Vol. 72 | No.

3 | Mar 2016 International Scientific Researches Journal

Management of Sewage Farming in Arid Region: Egyptian Experience

M. Saber 1, E. Hoballah 1, H. Abouziena 2*, Wafaa M. Haggag 3, Soad El-Ashry 4 and A.

Zaghloul4
1
Agricultural Microbiology Department, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt, 12622
2
Botany Department, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt, 12622
3
Plant Pathology Department, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt, 12622
4
Soil and Water Use Department, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt, 12622
*Corresponding author, Email: hussein_abouziena@yahoo.com

Abstract

Sustainable management of sewage farming is one of the major challenges that Egypt had to
deal with in the coming few decades and beyond, as it represents one of the vital
environmental issue at political, technical and research levels as well. Sewage farming is a
centuries-old practice in Egypt that is now receiving a renewed attention. It started in a desert
area east Cairo (El-Gabal El Asfer) since 1930 and extended as time goes on to cover vast
areas all over the country. Egypt gained an extensive experience in sewage faring along these
decades. The current review article explore this experience gained in the major sewage farms
in Egypt located at El-Gabal Al-Asfer, Abu-Rawash and El-Saff, in addition to the current
situation of existing lumber forests and sewage farming legislations applied in Egypt.
Keywords: Sewage farming, sewer plants, lumber forests, soil contamination, PTEs, sewage
farming legislations

2. Introduction

Globally water resources are becoming scarcer, more than one-third of the world’s
population lives in water-stressed countries and by 2025 the number is expected to rise to
two-thirds. In Egypt water resources are fairly inadequate, and achieving their highest
possible efficient use is not that easy. However, protection of land and water resources had
recently acquired priority thoughtfulness. It is urgent to conserve water while satisfying the
social and economic needs of the society.
The reuse of sewage effluent is one of the most sustainable alternatives to cope with
water shortage in Egypt. This would have a number of advantages that include closing the gap
between supply and demand, stopping the pollution of fresh water resources, providing sound
solution to water scarcity and climate change, and helping to achieve Millennium
Development Goals.

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Although available information about sewage farming in Egypt are neither complete
nor consistent, yet it is a centuries-old practice that is now receiving a renewed attention.
Planned water strategies in Egypt are seeking to achieve successful and safe reuse of
sewage effluent through the application of recent achievements in biotechnology. It had been
during the last decades a matter of interest to both environmentalists and agronomists as a
renewable source of irrigation water, rich in nutrients and organic matter besides being cost
effective, alternative to conventional irrigation water. However, it is always associated with
various adverse impacts on soil ecosystem and farming.
At present, there are more than 200 wastewater treatment plants in the country. Urban
coverage of improved sanitation gradually increased from 45% in 1993 to 56% in 2004. In
contrast, rural sanitation coverage remains incredibly low at 4%. It is worthy to mention that
huge amounts of sewage effluent is still disposed in canals and drains allover Egypt, and
hence reaches the soil and causes severe adverse impacts.
It is validated, as far as sewage farming is acting, to lay extensive rhythm on
information dissemination, prescribed extension sites, training, R&D programs and
prescribing quality control measures. Economic tackle could mimic a much more momentous
capacity in the forecast of sewage farming, especially since it substantiates the main prevalent
tendency of environmental expediency. The present article aims at composing available data
and knowledge on Egyptian experience gained in sewage farming.

2.1. Sewer plants

The total amounts of generated treated sewage effluent in Egypt are expected to
increase from 6.348 million m3 daily in 2004 to reach 8.238 million m3 daily in 2017 [1].
They added that the generated treated sewage effluent, at the time being, are estimated at 680
1000m3/day in Cairo, 970 1000m3/day in Alexandria, 933 1000m3/day in Giza, 955
1000m3/day in Delta, 270 1000m3/day in Middle and upper Egypt, 130 1000m3/day in Sinai,
Matrooh and new valley, and 410 1000 m3/day in Suez canal region. While, [2] stated that a
total annual generated amount of sewage effluent n Egypt is estimated in 2008 at five milliard
cubic meter. The daily rate of generation is estimated at 120 and 80 liter/capita in urban and
rural areas, respectively. There are 83 sewer plants in Egypt, most of them carry out
secondary treatment and few apply only primary treatment (Tables 1,2).
However, all types of treatments, primary, secondary or tertiary are found in the newly
installed sewer plants in new cities. The biggest sewer station in Egypt is El-Gabal Al-Asfer
plant in Cairo with a discharge reaching 1.7x106 m3/day. The chemical and biological
characteristics of treated sewage effluent generated in Egypt, are given in Tables (3,4).
It is worthy to state that the major problems and issues related to the current use of
treated sewage effluent water in Egypt is the lack of enough treatment plants, the population

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connected to sewerage system still do not exceed 50% in the urban and 3% in the rural areas,
respectively, a significant volume of sewage effluent enters directly into water bodies without
any treatment, many sewage effluent treatment facilities are overloaded and/or not operating
properly, some industries still discharge their effluent with limited or no treatment into natural
water bodies, the quality of treated sewage effluent differs from one treatment station to
another depending on inflow quality, treatment level, plant operation efficiency besides the
dissemination of information among various organizations and to the public is very limited,
which substantiates the need for increased awareness and capacity strengthening regarding
water quality management issues.

Table 1. Sewer plants treating sewage effluents in Egypt [2] .

Sewer plant Capacity1 Sewer plant
Governorate Governorate Capacity1
number number
Cairo 6 3830000 Giza
Qualubia 6 199000 Fayum 2 60000
Gharbia 4 232000 Bani seweef 1 40000
Dakahlia 8 165000 Minia 2 11000
Damietta 5 159000 Assuit
Sharkia 1 80000 Sohag 2 106000
Behera 7 189000 Qena 2 74000
Monofia 3 121000 Aswan 4 42000
Kafr ElSheekh 1 20000 Bahr El Ahmer 1 18000
Matrooh 1 25000 Saini 1 5000
Isamelia 3 11000 Suez 1 120000
Port Saeed 1 190000
1
Capacity (1000 m3 day-1)

Table 2. Sewer Plants in Greater Cairo [2]

Sewer Plant Capacity (m3 day-1) Level of treatment
Gala-el-Asafer 1700000 Secondary
Berka 450000 Secondary
Helwan 350000 Secondary
Zenien 330000 Secondary
Au-Rawash 400000 Primary
Subra-el-khema 600000 Primary

2.1.1. El-Gabal Al-Asfer Sewage Farm

Egyptian first governmental sewage farm was established at El-Gabal Al-Asfer area
which is located 53 km north east Cairo. The farm extended as time goes on to reach now
about 3000 acres supported with several couldals and drains dividing the farm into several
sectors. There are two main drains at the farm, El-Gabal Al-Asfer drain and El-Sale drain,

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both receive primary treated sewage effluent (decanted) from greater Cairo and transport it to
the Mediterranean Sea through Belbis and Bahr-el-Bakar Drains and Manzala Lake.
Sewage effluent is discharged to El-Gabal El-Asfar Drain that flows to Belbeis Drain
and then into Bahr EI Baqar Drain which is located in the eastern part of the Nile delta and
runs for some 170 km from Cairo to Lake Manzala.
The agricultural area served by Bahr EI Baqar drain and its tributaries is about
793,000 acre. It consists of a main drain that collects the effluent from two secondary drains,
Bilbeis Drain and Qalyubya Drain. The two drains collect water from two other drains,
respectively El-Gabal El-Asfar and Shebeen. The drain system is frequently used to convey
raw industrial and municipal sewage effluent. The main industrial area, which had an impact
on the quality of industrial effluent in the Bahr El Baqar drain system, is Shobra EI Kheima.

Table 3. Sewage effluent characters in mg l-1 [2].

Character Concentration (mg l-1)
High Medium Low
Total solids (TS) 1200 720 350
Total dissolved solids (TDS) 850 500 250
Non-volatile dissolved solids 525 300 145
Volatile dissolved solids 325 200 105
Total suspended solids 350 220 100
Non-volatile suspended solids 75 55 20
Volatile suspended solids 275 165 80
Sediment Solids 20 10 5
Biological oxygen demand (BOD) 400 220 110
Total organic carbon (TOC) 290 160 80
Inorganic oxygen demand (COD) 1000 500 250
Total nitrogen (TN) 85 40 20
Organic nitrogen (ON) 32 15 8
Free ammonia 50 25 12
Nitrite 0 0 0
Nitrate 0 0 0
Total phosphorus 15 8 4
Organic phosphorus 5 3 1
Non-organic phosphorus 10 5 3
Chlorides * 100 50 30
Sulfate* 50 30 20
Alkalinity (CaCO3) 200 100 50
Oils & grease 150 100 50
Volatile organic compounds (VOC) 400 400 100
Total coliforms (MPN ml) 109 108 107
* Above that in fresh water

Industrial activities pursued in this area had not been changed over the last 10 years.
These industrial activities include PTE production, food processing, detergent and soap

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manufacturing, textile finishing, and paper production. Raw sewage effluent from Cairo East
Bank area was disposed directly to the Gabel El Asfar Drain, and eventually to Lake Manzala
through the Bahr El Baqar drainage system posing serious risks to the environment and public
health. Treatment of more sewage effluent would reduce such a negative impact and improve
the physical and social environment in the region.
During the last decades there were three main sectors at the farm, the north one
irrigated with sewage effluent since ten years, the south one irrigated with sewage effluent
since 70 years and the west one irrigated with sewage effluents since 40 years. Most of the
farm area was cultivated with citrus trees (orange, mandarins and lemon) together with some
scattered areas cultivated with pecan and different field crops. After the instillation of a new
sewer plant at El-Gabal Al-Asfer farm, secondary treated sewage effluent was used in
irrigation. For more information about the farm please visit:
http://www.traveljournals.net/explore/egypt/map/m452611/el-El-Gabal-elasfar.html.

