Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 1

Water Purification Technology in Lebanon: Enabling Residents of Lebanon to Purify Local

Water Sources, Ensuring Safer and Healthier Water for Their Community

Jamie S. Boon

The Hague Humanitarian Cooperative for Water

The Hague University of Applied Sciences

15003701

Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 2

Abstract

Lebanon is witnessing and enduring a severe humanitarian, socioeconomic and political crisis, with over 1.5 million displaced individuals from Syria who are seeking asylum in Lebanon, where there is a harsh deterioration of water quality, due to contamination which ensures the water is not adequate to be used for consumption, preparation of food, hygiene purposes or horticulture. In the current situation, due to the lack of funding and support, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have decreased the volume of clean drinking water per person to an emergency quantity of 15 litres per person per day, which is far less than the need for an individual, to meet basic hygiene and health requirements. This paper investigates what is the most plausible and efficient way to implement water purification technology into Lebanese communities to provide more accessible and affordable potable water sources, ensuring safe and healthy water for their communities. The approach uses methodology of numerous interviews and observations to gain insight into the operations of United Nations (UN) humanitarian organisations, non- governmental organisations (NGOs) and non-profit organisations working in the water and sanitation hygiene (WaSH) intervention and the problems they are encountering. It further aims to gain insight into the Syrian crisis and what impact water purification technology has on displaced

Syrians residing in informal tented settlements (ITSs). The results demonstrate the struggles being witnessed in Lebanon and the inability of active organisations to provide residents, refugees and displaced persons with adequate quantity of water to meet basic hygiene and health requirements, showing a gap in the Lebanese market for technology which can remove biological and chemical contamination from water to create potable water, like the technologies available to The Hague

Humanitarian Cooperative for Water (HHCW).

Keywords: Water, Displaced Persons, Technology, Lebanon, Syrian Crisis Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 3

Background

Lebanon is situated in the Middle East and is recognised as the smallest country on mainland Asia. In 2013 Lebanon had a population of 4.43 million, which increased in 2018 to an estimated 6.23 million. This is a population increase of nearly a third, over 1.5 million, during the past five years. Lebanon currently hosts an estimated 1.8 million refugees and displaced persons, primarily from Syria and Palestine (Central Intelligence Agency, 2018), the highest per capita proportion of refugees in the world.

The largest ethnic group in Lebanon is Arabic, which accounts for 95 percent of the population. There are 18 recognised religious groupings in Lebanon, four Muslim sects, 12

Christian sects, the Druze sect and Judaism. The largest branches of the Islam faith are Sunni and

Shia, which represent 27 percent of Lebanon’s population each. Therefore, 54 percent of the population is Muslim and 40.5 percent Christian (United States Department of State, 2011).

Refugees are displaced people who are fleeing conflict or persecution and are therefore not within their own country. These people are unable to return due to conflict, oppression, threat to life, deprivation, poverty, civil war, natural disasters or a founded fear of prosecution on grounds of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a social group. Refugees are protected and defended in international law, and therefore must not be exiled or returned to situations where their freedom and life are at risk (UNHCR, 2011).

An asylum seeker is an individual who has requested international protection and sought refugee status which has not yet been processed or determined. This responsibility has been derived from The Refugee Convention, 1951 in relation to the status of refugees which is an internationally recognised obligation for territories or counties to protect individuals and determine whether they are an asylum seeker or refugee (UNHCR, 2014). Furthermore, an individual who is Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 4

not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law is referred to as a stateless person. These individuals endure having no nationality of any country and can be born stateless or become stateless (United Nations, 1954).

Since 1917 Palestine has witnessed ongoing conflict. In 1947 the United Nations proposed a partition plan for Palestine for the creation of independent Arab and Jewish States, which resulted in the declaration of independence of Israel in 1948 and the Arab-Israeli War which Israel won in

1949. During this conflict hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled their homes and became refugees in surrounding Arab countries, whilst Jews were expelled or fled their homes in Arab countries. The Six-Day War broke out in 1967 where Israel claimed control of the West Bank,

Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights. In 1973 the Yom Kippur War between a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria against Israel took place for 19 days which Israel narrowly won. During the 1990’s peace talks were held which led to the Oslo Accords. These however, were not implemented due to the assassination of the Israeli Prime Minister by a radical Israeli youth group. In 2000, the Palestinian uprising broke out due to the failed Oslo Accords. In response,

Israel built a wall surrounding the West Bank to prevent another uprising and attacks from

Palestinian territory. The increased support of Hamas, the radical Islamist political grouping present in Palestine caused further conflict which has been ongoing since 2005 (Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, 2015).

