Egypt applies Greywater reuse in irrigation

CAIRO – 29 July 2019: In efforts to rationalize water consumption, the Red Sea governorate has adopted a strategy of greywater reuse in irrigating parks and gardens.

Greywater is wastewater without fecal materials; it is produced from households and offices as a result of washing hands, taking showers, and laundering cloth.

Since 2016, the Red Sea Water and Wastewater Companyhas applied greywater reuse in seven places (three schools and four house buildings) across the governorate.

To reuse greywater, UV rays will be used to kill bacteria in water before using it in irrigation.

“Gray water accounts for 60 percent of the water consumed. It comes from ponds and baths, and we have treated it," head of Greywater Unit of the Red Sea Abdullah Gharibtold Sky News on Monday.

The company has created a network separate from the sewage water network of 850 houses and buildings. The collected greywater willflow to a water treatment plant for irrigation usage, he added.

Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation stated on Saturday that Egypt’s annual share of the Nile water decreased by 5 billion cubic meters in 2019 due to climate change, and a state of emergency was announced nationwide.

Despite the government's efforts to save every drop of water as the country faces water scarcity, 98.4 million Egyptians still live under the poverty water line by 50 percent, below the international line of 1,000 cubic meters.

The state suffers from an annual 21 billion cubic meters gap between water consumption and production. The consumption reached 110 billion cubic meters, while Egypt currently has 60 million cubic meters annually, announced Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Atti in October 2018.

Additional reporting by EmadArafa