Table 4. Domestic sewage effluent characteristics in mg l-1 [2].

Components Concentration (mg l-1)
High Medium Low
Total solids 1200 700 350
Soluble solids 850 500 250
Suspended solids 350 200 100
Nitrogen 85 40 20
Phosphorus 20 10 6
Chloride 100 50 30
Calcium carbonate 200 100 50
Fats 150 100 50
BOD* 300 200 100
*BOD: Biological oxygen demand

The climate of the area is the same desert climate of the Cairo area, which is
moderated by the proximity of the Mediterranean Sea. The hot, dry climate is characterized
by clear skies with high-intensity solar radiation, scarce and high rainfall and wide seasonal
and diurnal temperature ranges. The area surrounding the farm consists of irrigated, cultivated
land with the desert beyond . Random housing activities were noticed few kilometers from the
farm.
At the time being (October 2010), El-Gabal Al-Asfer sewage farm is divided into
three main sectors, the first one is under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, the
second one is under the supervision of the General Authority of drinking Water and Sanitation
and the third one is scattered farms owned by the private sector.
The sector belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture mostly free from any vegetation
and most of the old trees were cut and sold, except some scattered few guava and palm trees
irrigated from underground wells.

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The area belonging to the General Authority of drinking Water and Sanitation is about
300,000 Acre divided into three main sections, the first cultivated with field crops (Cotton),
the second cultivated with oil crops and the third is not cultivated. Worthy to mention tat the
main source of irrigation is underground water. These sector is known as farms of the king.
The private farms (The dominant area) are cultivated with different kinds of plants,
trees, vegetables, etc.., and are irrigated from either groundwater wells or sewage effluents.
The effect of sewage farming on the chemical, physical and biological characteristic of
soils irrigated with decanted sewage effluent at El-Gabal Al-Asfer farm was studied [3]. He
found a positive trend in building the beneficial microbial soil population (Table 5).
All studied microorganisms flourished with sewage farming and their counts steadily
increased, the higher the increase the long the period of sewage farming. He found also an
ameliorating effect in most of the chemical and physical properties of soils irrigated with
sewage soils as time goes on (Table 6). He studied also the survival of enteric pathogens in
the soil and found them able to persist alive in the soil for varying periods (Table 7).
Total contents of iron, zinc, cadmium, cobalt, nickel and lead increased in soils
irrigated with sewage soils at El-Gabal El-Asfer as time goes on [4]. Iron and cobalt applied
to soil through sewage effluent were mainly immobilized to unavailable status, while lead,
cadmium were moderately available and manganese, zinc and cupper were in a highly
available form. They added that PTEs in soils irrigated with sewage for one year increased 15
folds for zinc, 12 folds for lead, and 8 folds for cupper and nickel and between 5-6 folds for
cadmium and cobalt.
The fractions of lead in soils continuously irrigated with sewage effluent in El-Gabal
Al-Asfer farm for different periods up to 60 years was studied [5] and the data in Table (8)
indicated that the relative abundance of the various lead fractions followed the order:
organically complex (Na2 P4O7) occluded (oxalic acid) >specially adsorbed (CH3COOH) >
exchangeable (CaCl2). Prolonged use of sewage effluent in irrigation tended to increase the
percentage of the organically complex lead fraction on the expense of the most other fractions
especially the residual one.
A study on soil, plant and water samples collected from various sites at El-Gabal Al-
Asfer, Abu-Rawash and El-Saff sewage farms to show variations due to the sewage irrigation
period was carried out [6]. The collected materials were analyzed for their physical and
chemical characteristics. They indicated that the continuous use of sewage effluent in
irrigation was accompanied with an increase in the content of organic matter and electrical
conductivity, and a decrease of soil pH, and CaCO3 contents. The DTPA-extractable contents
of iron, manganese, zinc, cupper, lead, nickel and cadmium increased during a 70 years period
of sewage effluent irrigation. The values for 20-40 and 40-60 cm soil layers were less than the
obtained for the surface layers [Table 9 (a, b,c) and Table 10].

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The absence of any risk to crop yields from PTEs by examples of field monitoring
research of soils and crops at El-Gabel EI-Asfar Old Farm, which had been treated with
sewage effluent for more than 125 years and where the soil concentrations of certain PTEs
potential were significantly elevated [7].

Table 5. Microbial population in soils irrigated with sewage for different periods (Counts per gm oven dry basis)
Properties Period of irrigation with sewage (years)
0 2.5 5 10 15 20 30 45 60
5
Bacteria 10 5 111 119 145 250 299 400 550 620
Streptomycs103 1 38 164 192 200 233 360 573 591
3
Fungi 10 8 43 50 49 62 87 97 107 127
PDB* 103 2 7 11 18 30 48 70 76 80
3
Aztobacter 10 1 7 38 17 14 12 8 2 2
3
Azospirillum10 9 40 60 100 170 60 40 30 20
2
Clostridia 10 9 40 300 29 22 18 11 5 4
Nitrifiers 10 9 206 94 186 60 42 30 19 15
ACD 103** 14 17 23 27 60 23 30 30 35
Coliforms 10 0 22 197 361 421 374 274 100 95
Faecal E.coili 0 19 1`83 175 150 137 88 36 42

*PDB: phosphate dissolving bacteria; **ACD: Aerobic cellulose decomposers

Table 6. Influence of period of sewaging on soil properties (ppm oven dry basis).
Period of irrigation with sewage (years)
Properties
0 2.5 5 10 15 20 30 45 60
Organic C (ppm) 39 30682 36659 46818 63053 79288 92396 111032 130079
NH4-N 3 6 8 15 16 17 20 26 32
NO3-N 7 19 51 72 89 104 140 193 236
Soluble N 10 28 59 87 105 121 160 219 268
Organic N 34 1216 1367 2005 2892 3782 4493 5561 6412
Total N 44 1244 1426 2092 2997 3903 4653 5780 6680
Soluble P 6 40 48 50 52 55 58 62 67
Total Fe 1179 1192 1246 1339 1424 1493 1519 1590 1615
Total Mn 72 84 91 96 105 180 207 230 241
Total Zn 70 82 89 91 101 162 192 204 218
Total Cu 7 32 40 48 53 58 69 88 118
TSS 1751 1939 1992 1991 1996 1973 2498 2948 3256
WHC % 24 36 57 62 68 74 82 99 110
Organic P 71 640 792 923 973 1038 1057 1130 1200
Total P 77 680 820 973 1025 1093 1115 1192 1267
Humus 12 2468 14903 16358 18774 20205 28702 36872 40720

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For example, soil zinc concentrations of 900-1,000 mg kg-1 had been reported at this
site, although plant tissue concentrations of sensitive forage crops remain significantly below
the considered upper critical phytotoxic concentration of zinc. This provides very strong
evidence that there is minimal risk to crops arising from zinc contamination of soils irrigated
with sewage soils. At El-Gabal AI-Asfar the cadmium concentration in soil remained below
the European maximum permissible concentration of 3 mg kg-1. This reflects the minimum
level of contamination of soils irrigated with sewage soils from industrial sources.

