Graywater Reuse in Jordan -- continued --

Concerns over Changes to Wastewater Quality

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The prospect of large numbers of domestic consumers reusing their graywater sometimes causes concern amongst agencies responsible for wastewater collection and treatment. The liquid component of wastewater functions as the means of transport for the solid material, and a nightmare scenario is sometimes painted of a wastewater system whose liquid component has reduced to unmanageable levels. These nightmare scenarios are never realized, for a number of reasons. Firstly, the domestic component of municipal wastewater is not the whole story. In Jordan, the domestic component of wastewater accounts for only one component of the total wastewater budget. Domestic graywater reuse will have no impact on the industrial, commercial and tourism contributions. 

Secondly, there is a limit to the number of establishments which will be able to reuse graywater for irrigation. People living in apartment blocks (most of the city of Amman) with no garden will have almost no use for graywater. 

Thirdly, much of the demand for additional water comes from rural areas, where water availability is lowest. Many of these areas are not served by a mains wastewater collection system, and make use of septic tanks instead. In these cases, a reduction of water going to the septic tank is a marked advantage, and reduces the need for pumping out the tank and disposing of the waste. Graywater reuse in non-sewered areas has no effect on the mains wastewater systems.  

However, the issue does lead to questions as to the wisdom of using water as a mass transport medium in such a water scarce society. In Jordan, there is an increasing push to treat the wastewater centrally to levels suitable for use in irrigation, a laudable concept, and one which is almost unavoidable in the region, given the water supply constraints. However, this should not be used as an argument against water demand reduction on the part of consumers – ‘it doesn’t matter how much you use, since it will all be collected and reused anyway’. In other countries, significant moves away from centralized wastewater management are being made, and increasing interest in decentralized solutions is being developed, particularly in developing countries and notably in the Middle East region. This issue forms part of a wider debate amongst the wastewater community, but it is very unlikely that graywater reuse in Jordan will reach the level where detrimental effect on the liquidity of wastewater will be a result. Water demand reduction requires action from all consumers of water, and this includes those in the wastewater field.

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Once the safety and appropriateness of graywater reuse becomes accepted by the ‘graywater community’, a second argument needs to be made to the wider public, if widespread uptake of graywater reuse is to be observed. Both promotion (it’s OK to do it) and education (how to do it) will be required. It is no use telling people that they should be reusing their graywater without informing them how. It is not important whether this is carried out by the NGO community or by the public sector, although the complicit backing of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation will be essential, particularly in providing appropriate legislation. The development of a model community which would have appropriate graywater reuse as a component should be considered. The Casa del Agua (Desert House), in Southern Arizona, developed by the University of Arizona and others, is one example of how such a demonstration scheme was crucial in persuading the public of the advantages of graywater and the ease with which it could be implemented.  Detailed information on the Casa del Agua project is available in the E-publications section of the CSBE web site at http://www.csbe.org/Brittain/index.htm. 

CSBE has produced an Arabic-language leaflet entitled ‘Graywater Guidelines’, which provides basic information to those wishing to reuse graywater at a simple and basic level. Other information, covering more complex systems, may also be required for higher water use contexts.

6.0  Conclusion

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At the end of this short 14 month project, a number of tangible successes have been achieved.  

Firstly, the provision of freely available information in English and Arabic on graywater and how it is reused in other countries has allowed the opening of a important debate on the relevance and the possibility of graywater reuse in Jordan.  

Secondly, the publication of this information along with the subsequent cross-communication between various groups and individuals with prior graywater experience in Jordan, has allowed for sharing of ideas and information on a hitherto unprecedented level in this field. Rather than several groups competing with each other or working in isolation, there is a spirit of cooperation and sharing as evidenced by the collaboration on the MoWI’s Water Demand Committee, and at CSBE’s Graywater Workshop held in September 2003, facilitated as part of this project.  

Thirdly, the presence on the ground in Jordan of a number of applications of graywater reuse in varying contexts will act as a practical and visual stimulus to others and can emphasize both possibility and practicability. Although many of these applications are too recent to have been assessed fully to date, in time, their operators (some with the assistance of CSBE) will develop a picture of how they perform, how much they cost, and how the plants are affected, and what the problems are. This pool of knowledge will contribute to the Jordan experience of graywater reuse. 

Fourthly, the inauguration of the Water Demand Management Committee at the MOWI will ensure that the public sector is involved in the debate. The public-private sector partnership on this committee will ensure that the various stakeholder voices are heard and will hopefully result in a practical and workable legislative arrangement which will facilitate the easy take-up of graywater reuse while protecting the public and the environment in a responsible way. 

CSBE will continue to assist, monitor and assess a number of graywater schemes in Jordan for an additional six months beyond the end of the funding from the Ministry of Planning’s Enhanced Productivity Program through funding provided by the Small Schemes Program at the British Embassy in Amman. A final project report will be published on the website at the culmination of that six month period.

Prepared by Stephen McIllwaine

© 2003

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