Evaluation of Environmental Performance of Rafah City Wastewater Treatment Plant and Effluent Reuse Potential

Abstract

Abstract Wastewater treatment plant at Rafah is considered as one of the main primary sources of pollution for the groundwater and ambient environment in addition to misquotes priding for the surrounding area. Grab Samples were collected in wet and dry seasons (winter and spring) for one week lounge for each season from different sampling locations. The related field and laboratory parameters were performed using the facility of Environmental and Earth Science Department (EESD) and Environmental and Rural Research Center (ERRC) at the Islamic University of Gaza, to evaluate and assess the system performance in term of removal efficiency for the RWWTP system. This study attempts to differentiate the factors leading to the inadequate performance of the RWWTP and evaluate the effluent quality for reuse. The efficiencies of the different stages of the treatment and the global performance have been compared. Collection and analysis of available historical data revealed a constantly decreasing removal of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), suspended solids (SS), total suspended solids (TSS), and total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN). Analysis of data showed that the system removed 67%, 60%, 78%, 37% of the influent TSS, BOD5, COD and TKN respectively with an effluent concentration of 95 mg / L, 187 mg / L, 348 mg / L, 106 mg / L. The factors leading to inadequate treatment system performance are the over loadings, limitation of unavailability DO, inadequate design and limited electricity supply. The biological and organic contaminants in addition to salinity and sodicity in term of SAR of the effluent were used to evaluate the reuse options in agriculture. The high level of different contaminants in the effluent limited the reuse options of the reclaimed wastewater based on the recommended Palestinian Standards for Irrigation (PSI). The study recommended that the regulatory authority and operator should consider the results of this study to evaluate the organic matter and nutrient removal in RWWTP. In addition, reuse options should be considered carefully as a vital topic for any future development of wastewater treatment plants activities.