Table 7. Survival of fecal E. coli in sandy soils irrigated with sewage effluent.
Time (days)
Period of irrigation with sewage (years) O 15 30 60
105 103 102 0
Soils un-irrigated with sewage 4 200 200 0
2.5 21 40 2 0
5.0 20 5 22 0
10 22 19 12 0
20 26 52 32 0
44 2 2 8 0

Table 8. General properties of soils irrigated with sewage effluent at El-Gabal Al-Asfer [5]
Years Soil depth Clay% O.M% pH
0-30 6.1 3.5 6.3-7.9
8
30-60 5.3 1.2 7.2-8.4
0-30 10.0 6.6 5.9-6.8
28
30-60 6.5 3.3 6.2-8.0
0-30 19.0 7.1 5.8-6.6
60
30-60 15.0 4.7 6.0-6.8

Groundwater Research Institute studied the adverse environmental impacts of sewage

farming at El-Gabal Al-Asfar farm during 1990-1991 using the environmental list of the
International committee of irrigation and drainage (ICID).
The total amount of zinc in Cairo sludge was found higher than the permissible doses
and agreed by the USA-EPA [8]. They added that the content of other PTEs was always at the
low-moderate levels. The accumulation of PTEs and phosphorus in all soils irrigated with
sewage soils was emphasized [9]. The quality of groundwater at the farm was adversely
affected by sewage farming due to the accumulation of PTEs, boron, nitrogen and phosphorus
as well as enteric pathogens. Some areas in the farm became water logged but treated with
sand. The adverse environmental impacts of sewage farming at El-Gabal Al-Asfar farm were
also studied by Baseline Matrix using certain weight for each studied parameters.
It was also found that raising the level of groundwater in the farm resulted in logging
the soil in many parts of the farm. Also a noticeable increase in nutrients, pathogens PTEs,

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boron, pesticides and soil salinity was recorded, besides detecting a variety of organic toxins
in soils irrigated with sewage soils.
The level of PTEs in secondary and tertiary treated sewage effluent as well as in soils
irrigated with sewage for three years falls within the permissible levels [10]. After 25 year of
sewage farming, the high content of PTEs in soils irrigated with sewage soils, as the values of
extracted PTEs could present a hazard on growing plants particularly for cadmium, cupper
and possibly for born, while those of chromium, nickel, lead and zinc were below the critical
level. They concluded that the rate of PTEs accumulation is rather low. Research results
pointed out that plants had a varied content of PTEs as their uptake of mercury, lead, and
cadmium varied in five plants growing in the same ecosystem. It is worthy to mention that the
pH value of the soil greater than 7.0 caused significant reduction in PTEs availability.
After 85 years sewage farming at El-Gabal Al-Asfer, PTEs like iron, zinc, chromium,
manganese, cupper and lead accumulated in the upper soil [11]. The contamination of PTEs in
soil had been reflected in the citrus plants. To assess the PTEs concentration in the soil, he
collected 48 soil samples from different localities in a selected sewage pilot. Citric acid
leaching method had been applied to determine the plant available PTEs in the soil. To
measure concentration of PTEs in plants, 20 citrus juice samples were collected, squeezed and
acid digested using nitric acid followed by hydrogen peroxide. In both soil and plant samples,
PTEs concentration was determined by AAS and/or IC. Results showed that the PTEs
concentration in the soil had been reflected in the plants. Iron, zinc, manganese, and cupper
had been measured in soils and plants with relative higher concentration. The PTEs showed
some higher anomalies only in the upper soil. Except iron, the PTEs zinc, manganese, and
chromium had been measured in mean values around the permissible EU and World health
organization (WHO) limits. According to their results on soil, percolated water, groundwater
and plants in sewage farm area, the negative environmental impact of sewage application was
low.
After 75 years of sludge application at El-Gabal Al-Asfar soil that PTEs contents
were, zinc (370.9), cupper (74.9), cadmium (3.0) and lead (172.6) ppm [12].
Abdel-Shafy and Abdel-Sabour [13] collected different samples during three
successive seasons for a period of three years from the farm representing soils irrigated with
sewage effluent for different periods, 7, 12, 23, 40, 50 and 75 years, as well as from soils
irrigated with fresh water for a period of 50 years as control, to follow the changes in the soil
texture as well as accumulation of PTEs by the soils. They found that the longer the period of
irrigation the higher the level of PTEs accumulation in soil and concluded that the progressive
increase of PTEs in the soil represents serious risk to the cultivated plant as a food source and
recommended to decrease the level of PTEs in sewage water via further simple sewage
effluent treatment (Tables 11-14).

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2.1.2. Abu-Rawash Sewage Farm

Abu-Rawash farm is located at the margins of Greater Cairo adjacent Brakat Drain
from the north, Alexandria Desert Road from the south and the west and Lebini & Moheed
Drains from the east. Abu-Rawash sewer plant biologically treats 110 million m3/year using
in aerated lagoons, oxidation ponds since 1984 at the rate of 25000 m3/day.

Table 9 (a). Effect of sewage irrigation on some properties of El- Gabal El- Asfar soils.

Period of sewage irrigation (year) Depth (cm). O.M (%) CaCo3 (%)
A* 0.20 2.89
Control B* 0.11 3.59
C* 0.11 2.48
A 0.86 2.06
5 B 0.26 2.43
C 0.20 3.59
A 3.79 1.69
18 B 0.23 2.06
C 0.20 3.26
A 4.02 1.69
25 B 0.83 2.15
C 0.23 4.62
A 4.86 1.30
40 B 1.14 2.64
C 0.29 4.33

A 6.02 0.69
60 B 1.17 1.28
C 0.37 2.43
A 6.24 0.25
70 B 1.37 0.95
C 0.57 2.64

*A=0-20 cm; B*=20-40 cm; C*=40-60 cm

The area of the sewage farm is 85 acre surrounds with green belt of casuarina trees,
which are used to divide the farm to several plots. The inorganic analyses of the soil showed
that it contains 30% organic matter, 800 ppm TSS, 35 ppm N, 15 ppm P and 30 ppm K. At the
time being, the farm is cultivated with citrus trees (orange, mandarins, grape fruits, Adalia
lemon); the most successful ones are grapefruit and Adalia lemon. Their harvest reached 100
kg/tree after five years from seedling.
Few areas in the farm is cultivated with pecan trees but with feeble growth. Banana
trees, on the other hand, grew well in the sewage farm at Abu-Rawash. There are many field
crops planted in the farm, the most successful of them are broad beans and lupine which
yielded 1240 and 2100 kg/acre. Sunflower plants are successfully grown at the farm, the

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height of the plants exceeded three meter and the diameter of fruiting disk reached 40 cm, and
their yield approached 2000 kg seeds/acre. Other field crops grown in the farm are cowpea,
beans, safflower and some leafy vegetables that are eaten raw and not recommended to be
cultivated in a sewage farm. Some ornamentals plants are well grown in the farm.
The pH values shifted from 7.7 to 6.0, while TSS, calcium and chlorine did not exhibit
any appreciable changes [14]. Bicarbonate content in the soil decreased with a noticeable
increase in Na and Mg. Recorded changes in the water holding capacity of the soil followed
a trend parallel to the changes in soil fine particles and increased from 20.3 to 30.4% in the
surface layer and from 8.51 to 10.5% in subsoil. The levels of total and DTPA extractable
PTEs in soils increased with years of sewage farming [15].

Table 9 (b). Effect of sewage irrigation on some chemical properties of El- Gabal El- Asfar soils

Period of Soluble ions meg/100g soil

Depth E.C.
sewage PH
(cm) (m.mhos/
irrigation Ca Mg Na K Co3 Hco3 Cl So4
cm)
(year)
A* 8.6 0.10 0.4 0.2 0.15 0.03 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.18
Control B* 8.8 0.07 0.2 0.2 0.13 0.02 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.15
C* 8.9 0.08 0.4 0.1 0.13 0.03 0.0 0.2 0.3 0.16

A 7.8 0.10 0.5 0.2 0.17 0.04 0.0 0.6 0.2 0.11
5 B 8.6 0.08 0.4 0.1 0.13 0.03 0.0 0.4 0.2 0.06
C 8.5 0.07 0.3 0.2 0.13 0.03 0.0 0.4 0.2 0.06

A 7.4 0.24 0.6 0.3 0.53 0.09 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.92
18 B 8.0 0.08 0.3 0.2 0.14 0.03 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.27
C 9.0 0.06 0.4 0.1 0.13 0.02 0.0 0.2 0.3 0.15
A 7.4 0.22 0.5 0.5 0.55 0.10 0.0 0.4 0.4 0.85
25 B 8.3 0.09 0.4 0.2 0.21 0.03 0.0 0.2 0.3 0.34
C 8.4 0.11 0.5 0.2 0.17 0.04 0.0 0.6 0.2 0.11
A 7.2 0.24 0.7 0.2 0.46 0.09 0.0 0.4 0.3 0.75
40 B 8.0 0.11 0.4 0.2 0.30 0.06 0.0 0.6 0.3 0.06
C 8.5 0.12 0.7 0.2 0.21 0.03 0.0 0.6 0.2 0.34
A 7.0 0.38 1.0 0.4 0.62 0.12 0.0 0.4 0.5 1.24
60 B 7.8 0.13 0.5 0.1 0.29 0.02 0.0 0.6 0.3 0.01
C 8.7 0.13 0.7 0.3 0.23 0.01 0.0 0.8 0.3 0.14

A 6.8 0.65 2.5 0.5 0.96 0.12 0.0 0.6 0.4 3.08
70 B 7.0 0.17 0.7 0.1 0.34 0.07 0.0 0.8 0.3 0.11
C 7.6 0.15 0.6 0.1 0.26 0.06 0.0 0.8 0.2 0.02

*A=0-20 cm; *B=20-40 cm; *C=40-60 cm

The environmental impacts of sewage farming at Abu-Rawash farm for four years was
studied [16] and he found that the organic matter in surface soil from 0.10 to 0.46%, the pH
shifted from 8.5 to 6.5, the water holding capacity increased from 8.92 to 30.4%, the
exchangeable sodium percent decreased from 12.85 to 3.97%, the cation exchangeable

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capacity increased from 1.4 to 4.74 meq/100 gm soil. Some PTEs were accumulated in plant
tissues, e, g.; the Zn content reached 171 ppm in broad bean and 58 ppm in lupine. In the
surface soil the Cd increased from 0.05 to 0.15 ppm, Co from 1.67 to 1.76 ppm, Cr from 0.56
to 0.76, Fe from 1.6 to 65 ppm, Pb from 0.88 to 7.25 ppm, Ni from 0.29 to 0.99 ppm. The
most important field crops grown in Abu-Rawash sewage farm are broad bean, lupine and
corn. PTEs accumulation increased in Abu-Rawash soils [17].

