An Assessment of Wadis as Suitable for Wastewater Treatment, in a Semi-Arid Region with Limited Data Access – Aleppo, Syria

Abstract

As a consequence of the conflict in Syria, the wastewater treatment plant in southwestern Aleppo has not been fully functioning since 2013, and wastewater is released into the Queiq River without adequate treatment. Farmers utilizing the land in the vicinity of the river have previously relied on the Queiq River water for the irrigation of their crops, now they can no longer rely on a good water quality. A Soil-Aquifer-Treatment (SAT) system, which is a managed aquifer recharge technology, would be an environmental-friendly, sustainable and cost-effective option with a low energy demand for reclaiming water quality until the wastewater plant is in commission again. SAT systems utilizes the natural filtration of water achieved by percolation through the vadose zone of permeable sediments. However, as the geology of the regions around Aleppo is mainly karstic, covered by a thin soil cover, only certain areas, such as the regions’ wadis, accommodate sufficiently thick and unconsolidated sediment deposits needed for a SAT system. For this reason, an investigational study about the sedimentological nature of the wadis found in the vicinity of Aleppo has been conducted, for the intention of evaluating the possibility for introducing a SAT system into one of these.