Activities ...

PWEG is finalist in the competition for the planning, review of studies, studying and design of Tulkarem Regional Wastewater Project. An ambitious and large scale wastewater project funded by KfW. Below is brief description of the project objective and area.

Objective and rationale of the project

The West Bank is part of the catchment area of the largest groundwater sources in the Middle East, a region characterised by a growing scarcity of water. The catchment area of the Wadi Zeimar from Nablus to the "green line" and, in the downstream area, the Israeli District of Emek Hefer to the Mediterranean coastline, is one of the largest water catchment areas with some of the highest precipitation levels in the West Bank. Since untreated wastewater seeps into the groundwater, the quality of this mountain aquifer, the main source of water supply for Israel and the Palestinian Territories, is in acute danger. In the Wadi Zeimar as well, sewage from the towns of Nablus, Anabta, parts of Tulkarem and many villages flows to Israel. It is roughly estimated that half of the sewage load generated upstream of the green line between Nablus and Tulkarem infiltrates into the groundwater. Besides this, the geological situation (limestone, karstic underground) provides only very little protection for the groundwater. Septic tanks receive a large portion of the sewage from houses not connected to central sewerage systems, posing an additional pollution threat to the groundwater by infiltration of wastewater through soak-aways.

As a result of this situation, nitrate levels in some wells in Anabta, for instance, have risen already to 140 mg/l in some cases (for comparison: WHO guideline and EU limit for potable water is 50 mg/l). In Tulkarem some drinking water wells have had even to be closed. The groundwater of the West Bank generally has a high bacterial contamination level. The high incidence of diarrhoea must be seen in this context.
 

Olive oil mills in the project area pose a particular problem as considerable source of pollution of the natural environment. Wastewater from oil mills, which flows only seasonally but then in large quantities, carries an extremely high level of organic pollutants (up to 20 to 100 g BOD₅/l). Therefore, it cannot be treated in the conventional treatment plant for domestic sewage because of the content of phenols. Furthermore, other important pollution load originates mainly from industrial factories e.g. stone cutting factories, taheena *  factories and tanneries.
 

An Israeli treatment plant located directly behind the green line has treated so far partly the water of the heavily contaminated Wadi Zeimar discharging into the Alexander River, which empties into the Mediterranean Sea.

Project areas

The project "Regional Wastewater Disposal Tulkarem”, which is considered in Part 1 and Part 2 of these ToR, comprises the region between Anabta in the East and Tulkarem in the West (see location map at the end of this Annexe).

Project boundary for Part 3 of the Consultancy Services “Study on Industrial Direct and Indirect Polluters” will be the whole Wadi Zeimar including the City of Nablus with its western and eastern part.
 

*

Taheena is a sesame seed paste. For the production high amounts of saltare used, which is partly discharged with the wastewater.