Table 9 (c). DTPA- extractable PTEs in El-Gabal El- Asfar soils.

Period of sewage irrigation Depth Extracted PTEs content (ppm)

(year) (cm) Fe Mn Zn Cu Pb Ni Cd
A* 3.62 0.72 29.70 0.13 0.18 0.16 0.016
Control B* 2.65 0.97 18.40 0.09 0.08 0.17 0.014
C* 2.11 0.61 1.60 0.04 0.09 0.02 0.014
A 29.30 1.94 34.70 4.07 2.40 0.82 0.054
5 B 3.82 1.91 21.60 0.64 0.29 0.38 0.036
C 1.48 1.31 2.59 0.56 0.15 0.15 0.030
A 44.55 2.22 59.40 46.14 4.43 1.18 0.252
18 B 19.06 0.46 44.20 5.66 2.50 0.82 0.040
C 8.10 0.38 6.00 2.13 0.18 0.53 0.032
A 52.14 2.41 139.0 57.56 4.73 1.24 0.266
25 B 22.82 0.69 64.6 17.51 2.00 0.96 0.058
C 8.71 0.42 33.8 9.19 0.29 0.73 0.048
A 56.40 4.57 192.0 69.00 18.67 3.20 0.284
40 B 25.26 2.02 70.6 20.27 3.29 2.43 0.104
C 12.35 0.83 60.6 9.66 0.27 1.18 0.062
A 74.08 4.61 201.6 79.00 21.51 3.92 0.292
60 B 33.38 2.70 120.0 23.65 5.76 2.19 0.126
C 12.99 1.62 70.8 10.68 2.29 1.86 0.069
A 77.24 5.29 282.0 82.16 28.76 4.51 0.408
70 B 40.08 4.47 245.0 26.65 6.13 2.11 0.128
C 32.56 3.74 78.4 12.13 3.63 1.82 0.112
A*=0-20 cm; B*=20-40 cm; C*=40-60 cm

Table 10. PTEs content (ppm) of orange leaves grown on the investigated soils.

Period of sewage irrigation PTEs content (ppm)

(year) Fe Mn Zn Cu Pb Ni Cd
5 270.0 20.15 43.16 3.02 3.22 1.28 0.55
18 269.0 23.80 62.54 5.70 3.80 1.26 0.75
25 331.0 24.20 56.26 5.56 2.15 1.42 0.65
40 309.0 24.25 79.17 9.32 3.69 1.35 0.84
60 376.0 25.80 56.42 9.96 5.00 1.72 0.92
70 428.0 25.65 113.16 11.55 4.90 2.30 1.03

Total and available contents of Mn, Zn, Pb Co and Cd in Abu-Rawah soils irrigated
with sewage effluent were determined [6] as described in Table (15 a, b).

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The statistical analysis of the first set of data for Abu Rawash sewer plant showed
some elements to be strongly skewed, where the medium concentration is considerably lower
than the mean; for instance zinc [7]. This also applies to copper, but the other elements are
normally distributed. He concluded that it is not unusual for soils irrigated with sewage soils
quality data to be skewed in this manner, and merely indicates that there are a few very high
values, which might be attributable to specific and spasmodic industrial effluent discharges.
As a matter of routine, any values falling outside the normal range should be checked for
errors in the sampling and analytical procedures.

Table 11. Level of heavy metals in the sewage water that are used for irrigation at El-Gabal Al-Asfar Farm during the
winter and summer seasons.

Season Parameter Content of elements (mg/l)

Fe Cu Mn Zn Al Se
Maximum 9.343 0.173 0.536 0.321 0.595 0.256
Winter Minimum 0.758 0.010 0.102 0.182 0.184 0.011
Mean value 3.642 0.077 0.244 0.238 0.261 0.070
Standard Error ± 1.07 0.021 0.052 0.079 0.045 0.026
Maximum 9.871 0.280 0.454 0.375 2.523 0.176
Summer Minimum 2.222 0.025 0.089 0.146 0.362 0.032
Mean value 5.208 0.087 0.255 0.253 1.689 0.146
Standard Error ± 0.929 0.028 0.039 0.028 0.248 0.062
T.A.V. 4.425 0.082 0.249 0.245 0.975 0.108
Egyptian Law 1994 1.00 1.00 0.05 1.00 3.00 0.02
0.10 0.05 0.05 5.00 3.00 0.01
WHO
1.00 1.50 0.50 15.00 5.00 0.02

Table 12. Level of heavy metals in the sewage water that are used for irrigation at El-Gabal Al-Asfar Farm during the
winter and summer seasons

Season Parameter Content of elements (mg/l)

Pb Cd Co Cr Ni As
Maximum 0.193 0.075 0.072 0.374 1.037 0.233
Winter Minimum 0.089 0.002 0.021 0.045 0.462 0.121
Mean value 0.149 0.014 0.044 0.130 0.737 0.163
Standard Error ± 0.148 0.054 0.007 0.041 0.063 0.019
Maximum 0.271 0.066 0.151 0.745 1.342 0.822
Summer Minimum 0.125 0.003 0.043 0.025 0.671 0.137
Mean value 0.180 0.024 0.084 0.248 0.994 0.315
Standard Error ± 0.093 0.081 0.017 0.095 0.082 0.201
T.A.V. 0.165 0.019 0.064 0.189 0.865 0.239
Egyptian Law 1994 0.050 0.05 0.05 0.10 0.10 0.10
* * 0.01 0.10 * 0.05
WHO
0.10 0.01 0.18 0.10 * 0.05

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He added that soils irrigated with sewage soils from Abu- Rawash contained minimal
inputs of PTEs from industrial sources and is ideal for recycling to agricultural land, provided
significant reductions in pathogens are achieved and use on sensitive food chain crops are
avoided, namely those which come in direct contact with the soil and which might be eaten
raw.

Table 13. Level of heavy metals in the Canal water that are used for irrigation during the winter and summer seasons.
Season Parameter Content of elements (mg/l)
Fe Cu Mn Zn Al Se
Maximum 2.462 0.093 0.372 0.213 0.384 0.046
Winter Minimum 0.654 0.006 0.050 0.053 0.119 0.027
Mean value 1.439 0.048 0.153 0.148 0.228 0.039
Standard Error ± 0.218 0.01 0.092 0.055 0.089 0.004
Maximum 2.419 0.077 0.373 0.324 0.985 0.056
Summer Minimum 0.594 0.022 0.056 0.157 0.113 0.027
Mean value 1.828 0.051 0.230 0.199 0.412 0.043
Standard Error ± 0.349 0.007 0.153 0.157 0.094 0.004
T.A.V. 1.622 0.049 0.189 0.172 0.314 0.041
Egyptian Law 1994 1.00 1.00 0.05 1.00 3.00 0.02
0.10 0.05 0.05 5.00 3.00 0.01
WHO
1.00 1.50 0.50 15.00 5.00 0.02

Table 14. Level of heavy metals in the Canal water that are used for irrigation during the winter and summer seasons.
Season Parameter Content of elements (mg/l)
Pb Cd Co Cr Ni As
Maximum 0.171 0.031 0.082 0.025 0.347 0.148
Winter Minimum 0.028 0.004 0.001 0.003 0.186 0.013
Mean value 0.096 0.011 0.019 0.010 0.240 0.061
Standard Error ± 0.045 0.006 0.01 0.002 0.019 0.016
Maximum 0.191 0.022 0.098 0.084 0.871 0.161
Summer Minimum 0.032 0.015 0.006 0.002 0.182 0.015
Mean value 0.147 0.018 0.021 0.014 0.437 0.081
Standard Error ± 0.023 0.004 0.012 0.01 0.096 0.019
T.A.V. 0.120 0.014 0.020 0.012 0.333 0.071
Egyptian Law 1994 0.050 0.05 0.05 0.10 0.10 0.10
* * 0.01 0.10 * 0.05
WHO 0.10 0.01 0.18 0.10 * 0.05

The mean concentration values for all of the PTEs in soils irrigated with sewage soils
from Abu-Rawash and Helwan, and the sole sample from Berka, show that on average the
concentrations are below the maximum permitted values for these elements under European
Commission and United States soils irrigated with sewage soils use in agriculture legislation,

