Sludge Management and Potential Biosolid Reuse
In recent years, MWI has upgraded the Wastewater Effluent Standard to allow and promote the reuse of treated wastewater liquid effluent in the agricultural sector for high-value crops as part of the National Water Strategy. To realize these benefits, MWI has invested significantly in new WWTPs and upgrades to existing plants to produce a high-quality reusable effluent. The next step for sustainability is to address the ultimate disposition of the solids portion of the treatment train. The historical focus has been on disposal of residual solids or sludge to stockpiles and landfills without consideration of beneficial uses for sludge-derived products.

Under USAID BWI, MWI in coordination with USAID is starting a multiphase project related to developing and implementing a Kingdom-wide strategy to maximize the potential for resource recovery of wastewater sludge processed to produce biosolids and then available as a sustainable and reliable reuse product with an assortment of reuse options that can be tailored to a specific wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) or regional need. The first project phase objective is to prepare a study on the current sludge production, treatment, and disposal practices in Jordan with the objective to develop a nation-wide sludge management strategy that would allow the beneficial use of sludge-derived products in an economic, environmental, and sustainable manner. To accomplish this successfully, CDM Smith has developed the following questionnaire to understand and address stakeholders' perspectives on potential sludge/biosolid reuse.