Waste water recycling: From threat to solutions

Recycling water for re-use is taking a boost in campaigns worldwide as the world celebrated World Water Day on 22^nd February 2017.  The theme was selected while the population in the different parts of the world are facing serious challenge of water scarcity resulted from climate change and environment degradation.

The 21^st century that is seen as competitive development era, has raised the high demand of water use in households, industries, irrigations for food security and other type of business in countries.

The recycling is lagging behind compared to the speed of the development investments. The high speed of development and population pressure are resulting into the high quantity of polluted water that most of it finishes in rivers.

Poor countries are the most affected by the impact of waste water due to the lack of waste water recycling capacity and so the Nile basin countries included. The Nile basin is home of over 257 millions of population whose 75 percent live on agriculture.

The River Nile, the longest in the world, is the hub of investments that touches on each and every single community’s livelihoods in the basin.

Water recycling and reuse is also seen as the other opportunity for the community in the basin to improve livelihoods. While waste water management systems and related infrastructures in the riparian states are still challenging, cooperation is needed among Nile basin based development partners and stakeholders to ensure that waste water is the added solution instead of threat.

The cooperation on Nile development investments was mentioned by different development partners, governments’ representatives, partners and civil society who attended the Nile Day celebrations held in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania on 22^nd February, 2017.

Speaking on behalf of civil society organizations, the Nile Basin Discourse (NBD)’s Chairperson, Dr. Mohammed Nadir Awad, stressed on the need of cooperation on Investment on the Nile to attain the success of energy, irrigation for food security and access for quality water.

He reiterated the will of NBD to work hand in hand with NBI that represents government to forefront the engagement of communities especially the communities.

The recent published statistics in NBI’s water resources atlas show that industrial plants in Nile basin Countries need 12, 900 MCM of water the whole year.

This makes understand also about  the quantity of waste water produced that need to be recycled and reused in various activities such and crop watering, drinking and other hygienic purpose.

Waste water recycling in Nile riparian states should add more support to 82 BCM used every year in irrigation systems.

It would also lead to the success of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 6.3 which set 2030 as time to achieve the “improved water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally.”

Community awareness on water recycling, waste water collection and sorting out chemicals and other hazardous waste can help in achieving the principle of using safe water.

The sensitization should start from household level up to higher institutional level and private investors. Communities should be sensitized on water pollution together with its impact on health of human being and other ecosystem in general.

Governments and stakeholders should enhance the forestation and water bodies’ buffer zone protection to avoid the run-offs of wastes and soil erosion that finally pollute water. If we think that waste water is a problem to our life, let us believe that we are the cause and from there let’s be solution-finders.

Fidele NIYIGABA(Contributor)

UM– USEKE.RW