Document(s) 16 of 19

¹International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Centreville, Virginia, USA
²Water Resources and Environment Office, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Amman, Jordan
³Water Reuse Consultant, San Francisco, California, USA

Abstract

Jordan has worked to manage irrigation with wastewater for several decades. Since the early 1980s the general approach has been to treat the wastewater and either discharge it to the environment where it mixes with freshwater flows and is indirectly reused downstream, or to use the resulting effluent to irrigate restricted, relatively low-value crops. Given the diminishing per capita freshwater supply, the increasing dominance of effluent in the water balance, the overloading of wastewater treatment plants, local riparian water rights, and the need to protect domestic and export produce markets, effectively managing water reuse, including enforcement of existing regulations, has become increasingly challenging. Jordan is in the process of rehabilitating and expanding its wastewater treatment plants, and exploring options for smaller communities. Reclaimed water, appropriately managed, is viewed as a major component of the water resources supply to meet the needs of a growing economy. Appropriate standards and guidelines for water reuse are an important requirement. The previous water reuse standards were reviewed, a working framework developed, stakeholder participation sought and input provided to the formal process for adopting the new standards. The revised standards allow for a wide range of water reuse activities including, where economic conditions allow, highly treated reclaimed water for landscapes and high-value crops, and for lower cost smaller-scale treatment and reuse activities with restricted cropping patterns.

Introduction

This chapter describes the updated water reuse standards in Jordan and the process that led to their adoption.

The terminology used in this chapter, water reuse, is intended to convey what may be understood variously as water reclamation, water recycling, wastewater reclamation, wastewater use, and wastewater reuse in different parts of the world. However, water reuse, as used here, specifically refers to a well-regulated and controlled use of properly treated and conveyed effluent after treatment of wastewater in well-designed and maintained treatment systems. Unplanned water reuse may be properly labelled wastewater reuse.

Wastewater has been used for irrigation in Jordan for several decades. Some treated effluent has been used directly on restricted crops of relatively low value, but the main practice has to been to discharge effluent to the environment where it mixes with freshwater flows before being used indirectly downstream. With dropping per capita freshwater availability, the increasing dominance of wastewater in the water balance, insufficient wastewater treatment capacity, and the need to protect domestic and export produce markets as well as local riparian water rights, managing water reuse and enforcing existing regulations have become increasingly challenging.

Previous Water Reuse Standards

The previous Jordanian Standards for Water Reuse (JS893/1995) were introduced in 1995, prior to which the World Health Organization (WHO, 1989) Health Guidelines for the Use of Wastewater in Agriculture and Aquaculture had been used (Nazzal et al., 2000). Listing 47 specific constituents, JS893/1995 prescribed limits for each of the seven following uses of reclaimed water.

1. Irrigation of vegetables eaten cooked
2. Irrigation of fruit trees, forests, industrial crops, and grains
3. Discharge to streams and catchment areas
4. Artificial recharge of groundwater
5. Use in aquaculture (fish hatcheries)
6. Irrigation of public parks
7. Irrigation of fodder JS893/1995 prohibited the following:

• Irrigation of crops eaten raw (tomato, cucumber, carrot, lettuce, radish, mint, parsley, pepper, cabbage, cauliflower, etc.)
• Irrigation during the last 2-week period before harvest
• Use of fruit fallen to the ground
• Deterioration of soil properties
• Use on crops sensitive to constituents of reclaimed water
• Sprinkler irrigation
• Transport of reclaimed water in unlined channels across recharge areas
• Dilution of reclaimed water with freshwater to meet the criteria
• Use of reclaimed water to recharge aquifers used for drinking water supplies.

JS893/1995 standards for reuse and discharge in different media are presented in Table 14.1 and for comparison with the updated Standard and Guidelines (Table 14.2).

Limitations of previous standards

The JS893/1995 Water Reuse Standard tried to regulate both water reuse and environmental discharges, so it was necessary to establish discharge requirements for treatment plants irrespective of, and in addition to, the standards for specific uses of reclaimed water.

JS893/1995 prohibited the recharge of groundwater used for drinking with reclaimed water, but the Jordan Water Strategy (MWI, 1997) specifically includes groundwater recharge as one of the desirable uses of reclaimed water. Updating the Standard attempted to resolve this discrepancy, but, it was clear that protecting the drinking water supply remained an over-riding concern of stakeholders.