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Table 15 (a). Total and available contents of Mn, Zn and Pb in Abu-Rawah soils irrigated with sewage effluent [6].
Depth Mn Zn Pb
Site
cm T* A A.I.% T A A.I.% T A A.I.%
0-25 8.91 7.33 82.25 8.11 15.61 192.51 7.15 17.88 250.13
1 25-50 4.56 2.3 51.13 6.20 7.50 120.82 6.20 11.80 190.30
50-75 2.24 1.03 46.12 3.30 3.70 112.30 5.13 5.92 115.40
0-25 9.33 10.89 116.71 7.22 16.45 227.91 8.85 27.89 315.12
2 25-50 5.25 5.16 98.23 3.55 6.67 187.82 7.13 15.20 213.26
50-75 1.92 1.40 73.15 2.18 2.74 125.82 6.12 10.41 170.13
0-25 9.36 11.28 120.61 6.11 13.84 226.50 6.15 13.54 220.15
3 25-50 4.86 6.25 128.52 5.21 11.52 221.10 7.30 10.60 145.20
50-75 2.23 2.46 110.42 3.60 5.56 154.40 3.50 3.12 89.15
0-25 7.61 8.52 112.00 7.82 19.69 251.80 8.16 23.51 288.15
4 25-50 4.23 5.08 120.00 5.13 11.82 230.90 6.15 12.04 195.80
50-75 1.11 1.10 98.90 2.36 3.78 160.40 6.32 6.45 102.15
0-25 12.18 17.66 145.00 4.12 8.03 195.00 8.55 26.09 305.15
5 25-50 8.15 10.92 134.00 3.15 6.08 193.20 7.22 13.59 188.20
50-75 1.18 0.81 69.00 2.11 2.89 136.80 3.45 3.29 95.50
0-25 20.15 25.22 125.18 7.73 20.48 265.00 14.05 16.70 118.80
6 25-50 13.10 10.22 78.00 4.55 5.91 130.00 12.20 14.65 120.13
50-75 6.20 3.72 60.00 2.13 2.08 98.00 8.30 8.15 98.15
0-25 13.15 18.41 140.00 6.23 15.76 253.00 8.15 26.10 320.18
7 25-50 10.12 12.45 123.00 5.18 10.51 203.00 9.19 22.10 250.16
50-75 6.30 6.65 106.00 3.20 1.61 50.20 7.53 9.42 125.13
0-25 7.11 6.67 93.80 6.20 11.83 190.80 7.23 12.66 175.18
8 25-50 4.80 2.73 56.80 5.11 8.68 196.80 8.15 12.24 150.19
50-75 2.15 0.72 33.50 2.05 1.63 79.80 5.28 5.96 112.35
Table 15 (b). Total and available contents of Co and Cd in Abu-Rawash soils irrigated with sewage effluent [6].
Depth Co Cd
Site
cm T* A A.I.% T A A.I.%
0-25 8.22 0.32 3.85 5.13 1.96 38.21
1 25-50 6.15 0.15 2.42 1.15 0.30 26.53
50-75 2.14 0.03 1.31 1.25 0.24 19.22
0-25 9.15 0.56 6.16 4.02 1.60 39.92
2 25-50 6.44 0.23 3.52 2.17 0.73 33.51
50-75 3.08 0.05 1.31 1.11 0.32 28.53
0-25 7.33 0.39 5.34 8.30 3.04 36.82
3 25-50 4.18 0.20 4.33 2.18 0.83 38.22
50-75 3.87 0.10 2.71 1.21 0.31 25.35
0-25 6.13 0.17 2.82 8.90 2.40 38.22
4 25-50 3.15 0.06 1.95 3.10 0.89 28.82
50-75 1.18 0.01 1.26 2.80 0.44 15.74
0-25 3.45 0.14 4.15 6.15 2.26 36.82
5 25-50 2.18 0.05 2.12 4.18 1.61 38.45
50-75 2.17 0.03 1.25 1.20 0.27 22.92
0-25 12.26 0.75 6.12 12.00 4.80 40.00
6 25-50 5.50 0.21 3.71 7.50 1.65 22.00
50-75 3.80 0.11 2.87 4.20 0.76 18.00
0-25 7.18 0.38 5.33 6.13 2.01 32.80
7 25-50 3.16 0.07 2.10 3.21 1.28 40.00
50-75 2.25 0.07 3.20 2.15 0.78 36.20
0-25 9.24 0.48 5.18 6.10 1.76 28.80
8 25-50 3.88 0.12 3.20 2.20 0.49 22.30
50-75 2.15 0.03 1.31 1.51 0.27 18.10
*T: Total (mg/kg); A: Available (mg/kg); A.I. %= Availability Index= (Available/Total) x100

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with one notable exception; cadmium at Helwan is is three times the EC maximum permitted
value of European Investment Bank and Cairo Wastewater Organization (1995).
In soils irrigated with sewage soils collected from Abou-Rawash farm [18], fractioned
cadmium and lead. Their studies revealed that the highest amount of cadmium and lead was
associated with Fe-Mn oxides fraction, while the organically bound fraction was the dominant
form of cobalt (65%) and it was 35% for nickel. Sewage farming in Egypt took place on
sandy soil that suffers from an inherent lack of organic matter as well as micro- and
macronutrients [19]. One of such applications had been practiced on sandy soil of Abu-
Rawash Sewage Farm. The area of the farm reached 105 hectares had been planned to expand
to only 210 hectares. The farm receives, presently, from 4000 to 5000 m3 of primarily treated
sewage effluent per day.
On the farm there are mainly citrus trees and some experimental fields of hardwood
trees, flower plants and small experimental area intended to be used for sludge. Generally, the
level of PTEs in sewage effluent is within low concentrations of mg/dm3, yet they still had the
possibility of retaining them in variable concentrated forms. This takes place when PTEs are
the constituents of the food chain and are absorbed by plants or retained by animals.
Recently some field experiments were conducted in Abu-Rawash sewage farm [20,
21, 22] or in pots filled with soils collected from Abu-Rawash Farm (marginally or highly
contaminated sewaged soils). In one trials , the researchers determined i.e. Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn
and Ni heavy metals in the soil as well as the Zn equivalent and their data shown in Table
(16) [20].
Under greenhouse condition, they made phytoremediation of the sewaged soil with
either canola or Indian mustard in the presence and absence of vesicular arbuscular
mycorrhiza (VAM) inoculation in the two contaminated sewaged soils and found that
inoculation with VAM was effective in enhancing the phytoremediation process by both
tested hyperaccumulator plants in highly and marginally contaminated sewaged soils, and
Indian mustard plant was superior. They concluded that- in general- the hytoremediation
process was more effective in the highly contaminated sewaged soil by Indian mustard
associated with VAM [21, 22].
Table 16. Total PTEs contents in Abu-Rawash soil (ppm oven dry basis) [20].
Soil depth Sewage farming Zn
Landscape Cu Fe Mn Pb Zn Ni
(cm) started since equivalent
0-30 35.7 596 45.2 58 401 18 633.9
Sandy soil 30 years
30-60 33.5 850 73.3 63 95 14 287.6
0-30 Loamy sand 111.7 758.5 160.0 48.2 73.1 18.8 458.4
30 years
30-60 soil 112.1 761.0 227.0 49.3 75.1 10.0 389.2

Another field experiment was carried out at Abu-Rawash sewage farm to appraise the
effect of certain novel remediative amendments on the quality of oil as well as the vegetative

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parameters and yield criteria of canola plant used as hyperaccumulator for the remediation of
sewaged soils [23]. The treatments included fallow soil (irrigated without growing canola),
soil cultivated with canola (Brassica napus L.) and inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhiza
(AM), soil inoculation with Thiobacillus sp. (a mixture of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans and
Thiobacillus thiooxidant), soil treated with a mixture of 250 mg bentonite plus 250 mg rock
phosphate/kg soil and inoculated with phosphate dissolving bacteria (PDB), and soil treated
with all the aforementioned remediative amendments. Their results indicated that the yield
criteria of canola plant did not exhibit any serious adverse impact under all treatments applied
as shown in Fig (1). They also found that the concentrations of Zn and Cu in canola oil
extracted from plants grown in soil inoculated with AM and/or Thiobacillus sp. far exceeded
the safe permissible levels. On the other hand, the content of both PTEs in the oil extracted
from canola plants grown in soil treated with either probentonite or with mixture of all
remediative amendments followed the permissible safe levels [23].

Fig. 1. Yield attributes of canola grown in a high contaminated sewaged soil under various remediative
amendments.

