Circular water resource management in water-scarce regions. The case of the TANQIA Wastewater Treatment Plant in Fujairah (United Arabian Emirates)

In the last decade, the importance of water for life and its sustainable management have become a central source of interest for governments and institutions. Water, like all the elements on planet Earth, is changing. The emerging global picture is that nearly a quarter of humanity already reside in water-scarce countries and water scarcity may proliferate to more regions. In this scenery, one sustainable strategy is represented by the so-called circular water resources management or water recycling: an integrated management of the resources for implementing administration plans that consider the water reuse as an integrated step of the design process. In the present work, the pilot project carried out at the TANQIA Wastewater Treatment Plant in Fujairah (U.A.E.) has been analysed. The project consists of a trial of two containerized pilot plants of about 15000 m3/year treatment capacity, that have been connected to the existing treatment line. This installation offers the possibility of testing, under real conditions, the capability of the units to produce clean water stripped of any contaminants that can be reused in unrestricted irrigation practices. The containers are equipped with ultrafiltration or nanofiltration membranes combined with an electrocoagulation unit, GAC filters and UV disinfection units. The combination of these multiple devices negates the need for any water treatment chemicals to be utilized. Water safety and functional parameters have been monitored during the trial period of January 2019 and February 2019. The resultant effluent met the stringent standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) for unrestricted irrigation. In the next two years, once that reliable water quality has been verified, the units will be manufactured pursuing an economical sustainable approach, in the UAE alongside other possible locations in the target markets of water-scarce, low-income countries across the MENA region.