JS893/1995 included a long list of constituents, some of which are relevant to environmental protection while others are relevant to water reuse. However, many of the listed parameters had little or no direct public health significance with regards to water reuse.

The export market for food crops grown in Jordan has suffered from restrictions imposed by some of the importing countries of the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf because wastewater, or inadequately treated wastewater, is used to irrigate crops in some parts of Jordan. More recently, standards for exporting crops to Europe have become more rigorous, stressing the importance of addressing the role of wastewater in the water used for irrigation. To address this, the Government of Jordan (GoJ) is implementing an aggressive campaign to rehabilitate and improve the wastewater treatment plants in the country. Of primary importance is the need to establish reasonable standards to protect the health of farmers and the consuming public from infectious agents that can possibly be carried by inadequately treated wastewater.

Table 14.1. Existing (JS893/1995) numerical standards for use of treated wastewater in Jordan (Government of Jordan, 1995).

Existing Water Reuse Practices

More than 70 million m³ of reclaimed water, around 10% of the total national water supply, is used either directly or indirectly in Jordan each year (McCornick, 2001). The categories of use are: a. planned direct use within or adjacent to wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), b. unplanned use in the wadi (a dry stream bed or the valley in which such a stream bed is located), and c. indirect use after mixing with natural surface water supplies and freshwater supplies downstream, primarily in parts of the Jordan Valley.

Direct water reuse

The use of reclaimed water at sites in the immediate vicinity or adjacent to the WWTPs is generally under the jurisdiction of the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ), which plans, builds, owns, operates and maintains the WWTPs. A number of these sites are pilot projects with some research and limited commercial viability, but more recent projects funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), are aimed at developing more productive use of the water resources while demonstrating public health and environmental protection. Other direct water reuse operations, such as the date palm plantations that receive reclaimed water from the Aqaba WWTP, are separate and viable enterprises. Farmers growing crops in these areas – under special contracts with WAJ – are generally satisfied with the water and continue to renew their contracts.

Unplanned water reuse in the wadis

With the diminishing contribution of natural springs to the base flow in some wadis due to over-pumping of groundwater in the highlands, and the increasing discharge of effluent into Wadi Zarqa from urban centres upstream, reclaimed water has become a significant portion of the dry-season flows. Farmers, who have traditional water rights to the base flow, have continued to irrigate from the flow in the wadi, that is mostly wastewater effluent. The Ministry of Health, in coordination with local authorities and the WAJ, recognising that the microbiological quality of such water presents a serious health risk and jeopardises wider export markets for crops, has enforced the existing standard (JS893/1995) where possible, but the irrigation of ground-grown vegetable crops persists in the less-accessible areas of Wadi Zarqa (McCornick et al., 2001). The rights of the farmers to base flow in these wadis is recognised and respected, but only for use on restricted crops. In fact, with increasing populations in the Amman Zarqa area in recent years, flow in the wadis has increased and become more reliable, enabling the farmers to use larger volumes of water and irrigate larger tracts of land.

Indirect reuse of wastewater effluent

The majority of the reclaimed water generated in Jordan originates in the Amman Zarqa Basin (see Fig. 14.1). Treated effluent from the As-Samra WWTP is discharged to Wadi Zarqa. The wadi flows into the King Talal Reservoir (KTR), picking up whatever surface runoff occurs in the Amman Zarqa catchment. The water in the reservoir, blended with water from the King Abdullah Canal, when available, is used for irrigation in the southern portion of the Jordan Valley (McCornick et al., 2002). From a Jordanian legal aspect this water, downstream of the KTR, is no longer considered to be reclaimed water. From a practical perspective, however, the microbiological and chemical qualities of the water are affected by the level of treatment at the WWTP and by non-point sources contaminating surface runoff from the Amman Zarqa catchment.

Motivation to Revise Water Reuse Standards

Policy and strategy context

Since 1998 Jordan has been revising the strategy and policies used to manage its scarce national water resources. The National Water Strategy (MWI, 1997) recognises that population pressure in Jordan has already caused a chronic deficit in available freshwater that has resulted in over-extraction of groundwater. Opportunities to develop new freshwater sources are limited, and those that exist are expensive, with high operating costs. Given this, treated wastewater is considered to be a resource that, with due care for public health and the environment, should be reclaimed and reused for agriculture and other non-domestic purposes, including groundwater recharge.

