Projects are underway to connect about half of the population of Bojnourd in North Khorasan Province to the wastewater network, managing director of the provincial water and wastewater company said.
“About 56% of the population of Bojnourd are linked to the sewerage system. Considering the environmental issues, the expansion of the wastewater treatment network in the city is essential,” Reza Naeimi was also quoted as saying by Energy Today website.
“Currently, the capacity of the plant is 19,600 cubic meters per day. The project to increase its capacity started in February and is expected to be completed in less than three years,” he added.
Another project is underway to transfer treated wastewater from Bojnourd County to Khorasan Petrochemical Company.
The project, which started about a year ago, has been accelerated and will become operational by November.
The petrochemical company consumes about 5.5 million cubic meters of water annually.
A subsidiary of the National Petrochemical Company, KPC is the largest chemical producer in northeast Iran. It has been producing urea, ammonia and melamine for over two decades.
As the company needs more water for its development plans and in view of the limited groundwater resources in the province, the use of treated wastewater can meet its needs.
Greywater for Industries
The recovery and reuse of greywater are one of the sustainable solutions to reduce water consumption in industries.
The reuse of greywater is increasing in many countries, namely the United States, Australia, Cyprus, the UK, Germany and Jordan.
Greywater or sullage is treated wastewater generated in households or office buildings from streams without fecal contamination.
The main difference between greywater and sewage (blackwater) is the organic loading. Sewage has a much bigger organic loading compared to greywater. Greywater is captured from household sources like sinks, hand-basins and showers.
Greywater accounts for 50% of urban sewage in North Khorasan, a large proportion of which can be recycled.
Economic experts and environmentalists argue strongly against using high quality and costly potable water for purposes that do not require quality water, like farming.
With proper treatment, greywater can be put to good use. The uses range from toilet flushing to irrigation of plants.
Treated greywater can be used to irrigate both food and non-food production units. Nutrients in greywater (phosphorus and nitrogen) are an excellent food source for plants. By reusing greywater, demand for expensive potable water declines.
It costs the government 75,000 rials (25 cents) to produce one cubic meter of water, whereas consumers pay 40% of the total cost, which partly explains why people take the precious resource for granted.
Talks are being held with the Energy Ministry to supply industries in the region with treated greywater and contracts will be signed in the near future. As the studies for the project are complete, the transmission line will be established in the next six months.
Referring to the potable water supply in Bojnourd, Naeimi said, “Sixty percent of the city's drinking water are supplied from the Shirin Darreh Dam. However, due to the decline in rainfall and the continued drought in the region, the level of water in the dam has declined and is not sufficient to meet the needs of the city. Therefore, a project is underway to transfer the required water from other regions.”
