Abbas Al-Omari

Treatment of domestic wastewater by subsurface flow constructed wetlands in Jordan

The use of subsurface flow constructed wetlands for treating domestic wastewater in Jordan is described. The objective was to study the performance of subsurface flow constructed wetlands as a low-cost technology for treating domestic wastewater. Results show that subsurface flow constructed wetlands are capable of reducing biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), different forms of nitrogen, total suspended solids (TSS), fecal coliform count (FCC), and total coliform count (TCC). However, removal efficiencies differ from bed to bed and from month to month. Results show that there is strong correlation between BOD, removal efficiency and BOD, loading in kg/ha, which is defined as BOD, loading rate in kg/ha.d multiplied by residence time. The coefficient of determination (R’) for the six beds varied from 0.827 for bed number one to 0.608 for bed number four. Total nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, and nitrate nitrogen reductions were observed, which suggest that, nitrification as well as denitrification took place in the beds. TSS reduction was observed in all beds. However, removal efficiency differed from bed to bed and for the same bed from month to month. Total and fecal coliform counts were reduced by one to three logs, because influent was high in total and fecal coliform counts, effluent total colifonn, and fecal coliform counts were still high. Keyworak Subsurface flow; Constructed wetlands; Wastewater treatment; Wetlands; Nitrogen removal; BOD, removal

Assessment of availability and characteristics of Greywater in Amman

Abstract: The problem of water scarcity in Jordan has resulted in enormous pressures on the already limited renewable water sources. As a result, reuse of water is becoming an essential component of the water management trends being adopted. This study aims at evaluating the potential of greywater availability and the various components constituting sources of greywater generated in Amman, at investigating the different water quality parameters of the greywater in order to assess its reuse potential, and at gauging the public acceptance of greywater reuse for different applications. A survey was designed and administered in 38 areas of Amman. The survey covered a total of 233 houses and 1,514 people. Fifteen greywater samples, distributed equally, were collected and analyzed from showers, laundries, and sinks in some of these houses to determine their water quality parameters. The study concluded that per capita water consumption in Amman ranged between 51 and 115 liters per day, with an average of 84 liters per day. The quantities of greywater generated in Amman ranged from 39 to 80 Lpcd, with an average of 59 Lpcd, which constitute 70 percent of the total water consumption. Laundry, shower, and sink effluents comprised 16, 34, and 50 percent of greywater sources, respectively. The physical, chemical, and biological analyses of the grab samples revealed that greywater contains significant levels of suspended solids, inorganic constituents, chemical and biochemical oxygen demands, total Coliforms and Fecal Coliform bacteria. The public acceptance survey revealed that 21.6 to 67.6 percent of the public accepted the reuse of greywater for vegetable growing, irrigation of fruit trees, car washing, toilet flushing, or home laundry. Additionally, 2.0 to 91.8 percent of the public opposed greywater reuse due to cost, health hazards, groundwater pollution, or environmental impacts.

Anaerobic treatment of strong sewage by a two stage system of AF and UASB reactors

An anaerobic treatment system that consists of an Anaerobic Filter (AF) and an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) in series was built and operated to investigate its performance in treating strong domestic wastewater with high suspended solids fraction under Jordans ambient temperatures of 25 degrees C for summer and 18 degrees C for winter. The system was operated from September 2003 until early April 2004. The system was operated at a Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) of 4 hours for the first stage AF and 8 hours for the second stage UASB. Average COD(t) and COD(ss) removal efficiencies of the AF/UASB were 58% and 81% respectively for the operation period. The results showed that the first stage AF was effective in removing suspended solids. In addition, hydrolysis, acidification and methanogenesis took place in the first stage AF which was advantageous to the second stage UASB. It was concluded that the AF/UASB system is effective in treating strong domestic wastewater with high suspended solids content under Jordans ambient temperatures.

The Red Dead Canal project: an adaptation option to climate change in Jordan

AbstractIn arid and semiarid regions such as Jordan, climate change impacts on the balance between available resources and demands are expected to be severe. Climate change is expected to reduce resources and increase demands which will inevitably result in enlarging the gap between supply and demand. Adaptation to these impacts can be achieved either by reducing demands via implementing demand management practices or by developing and utilizing undeveloped resources, or by both. This paper investigates the impacts of the proposed red dead canal (RDC) project on bridging the gap between supply and demand in Amman and Zarqa cities within Amman Zarqa Basin (AZB) and in the Jordan Valley. The water evaluation and planning system (WEAP) is implemented for the Jordan Valley and AZB for this purpose. WEAP allocates water to competing demands based on the physical system characteristics as well as user-defined criteria, so that coverage at all competing demand sites is equal. The physical system characteristics ...