Table 14.2. Revised standards of water reuse in Jordan (Government of Jordan, 2003).

^a NTU: unit that measures turbidity of water using a typhilometer.
^b Water treatment stations that use mechanical methods and have polishing (settlement) ponds are allowed to exceed twice the times TSS standard.

The National Wastewater Management Policy (MWI, 1998) states that water reuse for irrigation should be given a high priority, and that reclaimed water is to be sold at prices that, at a minimum, cover the operation and maintenance costs of delivery. The Policy also allows for the Jordanian Standards on Water Reuse to be periodically examined.

Furthermore, the Policy states that any use of reclaimed water must:

• Protect the public
• Conserve resources (water, soils/land, natural vegetation, etc.)
• Comply with international treaties
• Ensure environmentally sound practices.

Proposed uses of reclaimed water

In addition to the present water reuse practices in Jordan, there are a number of proposed developments where water reuse would be beneficial, yet would have been prohibited or difficult to manage under JS893/1995.

A case in point is the existing Aqaba WWTP, located on the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba at the northern extremity of the Red Sea. This WWTP is now operating at capacity, but the fast-developing Aqaba free trade zone will soon increase the treatment capacity requirements considerably. A major reconstruction project is scheduled to be completed in late 2004. The specifications for the new facility call for zero emissions of effluent into the Gulf of Aqaba. This requirement has further motivated decision-makers to maximise the use of reclaimed water. In addition to the relatively successful irrigation of date palms with reclaimed water that complies with the JS893/1995, the intent is to use the reclaimed water to irrigate more date palms, other crops, a golf course, and the urban landscape within the Aqaba city area. Furthermore, industry presents a potential additional demand for the reclaimed water. JS893/1995 did not allow for the use of sprinkler systems that are required for the golf course and such use is still not allowed under the new standards.

Fig. 14.1. Schematic map of Jordan, and the Amman-Zarqa Basin.

A major consideration in the use of reclaimed water in Jordan is the potential impact of regulations on the export market of fresh fruit and vegetables, and the possibility of restrictions placed by importing countries based on the poor microbiological quality of the irrigation water.

Other reasons (Sheikh, 2001) for revisiting Jordanian Standard JS893/1995 are:

• Incorporating the latest knowledge about use of reclaimed water
• Incorporating water reuse into the overall integrated management of water resources in Jordan
• Protecting public health in use of reclaimed water – while leaving other important considerations (environmental protection, soil characteristics, agricultural productivity) to the discretion of customers and other governmental entities
• Simplifying compliance with uniform standards for all stakeholders
• Implementing a broad range of water reuse activities ranging from irrigation of crops eaten raw that would require disinfected tertiary effluent, to small community and satellite facilities where the WWTP produces secondary treated effluent
• Streamlining enforcement of the standards.

The Process of Revising the Standards

Technical experts were engaged to work with staff members of various national government agencies [MWI, WAJ, and the Jordan Valley Authority (JVA)] on revision of the Water Reuse Standards. Knowledge of the problems faced by farmers, industry, and GoJ helped to develop an appreciation of the constraints faced by all parties using treated effluent. A three-tiered standard was developed to ameliorate the shortcomings of JS893/1995.

From the expert review of the Jordanian Standards for Treated Wastewater Reuse insight was provided on ways and means of enhancing these Standards and of providing guidelines for water reuse and industrial discharges to sewers. Presentations highlighting experiences of other countries shed light on the benefits of using of reclaimed water. They also addressed and alleviated the concerns of the public, decision-makers and GoJ technical specialists. These informational sessions proved to be highly useful in reaching consensus on the content of the new Standard.

Review of Standards

The review of the Standards began early in 2000 when the history of relevant legislation and standards was reviewed (Nazzal et al., 2000). A detailed review of JS893/1995 was conducted, present practices were examined, and a framework for revising them was developed (Sheikh, 2001). Over this period, input was sought from various stakeholders in the MWI, WAJ, JVA, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, and tertiary education institutions.

Proposed framework

A proposed regulatory framework, with the primary goals of protecting public and farm-worker health, and developing a credible regulatory system for domestic and export markets, was presented to the stakeholders. The expectation was that, with stakeholder input, revised standards would evolve from the framework, and would eventually be adopted formally.

