Wastewater Treatment Plant with Solar Power, Jordan Valley

Decentralized power supply with solar power for operating a sewage treatment plant in a rural community in Jordan

EcoPeace Publication - Sustainable Solutions for Waste Water Treatment (2022, 8 pages, englisch)

Download 002 Sustainable-Solutions-English.pdf (974.34KB)

EcoPeace Brochure - Wetlands, the lost ecosystems (2022, 12 pages, englisch)

Download 003 Wetlands-English.pdf (7,326.62KB)

Improve clarification technology

Sufficiently treated wastewater for irrigating agricultural land could significantly ease the precarious water situation in the Jordan Valley. To this end, the currently fluctuating treatment capacity of the Tal-Al-Mantah wastewater treatment plant is to be stabilized. For this purpose, we equip the wastewater treatment plant with our own photovoltaic system, which supplies 90 % of the wastewater treatment plant's electricity requirements. The use of this technology is particularly worthwhile in sunny Jordan. The power supply by our own photovoltaic system guarantees independence from the expensive and fluctuating national power grid. The electricity costs saved in this way in the future is available for spare parts and repairs as well as for preliminary chemical testing of the wastewater.

The Tal-Al-Mantah wastewater treatment plant is the first solar-powered plant in this sunny region and has thus a lighthouse character for the population as well as for those responsible and decision-makers in local and regional water authorities. The catchment area of the wastewater treatment plant is home to 130,000 people, who benefit indirectly from the improving condition of the ground and surface water.

Plant-based sewage treatment plant at the visitor center

With the construction of a wetland (Green Filter) in the Sharhabil Bin Hassneh (SHE) EcoPark, the wastewater produced in the park and visitor center is treat. GNF is contributing its positive experience from numerous plant-based sewage treatment plants that have already been put into operation. This decentralized, extremely cost-effective and natural wastewater treatment has proven to be very effective in efficiently treating domestic wastewater.

With this project, we continue working on the practical implementation of the Master Plan for the Jordan Valley, which GNF set up together with EcoPeace Middle East and local community representatives in 2015. In this way we are making a contribution in reducing water scarcity in this region.

Problem Description

More than 500,000 people live nowadays on the Jordanian side of the Jordan Valley, whose domestic wastewater is usually collected in septic tanks at the house, ideally pumped out in time with tank trucks and then transported to one of the two wastewater treatment plants North Shuna and Tal-Al-Mantah. Again and again, however, the sewage pits overflow and domestic and commercial sewage is disposed of illegally. Groundwater and surface water are heavily contaminated, which poses considerable health risks for people and nature.

The Tal-Al-Mantah wastewater treatment plant is fed by tank trucks, which deliver domestic wastewater as well as wastewater from a hospital and a slaughterhouse. Currently, only visual inspection of the water is carried out, as there is no laboratory for water analyses. Prolonged downtimes occur, for example, after dusk and technical defects, and the capacity of the wastewater treatment plant is not being used optimally at the moment.

In addition, in the nearby visitor center of the EcoPark, a constructed wetland is being set up to raise the awareness of the numerous park visitors for wastewater issues and to present these innovative, cost-effective solutions for wastewater treatment. Since its inception in 2004, the Ecological Park concept has provided an opportunity for the population, regional authorities and visitors to experience the Jordan Valley and its natural habitat. In 2016 and 2017, SHE EcoPark was nominated as one of Top 100 Green Destinations, an impressive award for the formerly dusty and barren landscape of northwest Jordan.