Impact of the As Samra wastewater treatment plant upgrade on the water quality (COD, electrical conductivity, TP, TN) of the Zarqa River

The impact of the As Samra wastewater treatment plant upgrade on the quality of the Zarqa River (ZR) water was investigated. Time series data that extend from October 2005 until December 2009 obtained by a state-of-the-art telemetric monitoring system were analyzed at two monitoring stations located 4 to 5 km downstream of the As Samra effluent confluence with the Zarqa River and about 25 km further downstream. Time series data that represent the ZR water quality before and after the As Samra upgrade were analyzed for chemical oxygen demand (COD), electrical conductivity (EC), total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN). The means of the monitored parameters, before and after the As Samra upgrade, showed that the reductions in the COD, TP and TN were statistically significant, while no reduction in the EC was observed. Comparing the selected parameters with the Jordanian standards for reclaimed wastewater reuse in irrigation and with the Ayers & Westcot guidelines for interpretation of water quality for irrigation showed that the ZR water has improved towards meeting the required standards and guidelines for treated wastewater reuse in irrigation.

A model for the determination of residential water demand by the use of tracers

A model that determines nodal demands by making tracer concentration measurements at specific nodes is developed. The model minimizes the difference between calculated and measured tracer concentrations to determine the unknown demands. Even-, over-, and under-determined cases are considered. For the purpose of verifying the model, tracer concentrations obtained by the model for known demands are considered as measurements. Results showed that the model made very accurate prediction of the unknown demands for both the even-, and the over-determined cases. The under-determined case made less accurate but still good estimates of the unknown demands for the scenarios considered here. The relationship between the sensitivity of the measurement location to the unknown demand and the accuracy of the determined demand is verified. Results showed that the model makes accurate estimation of the unknown demands if measurements are made at sensitive nodes while errors are introduced to the determined demand as a result of assuming measurements at nodes of low sensitivity.

A Methodology for the Breakdown of NRW into Real and Administrative Losses

The estimation of Non Revenue Water (NRW) is simple and easy for water suppliers who keep records of the system input volume and the billed authorized consumption. However, the breakdown of NRW into its two main components real and administrative which refers to the unbilled authorized consumption plus apparent losses is not an easy or straight forward task. Methods reported in the literature for the breakdown of NRW into its components are top down approach and bottom up approach. Both approaches suffer from certain limitations and shortcomings that limits their use and reduce our confidence in the results obtained by them. This paper presents a methodology that can be used to draw a line between the real and the administrative losses with an acceptable level of accuracy. This methodology is based on the fact that the administrative losses are delivered to the demand site and consequently reach the wastewater collection system whereas the real losses are lost from the system and consequently do not reach the wastewater collection system. The methodology applies water balance from the water treatment plant outlet till the inlet of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The mass balance approach of the Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) system was implemented for this purpose. In this methodology, the breakdown of NRW into its two main components is adjusted iteratively so that the difference between WEAP calculated and measured inflow to the WWTP is minimal. The presented methodology was applied to Amman and Zarqa cities in Jordan which return their wastewater to As Samra WWTP. The results showed that this methodology is capable of dividing NRW water into its two main components with an acceptable level of accuracy.

Water quality and quantity in Jordan's Dead Sea wadis

An evaluation of a potential water supply for the city of Amman, Jordan was conducted for five tributaries (wadis) to the Dead Sea. The total average discharge of approximately 0.85 m3/s (26.8 million cubic metres (MCM)/year) represents a significant quantity of water given the limited fresh-water supplies in the region. Although the raw water concentrations sometimes exceeded allowable concentrations for metals and pathogens, standard drinking water treatment associated with desalination facilities should alleviate most water quality concerns. The total construction cost is estimated to be between

EVALUATION OF TRAFFIC NOISE POLLUTION IN AMMAN, JORDAN

85 and

A Water Management Support System for Amman Zarqa Basin in Jordan

95 million. Assuming a 15-year design life, this corresponds to a cost of