The proposed framework has three tiers. Tier 1 is legally enforceable water reclamation standards aimed at protecting public and farm-worker health (see Table 14.3). This will be accomplished through the regulation of parameters that: 1. ensure optimal performance of the WWTPs, 2. indicate the microbiological safety of reclaimed water, and 3. can be controlled at the WWTPs. Note that under the originally proposed regulatory regime, unrestricted irrigation (last column of Table 14.3) would, unlike JS893/1995, have allowed the irrigation of vegetables eaten raw.

The principles underlying Tier 1 allow for a wide range of uses of reclaimed water. For the irrigation of orchards, trees, fodder, industrial crops and grains, the WHO standards are still used as a guiding principle. For areas with a fragile environment, such as those around Aqaba, a higher level of treatment is necessary regardless of water reuse requirements. Tier 1 would have originally allowed for the use of highly treated effluent for irrigation of raw-eaten vegetables and parks with unrestricted public access as well as for other non-potable urban uses.

Table 14.3. Proposed Tier 1 standards for Jordanian water reuse regulation^a (Sheikh, 2001).

^a Includes parameters that can be controlled by wastewater treatment operators.
^b NR = not required.

Tier 2 criteria is a set of guidelines aimed at protecting the soil and maintaining the highest possible level of crop productivity. Unlike the Tier 1 Standards, these guidelines are not legally enforceable. Rather, they are intended to assist the decision on a given use of an available source of reclaimed water. Guideline constituents are relevant to soil and agricultural productivity but are beyond the control of a typical WWTP. If they should not be present in an effluent stream, they are best removed at source. (An excellent example in Jordan was the case of boron in the Amman Zarqa basin, that was successfully reduced to safe levels through a source-control campaign in the 1980s and 1990s). Separating guideline parameters from standard parameters is a major departure from the JS893/1995, that attempted to regulate all parameters. The sampling and monitoring of guideline parameters would not be the responsibility of the independent agency proposed to oversee water reuse, but of other agencies. A list of guideline parameters and their limits is presented in Table 14.4.

Tier 3 is reserved for the so-called constituents of emerging concern, i.e. synthetic organic compounds, disinfection byproducts, pharmaceuticals, and endocrine disruptors. These constituents are not generally of major concern in water reuse, but they can cause problems if they end up in the domestic water supply. The revised standards call for continued research and vigilance in developing information on such constituents.

In addition to numerical standards and guidelines, the proposed regulatory framework includes the following eight narrative sections:

1. Definitions
2. Sources of reclaimed water
3. Uses of reclaimed water
4. Use area requirements
5. Monitoring requirements
6. Reporting and operational requirements
7. Design requirements
8. Reliability requirements.

Framework review

The draft framework was revised and distributed to the stakeholders and key experts in mid-2001. For new water reuse standards to be ratified in Jordan, they must first be agreed upon by the Select Committee of Wastewater Experts of the Water Authority of Jordan; next, they must be approved by the Standards Committee of the Jordan Institute of Standards and Metrology (JISM), and finally, they must receive the approval of the Director General of JISM. Both committees draw experts from government and non-government agencies, and the university community. Several members of these committees had served as key experts and stakeholders in the development of the framework.

Table 14.4. Upper limits of guideline values for properties of effluent used for irrigation and values of standard specifications in the event effluent water is discharged into valleys and streams or used for groundwater replenishment.

^a For explanation see Table 14.1
^b Standard specifications should be adhered to when discharging effluent water into valleys or steams, or when using it for used for groundwater replenishment.

In early 2002, a series of workshops was held at different locations in Jordan with the two committees and other stakeholders, including those interested in the proposed wastewater and water reuse facility at Aqaba. These workshops, using the draft framework as a guide, sought to develop a rational revision of the water reuse standards. Through a process of active negotiation amongst the various stakeholders, the workshops led to consensus on the following:

• Separation of the water reuse standards from the environmental discharge standards
• Division of the existing list of constituents into separate standards and guidelines for water reuse, and agreement on the appropriate numerical level for each
• Allowance for use of a highly treated reclaimed water for irrigation of crops eaten raw and other urban uses
• Allowance for groundwater recharge with reclaimed water, with the understanding that each proposed application is to be studied thoroughly, on a case-by-case basis
• Allowance for the use of sprinkler application systems using tertiary disinfected reclaimed water
• Creation of an independent and impartial enforcement body for oversight of water reuse activities and effective enforcement of adopted standards
• Publication of the operation and maintenance records, and monitoring of results from the treatment facilities.

