Reuse of Wastewater in Mediterranean Region,
Egyptian Experience
Naglaa Mohamed Loutfy
Abstract Water scarcity in the Mediterranean region is one of the most serious
issues. A number of reasons are behind this situation, which include, but are not
restricted to, the relatively uneven distribution of precipitation, high temperatures,
increased demands for irrigation water, and impacts of tourism. Climate change is
expected to aggravate the situation even more. The use of wastewater is one of the
most sustainable alternatives to cope with water shortage. It would have a number
of advantages that include closing the gap between supply and demand, stopping
the pollution of fresh water resources, providing sound solution to water scarcity
and climate change, and helping to achieve Millennium Development Goals. With
Egypt, trying to cope with water shortage issues, The Ministry of Water Resources,
MWRI has developed a National Water Resources Plan, with wastewater reuse as a
central mechanism. At present, there are more than 200 wastewater treatment plants
in the country. Urban coverage of improved sanitation gradually increased from
45% in 1993 to 56% in 2004. In contrast, rural sanitation coverage remains
incredibly low at 4%. The low coverage, in combination with a sub-optimal
treatment, results in some problems of water pollution and degradation of health
conditions because the majority of villages and rural areas discharge their raw
domestic wastewater directly into the waterways. Drainage water reuse is practiced
on a very large scale. The official reuse of agricultural drainage water in irrigation
amounted to 4.84 km3/year in 2001. The present aim of the Government of Egypt is
to reuse up to 8 km3/year in new reclamation areas in the near future. Meanwhile, El
Salam canal, one of the mega projects in Egypt is transferring a mix of fresh Nile
water and wastewater to Sinai, to irrigate thousands of newly reclaimed areas.
Keywords Mediterranean, Wastewater, Egypt, Water scarcity, Climate change,
EI-Salam canal
N.M. Loutfy (*)
Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, 41522 Ismailia, Egypt
e-mail: naglamag At yahoo.com
D. Barcelo´ and M. Petrovic (eds.), Waste Water Treatment and Reuse in the
Mediterranean Region, Hdb Env Chem, DOI 10.1007/698_2010_76,
# Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010
scuegypt.academia.edu/NaglaaLoutfy/Paper..._Egyptian_Experience
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