Another trials were conducted at abu-Rawash station [24] to confirm that growing
sensitive crops after the phytoremedation of contaminated sowing sewaged soil will produce
safe product. They found that phytoremediation with either canola or Indian mustard
obviously reduced Cu and Zn contents in both sesame and sorghum plants and completely
removed Ni from soil. Both sesame and sorghum plants grown in both bioremediated
sewaged soils contained lower PTEs, however, at varying degrees. Zinc equivalent value in
marginally and highly decontaminated soils after harvesting either sorghum or sesame
obviously decreased compared to control soil. After phytoremediation, the dehydrogenase

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activity increased in all soils. Generally, the efficiency of phytoremediation with canola far
exceeded that with Indian mustard, despite both were effective tools [24].
In 2016 [25] tested sunflower and corn plants in the presence and absence of
Mycorrhyzae (AM) to clean the PTEs from the highly and marginally contaminated sewaged
soils. They found that MA inoculation increased the seed yield of corn and sunflower under
marginal (82.2 and 33.2%) and highly (43.3 and 17.6%) contaminated sewaged soils
conditions, respectively. AM inoculation enhanced corn plant absorption of Zn and Cu to a
degree that they contained two or three folds of Zn and Cu contents. Root and shoot of
sunflower plants contained more Zn compared to those of corn plants. AM inoculation in the
high contaminated soils irrigated with sewage effluent resulted in elevated depression in Cu
content in roots and shoots of sunflower reaching 31.4% and 64.3%, respectively. Based on
the distinctive decontamination rate of every studied PTE and Zn equivalent values, the
cleaning potency of corn plant far exceeded that of sunflower plants for Zn, Cu and Ni [25].
From the economic point of the cleanup process of contaminated sewaged soil at
Abu-Rawash Sewaged Farm and the economic benefits from the phytoremedaion and
growing safe crops the costs for land preparation, bioremediation materials and processing,
cultivation operation and requirements for growing and harvesting canola and maize (summer
season) were calculated [26]. Three scenarios have been conducted and the final results
indicate that the internal rate of return can reached to 44.2%.
The present subject is the fate of PTEs in the sandy soil of an Egyptian sewage farm
that had been irrigated by primarily treated sewage water since 1944. The increasing demand
for the sewage effluent being treated in such a way raised the question of what is the impact
of sewage application on the sandy soil. What is the fate of PTEs in soil at its variable depths,
which, therefore, will affect the growing plants? What are the changes that take place in the
case of such sandy soil of the desert?. After three year of irrigating Abu-Rawash soils with
sewage effluent the fine particles increased from 1 to 6%, CaCO3 decreased from 1.24 to
0.16% while organic matter increased threefold from 0.19 t0 0.56% [19].
The changes that occurred in the contents of PTEs in plants after sewage farming and
compared them with plants irrigated with Nile water was described [1] as given in Table (19).
The changes in soil chemical, physical and biological characteristic as a result of
sewage farming was described [2] as shown in Tables (17- 20).

2.1.3. El-Saff Sewage Farm

PTEs accumulation was increased in El-Saff soils [27]. Soil, plant and water samples
were collected from various El-Saff sewage farms to show their variation due to the sewage
irrigation duration [6]. The collected materials were analyzed for their physical and chemical
characteristics. They indicated that the continuous use of sewage effluent in irrigation was

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accompanied with an increase in the content of organic matter and electrical conductivity, and
a decrease of soil pH, and CaCO3 contents. The DTPA-extractable contents of iron,
manganese, zinc, cupper, lead, nickel and cadmium increased during a 70 years period of
sewage effluent irrigation. The values for 20-40 and 40-60 cm soil layers were less than the
obtained for the surface layers (Tables 21 and 22).
The area under forest in Egypt is estimated at 6250 acres, mostly planted with
casuarina, eucalyptus, cupressus, pinus and khaya trees planted by both the governmental and
the private sectors for purposes of protecting soils, water-courses and farms from winds and
storms.

Table 17. PTEs in plants irrigated with sewage effluent at Abu-Rawash (ppm) [1]

Plants Irrigation water Zn Fe Co Ni Cr Co Cd

Faba beans Nile 58 335 14 22 24 29 4
Faba beans Effluent 171 218 9 23 19 13 2
Barely Nile 42 133 6 27 20 30 3
Barely Effluent 40 101 4 25 21 35 3
Lupine Nile 43 232 7 23 25 24 3
Lupine Effluent 58 249 7 43 26 28 3
Citrus Nile 23 56 3 14 11 15 1
Citrus Effluent 20 127 1.4 21 14 15 2

2.2. Lumber forests

The Egyptian policy in the field of using sewage effluent in forestry aims to design of
an integrated inter-scrotal sewage effluent reuse strategy with supporting legal, regulatory and
planning framework with identified responsibilities to optimize the net benefits from reusing
sewage effluent, including in forest plantation development; establishment of an executive
body, such as an interagency technical standing committee, supported by an inter-ministerial
committee to give policy directions on issues, and to prepare national standards or quality
guide lines for the reuse of sewage effluent for agriculture and forest plantation irrigation,
taking into account the legal and regulatory framework (e.g., environmental pollution, water
quality, food hygiene and occupational health), establishment of monitoring data and
reporting systems, including responsibilities for enforcement and penalties for non-
compliance with standards, and exchange of lessons learned within the region in the use of
sewage effluent in forest plantation development supported by networking and technical
meeting opportunities.
Research results indicated that wind-breaks under the conditions of reclaimed areas in
Egypt, lead to a positive impact on the return (revenue) of field crops amounting to 33.3% and
25.2% for fruit crops. Also, the produced wood is used for supplying the saw-mills,

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workshops and factories producing wood-sheets, aplakage, furniture and paper. The most
commonly used species are Casuarina glauca, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Tamarix
aphylla. These provide for local fuel wood consumption and the production of poles for sale
in the local markets.
Also, the shrubs are used for grazing as pastures for rearing goats and sheep,
especially in the north-western coast region of the country. It is worthy to noting that the total
area under forest in Egypt represents about 0.01% of the total area, and that the area under
timber trees represents around 5% of the irrigated lands as wind-breaks.
The use of sewage effluent in agriculture and landscape irrigation is now quite
widespread in many regions; but irrigating trees with sewage effluent had been much less
explored. Shade and amenity trees and urban green areas are irrigated with treated sewage
effluent transported by tanker in some cities and the literature gives examples of sewage
effluent use in forestry.
Overall, however, large-scale use of sewage effluent for the irrigation of tree
plantations or forests is generally more for reasons of sewage disposal and treatment rather
than for enhanced forestry production.
However, the cost of treatment using conventional methods is prohibitively high for
most developing countries. As a result, countries are experimenting with other forms of
treatment, among which are land application methods, including irrigation of forest
plantations. When practiced properly, these are simple, low- cost and effective means both to
dispose of water and to improve quality of forest plantations.
Historically, the objective of sewage effluent reuse had been largely disposal oriented.
Only relatively recently had greater emphasis been put on the productive and purification
aspects of the practice. The prevailing tendency had been to allocate sewage effluent to
agricultural uses. Existing quality standards and guidelines for sewage effluent use in
irrigation apply to agricultural crops, no detailed standards and guidelines had been developed
for trees and forest plantations.
There are compelling reasons to examine more closely the feasibility or irrigating trees
and forests plantations with sewage effluent including health factors (the reduced risk
compared to food crop contamination with pathogens, POCs and/or PTE), environmental
considerations (benefits provided by greenbelts and other urban and peri-urban forestry
plantings, conservation of water resources, rehabilitation of desert lands), economic benefits
(the value of forest products and environmental services); and social and aesthetic values.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation gave paramount
importance to all a forestation processes, and laid down the development plans and the
agricultural legislation aiming at magnifying the a forestated (green) stretch.
The first tree plantation using sewage effluent in El-Gabal El-Asfar farm (about 30 km
from Cairo) was established to dispose of the city sewage. At the time being, the Under

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secretariat for aforestation and Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land
Reclamation is taking the responsibility for establishing tree plantation irrigated with sewage
effluent around cities for greening the urban areas and producing timber. During the last
decades some lumber forest irrigated with treated sewage effluent was installed in Egyptian
desert areas.
This project started in 1995 and now there are tens of these artificial lumber forest
installed allover Egypt in an area exceeding 8000 acres in Sadat city, Wadi-El-Natroon,
Quena, Edfo, Paris oasis, Luxor, Kharga, Toshki and Serapium. In each acre 450 lumber trees
was cultivated with 3.6 million lumber trees in all newly installed farms and irrigated with 4.5
milliard m3 treated sewage effluent yearly. Each of these farms was supported with a seedling
nursery and a greenhouse. The lumber tress grown in these sewage farms are conifers, neem,
cypress, African mahogany, jetropha, poplar, mulberry, khaya, casuarinas, eucalyptus and
acacia.
Table 18. Oven dry basis PTEs content (ppm) in the edible portion of some crops cultivated at Abu-
Rawash sewage farm [2].
Crop Zn Fe Cu Ni Cr Co Ca
Broad been irrigated with surface water 58 335 14 22 24 29 4
Broad been irrigated with sewage effluent 171 218 9 23 19 13 2
Barely irrigated with surface water 42 133 6 27 20 30 3
Barely irrigated with sewage effluent 40 101 4 25 21 35 3
Lupine irrigated with surface water 43 332 7 23 25 24 3
Lupine irrigated with sewage effluent 58 249 7 43 26 28 3
Citrus irrigated with surface water 23 56 3 14 11 15 2
Citrus irrigated with sewage effluent 20 127 1.4 21 14 15 2

Table 19. Changes in soil characters after irrigation with sewage effluent at Abu-Rawash farm [2].
Years of irrigation with sewage effluent
Parameters Virgin 1 2 3
0-30cm 30-60cm 0-30cm 30-60cm 0-30cm 30-60cm 0-30cm 30-60cm
pH 7.70 7.60 7.20 6.80 6.70 6.50 6.00 6.40
TSS (%) 0.10 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.11 0.05 0.09 0.07
Organic matter(%) 0.19 0.10 0.32 0.10 0.46 0.23 0.56 0.20
CaCO3 (%) 1.24 1.20 0.76 0.66 0.38 0.28 0.16 0.10
Coarse sand (%) 67 75 69 77 73 75 67 66
Fine sand (%) 30 23 28 21 21 22 27 30
Silt + clay (%) 1 1 2 1 6 2 6 4
Bulk density (%) 1.68 1.72 1.65 1.70 1.58 1.62 1.45 1.62
Field capacity (%) 8.90 8.50 9.80 9.50 12.2 9.00 16.60 10.50
Wilting point (%) 2.80 2.50 3.20 3.00 4.10 3.80 6.60 3.90
Moisture (%) 6.10 6.00 6.60 6.50 8.10 5.20 10.00 6.40
WHC (%) 20.30 18.50 24.50 19.20 27.70 21.10 30.40 22.60
Corn yield (Kg/ha) 1589 2643 3242

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Table 20. Oven dry basis PTEs content (ppm) in the edible portion of some crops cultivated at Abu-Rawash
sewage farm [2].

