SYRIAN COUNTRY REPORT Non-Conventional Water Use IN SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC Prepared by: ALI KAISI YASSER MOHAMAD

1. SYRIAN COUNTRY REPORT Non-Conventional Water Use IN SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC Prepared by: ALI KAISIYASSER MOHAMAD ANRR / GCSAR DEP. OF GEO. /DAMASCUS UNIV. SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC MINISTRY OF AGRIC.&AGR. REFORM MINISTRY OF HIGH EDUCATION E-mail: ak-gcsar@scs-net.org yasser-m@scs-net.org YOUSEF MAHROUSEH GENERAL UNION OF PEASANTS SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC Tel. 0963 – 11 – 2232428/2248936 Presented by: ALI KAISI WASAMED 3rd Workshop Cairo, Egypt - December 2004

2. Water Resources in Syria Non-conventional Resources Conventional Resources

3. Conventional Resources Groundwater 5256 m.m3 Surface 10635.m.m3 Total non-regulated water 15871.m.m3 Available Regulated water 14128.m.m3

4. Water Uses Industrial Sector 561.m.m3 Municipal Sector 1000.m.m3 Agricultural Sector 14000.m.m3 Total Water consumption excluding evaporation losses 15561.m.m3 Total consumption 15561 + 1962 = 17523 m.m3 Water Shortage 17523 – 14218 = 3305 m.m3

5. Non-Conventional Resources Industrial and wastewater Drainage water 75% From industrial and municipal sectors water 10-15% from agricultural irrigation water

6. Non-Conventional Water Amount Wastewater Drainage water 1463 m.m3 1536 m.m3 Industrial 393 Wastewater 1070 2999 m.m3

7. Non-Conventional Water Use in Agriculture Drainage water 952 m.m3 Wastewater 427 m.m3 At 24.2% from total amount At 61% from total amount

8. Non-conventional Water Irrigated Areas Drainage water Treated Wastewater - Rural Damascus18700 ha - Rural Aleppo 10000 ha - Rural Homs& Hama 7200 ha • - Al- Gab /Ziara area 17500 ha • Al-Ghab \ different areas 15000-20000 ha • - Middle Euphrates 50000 • - Lower Euphrates \ in many different areas 10000- 12000 ha

9. Treatment Plants • In the light of rapidly increasing population growth, growing water demand for drinking, municipal and industrial purposes, and rising demand on food, the Syrian government adopted a range of measures necessary for implementing a large-scale programme in order to establish wastewater treatment plants in all Syrian provinces.

10. 6 Exploited 4 Under Construction 15 Under Study & Inspection Treatment Plants in Syria

11. The Objective of Treatment Plant Establishment • Pollution alleviation of water sources and cities. • Protection of agricultural lands from pollution and degradation. • Improvement of environmental and healthy conditions. • Water reuse in agriculture.

12. Justifications of Wastewater Utilization and Reuse for Agricultural Irrigation • Disposal of water resulting from population increase through scientific and studied way. • Wastewater reuse is an additional source by which water balance shortage can be met. • Non-conventional water (wastewater & drainage water) treatment and reuse are less costly than the supply of high-quality additional water with the same amount. • The safe and planned use of wastewater and drainage water could reduce the associated environmental and health risks. • Wastewater provides soil with nutrients that can reduce the total fertilizer requirements and increase the farmers’ economic revenues.

13. Measures Necessary for Non-conventional WRs Utilization through Relatively Safe and Environmentally Sound Way For better utilization of non-conventional WRs and for meeting more than 80% of water balance shortage, the government took a range of measures at the level of:

14. A. Policy • Developing legislation related to water quality allowed to be discharged to water bodies; • Starting in the application of the “polluter pays” principle and environmental impact assessment of projects; • Implementing governmental plan related to wastewater treatment in Syria; and • Starting in the use of closed circuits techniques in the industrial structures.

15. B. Institutions • Coordination among ministries concerned with water source management and utilization; • Ensuring specific monitoring of water resources; and • Inspection of industrial structures and commitment to national legislation.

16. C. Utilization Measures: • Establishing industrial zones with environmental and health conditions and providing them with common treatment plants; and • Setting up an integrated plan for industrial water management, in line with environmental legislation. This allows the establishment of investment projects for constructing wastewater treatment plants in the countryside and small cities and model plants for industrial water treatment.

17. D. Training and Informatics: In the following fields: • Operation and management of treatment plants. • Environmental impact assessment. • Monitoring and analysis of solid, liquid and gas wastes.

18. Research Projects Executed in Collaboration with International Organizations • On-Farm Demand Side Management of Conventional and Non-conventional WRs, in collaboration with UNDP. • Integrated Watershed Management, in collaboration with UNDP. • Promotion of Technical Capacity on Treated Wastewater Reuse for Irrigation Purposes, in collaboration with FAO.

19. The Objectives of the Above-mentioned Projects: • To strengthen, at local-level, the technical and institutional capabilities for the actual conventional and non-conventional WRs projects; • To evaluate the farmers’ perceptions of wastewater use in agricultural production and their involvement in different water management phases at farm level; • To strengthen the research programs related to non-conventional WRs; • To find the local criteria, guidelines, and recommendations for the optimum treatment, reuse, management and disposal of wastewater and drainage water; and • To study the environmental impact of treated wastewater use on human health, soil, and groundwater.

20. Institutions Responsible for Water Sector in Syria In Syria, water sector is managed by several institutions and ministries with slight overlapping in responsibilities. ** Ministry of Irrigation (MoI) MoI and its directorates in the provinces are responsible for water management and development together with routine monitoring of surface and groundwater quality and water supply for irrigation purposes.

21. ** Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform (MAAR) It is in charge of water economic use for irrigation purposes in the agricultural areas, including the search for modern techniques that reduce water losses, and growing low-water consumption and salinity-tolerant crops. **Ministry of Housing and Construction: In charge of supplying the rural and urban areas with drinking water and wastewater treatment.

22. **Ministry of Environment and Local Administration In charge of monitoring water quality and developing criteria necessary for water resource protection. Each of the above ministries has a number of representative directorates at province or basin level. For example, MoI has General Directorate of the Basin & Directorate of Wastewater Pollution Control in each province. Ministry of Environment has specialized directorates for water protection and waste management. Ministry of Housing, in all Syrian provinces, has General Companies for Drinking Water and Sanitation. The same is for the General Company for Sewage Water.

23. Recommendations Participating in: • Establishment of small treatment plants in the regions where population is between 5000 – 10000, and supplying these plants with all necessary equipment. • Supporting scientific and research centers and institutions for conducting integrated and applied water research and studies. • Training of technical and scientific staff and giving a special consideration to skill upgrading, performance promotion and capacity improvement.

24. thank you