Sludge Management in Za’atari Refugee Camp (JOR)
moreZa’atari Camp is located in the Jordanian desert, about 10 km west of the city of Al Mafraq. Since its establishment in 2012, the camp has developed into an urban settlement, and is currently home to about 80,000 people, most of them refugees who have fled from the civil war in their home country of Syria. While the sanitation system in the camp has gradually evolved over time with the provision of a camp-wide sewer system and a wastewater treatment plant, the sludge management currently practiced is based on the transportation of liquid sludge over long distances by trucks and sludge disposal in remote areas.
In 2022, ILF was contracted to provide consulting services aimed at improving sludge management in Za’atari Refugee camp in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective manner. This multi-donor action is jointly co-financed by the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis (EUTF Syria) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and is being implemented by GIZ. Under the contract, ILF and its local partner Engicon have produced three main deliverables: 1) a Pre-Feasibility Study, 2) a Feasibility Study and 3) Tender Documents for Consulting Services covering the Conceptual Design, Tendering and Construction Supervision.
The objective of the preliminary studies was to establish baseline conditions and data, identify and evaluate options for sludge management, and select the preferred option. The preferred option that was selected was greenhouse sludge drying in conjunction with a series of upstream sludge treatment facilities at the existing wastewater treatment plant. Consultations and workshops with stakeholders were critical to the decision-making process regarding selection of the preferred sludge management option.
We would like to thank all stakeholders (including the EU, the German government, GIZ, UNICEF, UNHCR, WAJ, Yarmouk Water Company, Oxfam and the FAO amongst others) for their joint support in this assignment and wish them every success for the implementation of the project!