Crop Zn Fe Cu Ni Cr Co Ca

Broad been irrigated with surface water 58 335 14 22 24 29 4

Broad been irrigated with sewage effluent 171 218 9 23 19 13 2

Barely irrigated with surface water 42 133 6 27 20 30 3

Barely irrigated with sewage effluent 40 101 4 25 21 35 3

Lupine irrigated with surface water 43 332 7 23 25 24 3

Lupine irrigated with sewage effluent 58 249 7 43 26 28 3

Citrus irrigated with surface water 23 56 3 14 11 15 2

Citrus irrigated with sewage effluent 20 127 1.4 21 14 15 2

2.3. Existing Lumber Forests

 Qena forest started in 2001 with a targeted area of 500 acres adjacent to El-Salhia sewer
station and supported with an advanced surface and drip irrigation system and cultivated with
eucalyptus, casuarina and khaya.
 Luxer forest started in 1999 with a targeted area of 200 acres adjacent to Luxer sewer
station and supported with an advanced surface and drip irrigation system and cultivated with
eucalyptus, cypress, neem and khaya.
 New valley forest started in 2003 with an area of 300 acres adjacent to El-Kharga sewer
station and supported with an advanced surface and drip irrigation system and cultivated with
eucalyptus, casuarinas and khaya.
 Serapium forest started in 2002 with a targeted area of 500 acres adjacent to Serapium
sewer station and supported with an advanced surface and drip irrigation system and
cultivated with eucalyptus, pinus, African mahogany, acacia, cypress, neem and khaya.
 El-toor forest started in 2001 with a targeted area of 200 acres adjacent to El-Toor sewer
station and supported with an advanced surface and drip irrigation system and cultivated with
eucalyptus, casuarina and khaya.
 Sadat city forest started in 2003 with a targeted area of 200 acres adjacent to Sadat city
sewer station supported with an advanced surface and drip irrigation system and cultivated
with eucalyptus, acacia, cypress, neem, casuarinas and khaya.
 Friendship forest installed recently with the cooperation with China and Japan at Sadat
city with a targeted area of 2500 acres.

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Table 21. Changes in soil characters after irrigation with sewage effluent at Abu-Rawash farm [2].
Years of irrigation with sewage effluent
Parameters Virgin 1 2 3
0-30 30-60 cm 0-30 30-60 0-30 30-60 0-30 30-60
cm cm cm cm cm cm cm
pH 7.70 7.60 7.20 6.80 6.70 6.50 6.00 6.40
TSS (%) 0.10 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.11 0.05 0.09 0.07
Organic matter (%) 0.19 0.10 0.32 0.10 0.46 0.23 0.56 0.20
CaCO3 (%) 1.24 1.20 0.76 0.66 0.38 0.28 0.16 0.10
Coarse sand (%) 67 75 69 77 73 75 67 66
Fine sand (%) 30 23 28 21 21 22 27 30
Silt + clay (%) 1 1 2 1 6 2 6 4
Bulk density (%) 1.68 1.72 1.65 1.70 1.58 1.62 1.45 1.62
Field capacity (%) 8.90 8.50 9.80 9.50 12.2 9.00 16.60 10.50
Wilting point (%) 2.80 2.50 3.20 3.00 4.10 3.80 6.60 3.90
Moisture (%) 6.10 6.00 6.60 6.50 8.10 5.20 10.00 6.40
WHC (%) 20.30 18.50 24.50 19.20 27.70 21.10 30.40 22.60
Corn yield (Kg/ha) 1589 2643 3242

Table 22. Chemical characteristics of soils irrigated with sewage effluent at El-Saff farm [6].

Depth PH EC Soluble anions (mmolec/L) Soluble cations (mmolc/L)

Site
(cm) (1:2.5) (ds/m) Co= HCO- Cl- SO= Ca++ Mg++ Na+ K+
0-25 7.36 4.40 - 4.20 6.00 32.84 30.90 4.81 6.80 0.53
1 25-50 7.45 4.07 - 2.20 5.00 33.67 26.78 7.91 5.60 0.58
50-75 7.70 4.22 - 3.20 8.00 31.07 30.90 7.87 2.75 0.75
0-25 7.45 3.62 - 2.00 7.00 29.24 22.62 3.87 9.25 0.50
2 25-50 7.46 5.84 - 3.80 10.00 44.61 42.79 5.89 8.75 0.98
50-75 7.41 2.04 - 4.00 5.00 11.41 10.30 6.02 3.70 0.39
0-25 7.42 5.20 - 2.60 15.00 35.99 30.99 6.82 14.08 0.98
3 25-50 7.40 5.97 - 2.80 25.00 32.00 31.02 7.53 20.50 0.75
50-75 7.48 3.70 - 2.00 6.00 28.84 22.66 7.95 5.90 0.33
0-25 7.55 5.64 - 4.00 13.50 39.72 39.9 3.81 12.61 0.90
4 25-50 7.50 4.96 - 3.20 10.00 35.89 28.84 9.93 10.00 0.32
50-75 7.54 4.60 - 2.40 7.00 36.41 26.90 9.91 8.50 0.50
0-25 7.49 8.33 - 2.00 48.0 32.67 24.72 19.15 38.30 0.50
5 25-50 7.56 7.05 - 3.00 40.0 27.6 21.75 13.16 35.00 0.65
50-75 7.55 3.31 - 3.60 6.00 23.57.0 20.72 5.89 6.20 0.36
0-25 7.52 4.80 - 3.00 8.00 37.31 25.90 15.01 7.00 0.40
6 25-50 7.65 3.60 - 2.40 3.00 30.36 27.90 4.81 2.60 0.45
50-75 7.63 3.81 - 2.20 4.00 31.99 28.89 5.85 3.00 0.45
0-25 7.91 6.90 - 8.80 530.0 155.7 251.3 23.15 410.0 10.00
7 25-50 7.10 15.90 - 3.00 87.00 69.73 52.68 35.25 70.00 1.80
50-75 7.35 6.95 - 2.80 26.00 39.97 43.26 7.76 17.00 0.75
0-25 7.30 5.95 - 9.00 15.00 35.21 25.75 20.16 12.00 1.30
8 25-50 7.07 4.17 - 4.00 10.00 27.75 13.39 18.24 9.50 0.62
50-75 7.80 2.23 - 3.80 6.00 12.52 9.27 5.01 7.50 0.54

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Table 23 (a). Total and available contents of Mn, Zn and Pb in El-Saff soil irrigated with sewage effluent [6].

Depth Mn Zn Pb
Site
(cm) T* A A.I.% T A A.I.% T A A.I.%
0-25 4.95 4.20 85.15 7.20 20.20 28.60 4.15 18.68 450.18
1 25-50 3.18 5.75 31.61 6.14 13.21 215.17 3.18 10.04 315.62
50-75 2.60 0.72 27.91 5.40 6.05 112.11 2.50 11.81 228.30
0-25 7.18 7.97 111.50 4.22 5.41 128.13 5.13 11.81 230.17
2 25-50 4.20 1.81 43.90 3.18 3.12 98.18 3.28 5.91 180.18
50-75 1.15 0.26 22.81 1.60 1.38 86.13 3.15 3.10 98.41
0-25 5.75 4.54 78.92 6.24 1.43 215.18 4.25 13.9 315.15
3 25-50 4.12 1.39 33.83 4.88 5.77 118.17 2.82 5.31 188.60
50-75 2.01 0.56 27.73 2.15 1.86 86.28 2.15 2.42 112.62
0-25 5.10 4.52 88.73 7.28 16.76 23.17 3.88 10.93 281.70
4 25-50 2.30 0.63 27.55 4.35 5.23 120.15 3.20 4.98 155.50
50-75 1.80 0.46 25.83 1.13 0.85 75.13 2.10 1.81 86.15
0-25 3.50 1.19 34.16 3.18 5.95 187.23 4.22 9.08 215.20
5 25-50 2.10 0.68 32.27 1.60 2.11 132.30 3.55 6.15 173.15
50-75 1.95 0.61 31.81 0.95 0.93 98.17 2.18 2.22 102.10
0-25 4.31 2.26 68.22 3.18 4.88 153.55 3.48 9.94 285.71
6 25-50 0.38 0.16 17.95 1.26 1.55 123.13 0.12 3.69 118.23
50-75 0.86 0.15 17.13 0.88 0.51 58.22 2.80 2.75 98.33
0-25 3.12 2.42 77.52 2.35 4.11 175.13 5.15 13.95 270.80
7 25-50 1.20 0.23 19.17 1.50 1.58 105.25 4.12 6.46 156.72
50-75 0.48 0.08 17.58 0.75 0.43 58.1 2.23 1.98 88.90
0-25 2.15 1.42 66.17 3.20 5.46 170.50 3.36 6.56 195.18
8 25-50 1.13 0.37 33.13 1.80 1.77 98.15 2.48 2.78 112.22
50-75 0.58 0.10 17.35 0.56 0.37 66.40 2.10 1.82 86.81