Finalising the Standards and Guidelines

The workshops resulted in consensus, at least among the stakeholders present, on a revised listing of constituents, a distinction as to whether each constituent was a standards or guideline constituent, and suggested numerical values for each. Consensus was also reached on revising the existing standards to incorporate the major points of agreement presented above.

Subsequently, as the draft standards and guidelines progressed through the formal review process, further changes were made. The new standards are in two tiers (Standards and Guidelines). A major change from the proposed standard is that the irrigation of vegetables eaten raw with reclaimed water, no matter how well it is treated, is to remain prohibited. Recharge of groundwater is permitted, but not for aquifers that are to be used for drinking water supplies.

The application of reclaimed water by sprinkler irrigation remains prohibited. The new standard has been approved by the JISM, and was enacted in 2003 under the title JS893/ 2003.

Conclusions

Prior to implementation of direct water reuse, the GoJ, with the support of USAID, revisited and revised the existing Jordan Water Reuse Standard (JS893/1995). The review and revision process was informed by senior international expertise in the water reuse standards field, government agencies, and senior technical specialists from government and non-governmental organisations. Knowledge of the problems faced by farmers, and the industry, and the GoJ helped in the development of an appreciation of the constraints faced by all parties with regard to the reuse of treated effluent.

A detailed review of the existing Jordanian standards for water reuse provided insight into the ways and means of enhancing the standards and providing guidelines for water reuse and industrial discharges to sewers. A three-tiered framework of standards/guidelines was used to guide the process.

Presentations, workshops and study tours highlighting experiences of other countries shed light on the benefits of the use of properly treated wastewater and addressed and alleviated the concerns that the public, decision-makers and technical GoJ specialists had with regards to the water reuse issue.

The review and revision process proved to be highly beneficial in bringing differing opinions to close agreement on the content of the standard. The standards have now been approved by the JISM and officially enacted . It is expected that the new standards will provide Jordanian farmers with opportunities to comply without losing any vested rights to riparian water, and with much improved health and safety conditions for themselves, their children, and their customers.

References

Government of Jordan. (1995) Jordanian Standards for Water Reuse. JS893/1995. Standard Publishers, Amman, Jordan.

Government of Jordan. (2003) Technical Regulation for Reclaimed Domestic Wastewater. JS893/2002, Jordan Institution for Standards and Meterology, Amman, Jordan.

McCornick, P. (2001) Plan for Managing Water Reuse in the Amman-Zarqa Basin and Jordan Valley. Water Reuse Component Working Paper, Water Policy Support Project, Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Amman, Jordan, 70 pp.

McCornick, P., Haddadin, N., Rashid, H. and Sabella, R. (2001) Water Reuse in Wadi Zarqa and from Other Amman-Zarqa Sources. Water Reuse Component, Water Policy Support Project, Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Amman, Jordan, 42 pp.

McCornick, P.G., Taha, S. and El Nasser, H. (2002) Planning for Reclaimed Water in the Amman-Zarqa Basin and Jordan Valley. American Society of Civil Engineering – Environmental and Water Resources Institute, Conference and Symposium on Droughts and Floods, Roanoke, Virginia,10 p.

MWI (Ministry of Water and Irrigation). (1997) Water Resources Strategy. Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI), The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Amman, Jordan, 7 pp.

MWI (Ministry of Water and Irrigation). (1998) Wastewater Management Policy Paper No.4. Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI), The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Amman, Jordan, 10 pp.

Nazzal, Y.K., Mansour, M., Al Najjar, M. and McCornick, P.G. (2000) Wastewater Reuse Law and Standards in the Kingdom of Jordan. Presented at Aqua Abu Dhabi 2000 Wastewater Management for a Better Environment, Abu Dhabi. 28 April – 2 May 2000, Projects Committee, Abu Dhabi Muncipality, 11 pp.

Sheikh, B. (2001) Standards, Regulations and Legislation for Water Reuse in Jordan. Water Reuse Component, Water Policy Support Project, Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Amman, Jordan, 42 pp.

WHO (World Health Organization). (1989) Health guidelines for the use of wastewater in agriculture and aquaculture: Report of a WHO Scientific Group. WHO Technical Report Series 778. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, 74 pp.

Document(s) 16 of 19