Cairo Water Week (CWW 2023), Launch of the policy paper ”Expanding Water Reuse in MENA”
Dr. Khaled AbuZeid Senior Regional Water Resources Director (CEDARE) participated as a panelist in the panel discussion on Expanding Water Reuse in the MENA Region organized by IWMI, CEDARE, AWC at the launching of the policy paper on ”Expanding Water Reuse in MENA” on October 31st, during the Cairo Water Week.
Dr. Khaled AbuZeid’s intervention reflected on Egypt 2030 Water Reuse Shared Strategy stating that Water Reuse in Egypt has touched new grounds, where in addition to expansion in Wastewater Treatment plants, Egypt has embarked on agriculture drainage treatment and reuse where 2 major agriculture drainage treatment plants have been constructed including Mahsama (1.0 million m3/day), Bahr El Baqar (5.6 million m3/day), and a new 7.4 million m3/day (New Delta) is being finalized to reach a total of 5 BCM/year of agriculture drainage treatment and reuse. Long transfers over 150 km are also accompanying such reuse projects. In 2020 there was about 15 BCM of wastewater and agriculture drainage reuse in Egypt and it is expected to reach 23 BCM in 2030 according to the 2030 Reuse Strategy. Dr. AbuZeid highlighted that Countries have to put a medium-term strategy for water reuse, a code for reuse of different levels of wastewater treatment, to put the right legislations in place to promote reuse. He stressed on the importance of selecting options that reduces energy and water losses, and to assess benefits of direct reuse versus indirect reuse, to study impacts of irrigation modernization on available agriculture drainage and on existing and planned reuse projects, and to design wastewater treatment plants with reuse in mind to choose the appropriate locations, and to design agriculture expansion projects with reuse in mind and with consideration of proximity to sources of treated wastewater and agriculture drainage.
