Qatar saw robust reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture, a sector that has been receiving great attention and support from the government as part of self-sufficiency initiatives. The double-digit growth in the reusage of treated wastewater for agriculture in January 2020 also indicates the hydrocarbons-rich country’s Green initiatives, a key parameter of sustainability.
In its latest monthly bulletin, the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA) also found there was substantial decline in the discharge of treated wastewater into sea this January; indicating Doha’s strong pragmatic initiatives towards management and protection of water resources.
Qatar’s treated wastewater stood at 23.87mn cubic metres out of 24.54mn cubic metres of wastewater received in January this year. The country uses most modern membrane ultrafilteration system that helps recycling of treated wastewater. The increased treatment of wastewater comes amidst more than 1% fall in total population on a yearly basis in January 2020. Nevertheless, total population grew about 2% month-on-month.
The treated wastewater used for agriculture had increased by a whopping 16.4% to 7.44mn cubic metres, consulting 31% of the total treated wastewater this January. On a monthly basis, it witnessed a 13% growth. The treated wastewater reused for irrigation of green spaces saw a 18.7% decline year-on-year to 4.59mn cubic metres, which accounted for 19% of total treated wastewater in January 2020; even as it reported a 5.1% increase on a monthly basis.
The treated wastewater reused in deep injection into aquifers registered 7.1% and 4% decline on yearly and monthly basis respectively to 7.23mn cubic metres or 30% of the total treated wastewater in January 2020.
The treated wastewater discharged into lagoons in January 2020 stood at 4.57mn cubic metres or 19% of the total treated wastewater. Such discharge saw 26.5% increase year-on-year but fell 29.2% on monthly basis. The treated wastewater discharged into sea saw 65.9% and 47% plunge respectively to 44,000 cubic metres in January 2020.