other treatment facilities
throughout Jordan. The plant is very similar to the West Jerash WWTP with the exception of primary
clarifiers and the need for aerobic digestion to provide the potential for sludge reuse. The modern facility
will contain simplistic process procedures with performance that exceeds Jordanian standards.
A financial analysis of the various alternatives and an assessment of the recommended alternative is
presented in the Study along with socio-economic analyses. The financial viability of the plan is presented
with the effects on local tariffs and the estimated value of effluent reuse. The socio-economic analysis
considers the quantifiable and non-quantifiable benefits that would be achieved by the project.
IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES
Upon official approval of the feasibility study findings by USAID and WAJ, the implementation program
(Phase II) will start. This phase will include the preparation of a detailed engineering design for the
construction of the wastewater treatment improvements based on the selected alternative in the
feasibility study. The implementation program currently included in WIP comprises the following main
activities;
 Preparation of the Basis of Design Report
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 Preparation of Detail Design Documents and Cost Estimates
 Preparation of Tender Documents including Prequalification Documents for construction
contractors and Soil Investigation Request for Proposals
As part of the detailed design development, alternative site layouts will be provided to determine the
most appropriate use of the exiting site, while minimizing impacts to the existing treatment system.
SUMMARY
Presented herein is a justified plan for providing reliable wastewater treatment and disposal for all of the
Jerash study area through the planning year of 2035. The plan promotes water and sludge reuse, meets
Jordanian effluent standards, and provides a robust but simplistic treatment system. Alternative 3B is the
most economically feasibile option with responsive improvements to satisfy the concerns of local
residents. Most importantly, it provides methods to protect the environment while optimizing water
resources.
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