Study Results

The Boukhalef Wastewater Treatment Plant (Boukhalef WWTP) was constructed to increase capacity in wastewater treatment and to provide irrigation water for green spaces in Tangier city. Operational since 2015, the plant was designed in the face of increasing deficits in water reserves at the Ibn Battouta Dam, which serves residents of the cities of Tangier and Assilah with drinking water. Treated wastewater can provide an additional water resource, particularly for irrigation purposes. This subsequently reduces pressure on conventional water resources. According to Amendis, this project will save nearly 3 million m3 /year of water and improve the health and living environment of residents, and bring additional benefits for promoting tourism, for example, through the investment and development of green landscaped areas and golf courses around the city. The Boukhalef WWTP covers a total area of 4.3 ha and is located in Gzenaya, an industrial zone on the border of the Free Zone of Tangier (Figure 2.1). Before the construction of the Boukhalef WWTP, wastewater from Tangier city was discharged directly into the Mediterranean Sea after collection. Since 2015, when the plant became operational, domestic wastewater from the Rabat Road area, Boukhalef South, Gezenaya center, and the domestic and industrial effluents of Gezenaya and the Tangier Free Zone is treated there and then reused in irrigation projects. The Boukhalef WWTP started operations in 2015 and has a capacity of 10,700 m3 /day. This capacity is anticipated to increase, after current expansion works, to 42,700 m3 /day. The plant uses an activated sludge treatment system and treats the water to a tertiary level (Figure 2.2). The recycled water it produces is used to irrigate golf courses and municipal green spaces. The project has been carried out in three phases: The first phase started in 2015 with the commissioning of the Boukhalef WWTP, the laying of an 8 km distribution network and the installation of a 120 liters per second (L/s) pumping station to irrigate an area of 110 ha of green spaces at the Qatari Diar Golf Course. The second phase, which started in 2019, saw the expansion of the reuse network toward the center of Tangier to irrigate municipal green spaces and the Tangier Golf Royal. In addition, two storage tanks with a total capacity of 6,000 m3 and a capacity discharge station at 120 L/s were constructed. A second tertiary treatment plant was also established, and 21.5 km of distribution network laid. The target of this phase was the irrigation of 141 ha. To date, 115 ha, including 70 ha for the Royal Golf Tangier, located in the Municipalities of Tangier and Gzenaya, are irrigated with recycled water from the plant. The third phase, which is in progress, will increase the capacity of the Boukhalef WWTP to 42,700 m3 /d and expand the irrigation area to 150 additional hectares across the rest of the city. Construction work for this expansion is in the final phase and a study to extend the transport and distribution network is almost complete. Currently, the reuse system has not generated much employment in the long term although Amendis consider it likely this will change. In terms of the design and implementation of the wastewater treatment plant and reuse system, jobs have been created for companies engaged in construction work, but Amendis are not able to provide data on this. In terms of tourism, the city of Tangier is one of the cities most frequented by recreational and seaside tourists in Morocco. Wastewater treatment and reuse of the recycled water makes it possible to improve the attractiveness of the city through the expansion of green spaces and at the golf courses that benefit from the project. The collection and processing of wastewater has greatly improved the local environment compared to the pre-project situation and reuse is having a very positive impact in terms of reducing groundwater and other water uses, saving 3 million m3 /year.