Wastewater management along the Mediterranean Coast: A treatment application decision case study central Platte Valley

El-Fadel, M. and Sadek, S. (2000) Wastewater management along the Mediterranean Coast: A treatment application decision case study central Platte Valley. Journal of Natural Resources & Life Sciences Education, 29, 116-124.

Abstract

The Council for Development and Reconstruction, which needed to make decisions regarding the development of a wastewater management plan for the City of Beirut, was in the process of selecting a final site location and a treatment alternative for a facility along the Mediterranean coast. Environmental, technical, and socio-economic considerations constituted the basic issues to be addressed in the decision-making process. In this respect, proponents of the new wastewater treatment plant stated that it would provide many environmental and economic benefits to the area, particularly in terms of job creation and elimination of health hazards. Opponents of the plant, however, stressed that there was no need for the plant and argued that the wastewater should continue to be directly discharged into the Mediterranean Sea. They claimed that the dilution and treatment potential of seawater is adequate as a wastewater management approach and questioned the economic priority of constructing new treatment facilities in the country because of more urgent needs in other sectors, particularly since treatment facilities were being financed through international loans. Despite some public opposition, environmental concerns and international pressure led the Council to adopt a management plan that required wastewater treatment prior to final discharge. The council however, needed to decide on criteria for locating treatment facilities, determine the level of treatment, and select the final discharge media.

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