Small sewage treatment plants and wastewater reuse in Cyprus

The rapid touristic development in the coastal areas of Cyprus resulting in higher water consumption, the protection of environment and water resources and the needs of reuse of wastewater, contributed to the improvement of local technology for sewage treatment and wastewater reuse for irrigation. In the last ten years, due to the lack of central sewerage systems, approx. two hundred small wastewater treatment plants have been installed, mainly in coastal areas of the island. The method applied for the biological treatment is the activated sludge extended aeration process. The tertiary treatment based on high-speed depth filtration consists of two vertical pressure multilayer filters, working in series. Additionally, chemicals are injected for disinfection, coagulation/flocculation allowing the production of high quality of water. Plants regularly maintained are operating with very good results, so that the treated water has the following characteristics:BOD5: < 5mg/lS.S.: < 5 mg/lTurbidity: < 3 NTUResidual chlorine: 1.0-1.5 mg/l The water can be used for unrestricted irrigation. It has been proved that the installation of small sewage treatment plants and the wastewater reuse for irrigation in Cyprus is a profitable investment, preventing at the same time the pollution of the environment.