The Tunisian government wants to reduce pressure on groundwater resources in the governorate of Gabès, largely caused by industries. To achieve this, it relies on the reuse of treated wastewater to supply factories, including those of the Tunisian Chemical Group (GCT) through a new treatment plant. Japan will finance the work to the tune of 67 million dinars, nearly $21.3 million.
It is one of the most promising solutions to reduce water shortages in the world, particularly in Africa. Tunisia, which is aware of this, adopted it several years ago in view of the proliferation of wastewater treatment plants. In 2024, the Tunisian government plans to build a new one in the governorate of Gabès, in the southeast of the North African country. The project was unveiled on February 26, 2024.
The National Sanitation Office (Onas), which manages this sector in Tunisia, will implement this project thanks to a grant of 67 million dinars (around $21.3 million) from Japan. The funding was recently awarded through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).
Preserving groundwater resources
The future treated wastewater treatment plant will be special in that it will be equipped with reverse osmosis technology. This will allow tertiary treatment of effluents using membranes. This should ensure that the smallest particles missing in previous steps, particularly total dissolved solids (TDS), are taken care of.
This process used in wastewater treatment would also reduce water and sewer disposal costs and reuse a higher percentage of this resource. The use of low-fouling membrane technology in reverse osmosis wastewater recovery systems would also reduce operational costs.
In addition to reducing pollution by effluents, the commissioning of the Gabès wastewater treatment plant, whose expected capacity is 6,000 m 3 per day, will make the industries of this governorate more independent from water. underground. This is particularly the case for the factories of the Tunisian Chemical Group (GCT), which produce and transform phosphate in Gabès in Tunisia.
In this governorate of more than 407,000 inhabitants, the scarcity of surface water due to drought has forced industries to overexploit aquifers for their activities, the main source of drinking water, plunging populations into a situation of severe shortages. Reusing treated wastewater could tip the scales.
