A sustainable approach for reusing treated wastewater in agricultural irrigation in the West Bank – Palestine

There is a critical lack of sanitation in the West Bank (Palestine).Most domestic sewage is disposed of into unlined cesspits or septic tanks, or directly discharged to the environment without treatment. Water resources in the West Bank are limited, and nearly 70% of the water is used for agricultural irrigation. Reuse of treated (reclaimed) wastewater has great potential to alleviate these problems and improve crop yield, but there are many challenges to implementing wastewater reuse. This paper presents a case study in the West Bank town of Tubas, which currently has no sewage collection system or treatment. This study includes traditional engineering design and will address socio-cultural issues through a detailed survey of public perceptions about reclaimed wastewater and an education plan for the various stakeholders in the town. This approach should lead to a wastewater reuse system that is beneficial to Tubas as well as sustainable.