MUSCAT, Dec 18 - More than half of the treated water in the Sultanate is pumped out into the sea despite the fact that ground water is still pumped for irrigation purposes.
This is mainly due to the unwillingness of farmers to use treated water in their farms, say experts.
According to Hussain bin Hassan AbdulHussain, CEO of Haya Water, treated water in Oman has good quality and can be used for different purposes, including farming.
“People have a lot of reservations regarding treated wastewater. In Oman, we are using state-of-the-art technology to treat wastewater.
Still many farmers are reluctant to use this water,” he told the Observer during a recent media gathering.
The volume of treated wastewater in Oman is expected to increase further due to increased connection of households to the sewage network.
The amount of water flowing to sewage treatment plants in 2017 will be more than 56 million cubic metres, with an increase of up to 86 per cent compared with 2012.
It is also expected that the number of beneficiaries of the wastewater service will reach 771,000 residents by the end of 2017, more than half of the population of Muscat Governorate.
“The number of wastewater treatment plants is increasing in the Sultanate in accordance with the growth in population.
Currently, treated water is used in some farms and also for irrigating urban landscapes.
But over 50 per cent is still discharged into the sea,” AbdulHussain said.
According to a research report in the Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences published by Sultan Qaboos University, 80 per cent of farmers use groundwater despite their high salinity.
Some of the highly productive farms have become unproductive over time. Given the increased salinity, treated water is being viewed as an alternative to groundwater for farm irrigation.
SAMUEL KUTTY
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