Table 23 (b). Total and available contents of Co and Cd in El-Saff soils irrigated with sewage effluent [6].
Depth Co Cd
Site
cm T* A A.I.% T A A.I.%
0-25 5.11 0.19 3.75 1.50 0.34 22.60
1 25-50 3.20 0.07 2.15 0.89 0.16 18.20
50-75 2.10 0.02 1.18 0.77 0.12 15.50
0-25 6.15 0.26 4.20 2.15 0.82 38.50
2 25-50 3.12 0.10 3.10 1.80 0.52 28.80
50-75 2.10 0.02 1.15 1.60 0.51 32.10
0-25 5.13 0.22 4.25 1.19 0.33 28.00
3 25-50 4.11 0.09 2.28 0.79 0.17 22.00
50-75 2.25 0.03 1.35 0.45 0.08 18.70
0-25 3.15 0.11 3.39 0.78 0.15 18.82
4 25-50 3.70 0.05 1.28 0.55 0.07 12.13
50-75 2.15 0.02 1.15 0.43 0.05 12.65
0-25 3.90 0.09 2.28 0.90 0.11 12.33
5 25-50 2.50 0.05 2.20 0.80 0.13 16.23
50-75 1.30 0.02 1.90 0.67 0.07 11.25
0-25 4.16 0.16 3.90 1.90 0.54 28.23
6 25-50 3.13 0.08 2.58 0.98 0.17 17.15
50-75 1.85 0.02 1.19 0.33 0.04 12.32
0-25 3.18 0.07 2.33 0.88 0.13 14.81
7 25-50 2.10 0.04 1.80 0.76 0.09 12.22
50-75 1.10 0.01 0.98 0.25 0.02 8.35
0-25 1.15 0.05 4.15 2.51 0.66 28.22
8 25-50 0.90 0.02 2.12 1.13 0.15 13.27
50-75 1.10 0.01 1.15 0.59 0.07 12.18
*T: Total (mg/kg); A: Available (mg/kg); A.I. %= Availability Index= (Available/Total) x100

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 Forests and planted trees represent one of the natural renewable resources that maintain
environmental balance and play an important role in its natural environment. From this regard
the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs is implementing a number of activities to limit
the adverse impacts of pollution on environment. The protocol signed between the Ministry of
Agriculture and Land Reclamation (Central Department for aforestation and Environment),
Egyptian Environmental Affairs Authority (EEAA), and Ministry of Housing, Utilities and
Urban Communities (National Authority for Potable Water and Sanitation); involved a
National Program for the Safe Use of Treated Wastewater for Aforestation is being
implemented. It aims at planting 400,000 acres of tree forests to make use of 2.4 billion m 3 of
sewage effluent.
 By the end of 2007, afforested areas reached 11,176 acres in 34 forests in 17 governorates
as presented in Table (23 a, b), in addition to the forests that are being planted (2007-2008)
over 16,984 acres in 27 forests in 8 governorates as given in Table (24). Use to the relative
advantage of planting Jatropha to produce biofuel in desert lands using treated sewage
effluent, planting Jatropha forests is expanded to Luxor (120 acres), Sohag (150 acres), and
Suez (400 acres).
Effectuating the Egyptian Code for using treated wastewater, issued in 2005, and
experimenting plant types mentioned therein, MSEA continued its experiments in the pilot
field managed through the Integrated Water Resources Management Project (Life) over 10
acres. Biooil-producing Jatropha and Jojoba plants were followed up and experimented, in
addition to other plants such as Linen, Roses, Bird of Paradise, Duranta, Sorghum fodder,
Mulberry, African mahogany, Dalbergia Sisso and olives.
Green and tree growth, and environmental and economic impacts of these crops are
assessed. Initial results indicate the success of planting such crops and irrigating them with
treated wastewater.

Sewage Farming Legislations in Egypt

It is worthy to mention that in Egypt, there are two main legislations in command of
the reservation of water and environment in Egypt.
The first is the Law No. 48 for the year 1982 on the protection of the river Nile and its
watercourses from pollution. The second major legislation is the Law No. 4 for the year 1994
on Environmental Protection. The most important legislations related to sewage farming in
Egypt are (in chronological order):
 Ministerial Decree No 649 (1962) on the executive regulations of law No. 93 (1962) of
Liquid wastes. Revision Decree No. 16 of this law recommended by the high water
committee of experts in 1995 includes guidelines for the reuse of wastewater in
irrigation.
 Presidential Decree No 93 (1962) concerning drainage of liquid wastes and the
discharges of public sewers.

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Table 24. Status of implementation of forests using treated wastewater till 2007*.

Governorate Plant Discharges1 Planted Plant Varieties

Forest no. Irrigation System
areas (fed.)
Aswan 100 4 730 Drip Khaya - Terminalia
Khaya, Jatropha,
Luxor Drip + modified Eucalyptus, Mulberry,
55 2 900
flood irrigation Acacia
Modified flood Eucalyptus, Khaya
Qena 274 3 900
irrigation
Sohag Drip + modified Khaya, Jatropha
416 6 2491
flood irrigation
Assuit 223 3 495 Drip Khaya
Minia 110 2 200 Drip Eucalyptus, Casuarina
Giza 65 1 500 Drip Khaya, Cupressus
Concarpus, Cupressus,
Daqahlia 2 1 200 Drip
Eucalyptus
Agara, Cupressus,
Menofia Pinus, Acacia,
18 1 600 Drip Eucalyptus, Mulberry,
Ornamental trees
Matrouh 50 1 200 Drip Eucalyptus, Casuarina
Alexandria 20 1 60 Drip Eucalyptus, Casuarina
Concarpus Agara,
Cupressus, Pinus,
Ismailia Khaya, Eucalyptus,
90 1 500 Drip
Casuarine, Mulberry,
Bamboo

Suez 30 1 400 Drip Jatropha

North Sinai 15 1 300 Drip Cupressus
Eucalyptus, Casuarina,
South Sinai 10 2 700 Drip
Ornamental trees
Red Sea Casuarina, Jatropfa,
94 1 200 Drip
Khaya
Terminalia,
Drip +
New Valley Tamarix, Neem,
41 3 1800 modified
Khaya,
flood irrigation
Eucalyptus,Acacia
Total 34 11176
1
(1000 m3/day)
*Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation—Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs— Ministry of
Housing, Utilities and Urban Development.

 Law No. 48 (1982) re-protection of the river Nile and waterways against pollution. The
law and its executive regulation set standards for effluent discharge to the Nile and its
watercourses. The executive regulations of the law prohibit the use of sewage effluent for

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irrigating crops unless treated to the required standards of agricultural drainage water. Crops
chosen for cultivation using sewage effluent are those that could not be contaminated, such as
trees grown for wood products. Some communities in Egypt already use sewage effluent or
drainage water after primary treatment to irrigate woodlots.
 Presidential Decree No. 631 (1982) regarding the establishment of an environmental
affairs Authority at the Premiership of the Cabinet
 Law No. 276 (1994) concerning reuse of wastewater in irrigation is the most specific law
governing wastewater reuse
 Law no. 12 (1984) dealing with irrigation and drainage.
 Decree of the Minister of Public Housing, Utilities and New Communities No. 214
(1997) concerning processing and safe use of sewage sludge.
 Minister of Housing, Utilities and new Communities no 44 (2000) dealing with executive
regulations of the Law 93 (1962) dealing with liquid waste disposal
 Minister of Housing, Utilities and new Communities no 288 (2000) dealing with the
Egyptian Code sewage effluent reuse in Egypt.

Table 25. Forests under implementation using treated wastewater (2007-2008)*.

Governorate Plant discharges Forest no. Areas under implementation
(1000 m3 /day) (acre)
Luxor 55 1 200
Qena 274 10 5070
Sohag 416 6 3218
Assuit 223 4 4936
Red Sea 94 1 800
Matrouh 50 1 800
Beni Suef 41 2 560
Minia 110 2 1400
Total 27 16984
*Source: Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban development

 Law No 4 (1994) promulgating a law concerning environment, modified by the Law No.
9 (2009) on the environment.
 Prime Minister’s Decree No. 338 (1995) promulgating the executive statues of law on
environment and relevant in the context of wastewater reuse. Under this law, installations
or establishment that is subject to the provisions for environmental impact assessment
(EIA) are determined. Proposed water supply and wastewater are under these controls.

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