Potential Use of Constructed Wetland Systems for Rural Sanitation and Wastewater Reuse in Agriculture in the Moroccan Context

Abstract

Located in a semi-arid to arid region, Morocco is confronting increasing water scarcity challenges. In the circular economy paradigm, the reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture is currently considered a possible solution to mitigate water shortage and pollution problems. In recent years, Morocco has made significative progress in urban wastewater treatment under the National Wastewater Program (PNA). However, rural sanitation has undergone significant delays. Therefore, an alternative technology for wastewater treatment and reuse in rural areas is investigated in this review, considering the region’s economic, social, and regulatory characteristics. Constructed wetlands (CWs) are a simple, sustainable, and cost-effective technology that has yet to be fully explored in Morocco. CWs, indeed, appear to be suitable for the treatment and reuse of wastewater in remote rural areas if they can produce effluent that meets the standards of agricultural irrigation. In this review, 29 studies covering 16 countries and different types of wastewater were collected and studied to assess the treatment efficiency of different types of CWs under different design and operational parameters, as well as their potential application in agricultural reuse. The results demonstrated that the removal efficiency of conventional contamination such as organic matter and suspended solids is generally high. CWs also demonstrated a remarkable capacity to remove heavy metals and emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, care products, etc. The removal of microbial contamination, on the other hand, is challenging, and does not satisfy the standards all the time. However, it can be improved using hybrid constructed wetlands or by adding polishing treatment. In addition, several studies reported that CWs managed to produce effluent that met the requirements of wastewater reuse in agriculture of different countries or organisations including Morocco.

Long-Term Performance of a Hybrid-Flow Constructed Wetlands System for Urban Wastewater Treatment in Caldera de Tirajana (Santa Lucía, Gran Canaria, Spain)

“…The results are also comparable and similar to the data that were provided by studies such as [ 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ], with values ranging for COD from 80.83 to 113.82 mg/L, for BOD 5 from 21.27 to 57.32 mg/L, for TSS from 25.89 to 64.63 mg/L, for NT from 17.17 to 45.72 mg/L, and for NH 4 from 30.11 to 34.23 mg/L, respectively.…”

Enhanced leachate phytodetoxification test combined with plants and rhizobacteria bioaugmentation

“…On the one hand, [ 40 ]; stated that besides plants, plant media turn out to be the next major role in COD removal. On the other hand, bacterial activity may also be the cause of COD reduction in constructed wetlands [ 48 , 102 , 159 ]. The media can provide a suitable surface on which a biofilm can form while adhering bacteria may aid in COD removal [ 93 , 140 ].…”

Constructed Wetlands for Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage: A Review

“…The flow stream in the wetland determines the classification of constructed wetlands. In the CW, there are two trends involving surface and subsurface movement, the two primary lines that characterize subsurface flow are vertical and horizontal flow (Hdidou et al, 2022).…”