In January 2011 the Arab Spring reached Damascus in Syria. This revolutionary wave instantly questioned the leadership of President Bashar Al-Assad, due to the discontent with the

Assad government. The call for his removal was violently suppressed and therefore led to an armed conflict being fought by the Syrian government and their international allies against a complex web of rebel groups, of mainly Sunni lineage (Cantin Paquet, 2017). As a direct consequence of Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 5

the conflict, millions of Syrians became forcibly displaced, internally or forced to flee Syria to neighbouring countries for safety.

The Government of Lebanon (GoL) believes it is subject to a situation of mass influx.

Therefore, individuals who fled from Syria to Lebanon after March 2011 are now referred to as displaced persons. Under Lebanese laws and regulations, GoL reserved its sovereign right to determine the status of Syrian refugees and deprived them of registration with United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (Government of Lebanon and United Nations, 2018).

According to UNHCR, worldwide there are 68.5 million forcibly displaced people due to human rights violations, conflict and violence. Currently, in 2018, there is an estimated 25.4 million refugees worldwide, 19.9 million under UNHCR mandate and 5.4 million Palestinian refugees are registered by United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). There are an additional 3.1 million asylum seekers and estimated 10 million stateless persons (UNHCR, 2017).

Currently, Lebanon is host to over 1.8 million refugees and displaced persons. This comprises of 1.5 million Syrians who fled the conflict in Syria, of which only 997,905 are registered with UNHCR, 34,000 Palestinian Refugees from Syria (PRS), 35,000 Lebanese returnees from Syria and nearly 300,000 Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon (PRL) who are registered with UNRWA (Government of Lebanon and United Nations, 2018) and over 500,000 displaced Syrians.

Groundwater is water that is found underground stored in aquifers that are recharged by rain and melting snow that seeps beneath the land’s surface. Water on the surface of the planet like streams, rivers, lakes and oceans are referred to as surface water. Lebanon is home to 16 perennial rivers and 23 seasonal rivers, a total of 39 rivers, which have a total river flow of about 3,900 million cubic meters (mcm), where 700 mcm is estimated to flow into neighbouring countries. Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 6

Lebanon has two dams; Qaroun dam on the Litani River and Chabrouh dam which captures runoff from Laban Spring. Quaroun dam has a storage capacity of 220 mcm, where 30 mcm is being utilised for water supply and irrigation with the rest being used for electricity generation (MOE,

UNDP, ECODIT, 2011), estimated between seven and ten percent of Lebanon’s total annual power needs (AQUASTAT, 2008). Much of the Lebanese surface water comes from the capture of spring resources, where Lebanon has more than 2,000 springs. Of their 1,200 mcm yearly yield, the total annual exploited volume is 637 mcm. Additionally, Lebanon has several lakes which are not currently being exploited as it would present major technical challenges (MOEW , 2010).

80 percent of Lebanon’s potable water is extracted from groundwater sources, while over

50 percent of their irrigation water comes from underground wells and boreholes. Over recent years the number of private wells has significantly increased due to economic development, urban expansion and population growth. The exploitation of aquifers and data provided by the Lebanese

Ministry of Energy and Water (MOEW) clearly represents evidence of well exhaustion or the increase of well salinity. According to MOEW, there are 22,500 unlicensed private wells and

20,324 licensed, where there is an ongoing concern of the regulation of the illegal wells. Public wells produce 42 percent of total water extraction, where private wells produce 57 percent; 29 percent from licensed wells and 28 percent from unlicensed wells (MOEW , 2010).

Water pollution is defined as the contamination of water bodies. There are four generic categories of water contamination; physical, chemical, biological and radiological. Physical contamination principally impacts the physical appearance or any other physical properties of a water body, for example; sediment or organic material in water. Chemical contaminants are elements or compounds present in water, they can be manmade or naturally occurring. Typical elements and compounds found in chemical contamination are salt, pesticide, metals and toxins. Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 7

When organisms are present in water, it is referred to as biological contamination which is can also be referred to as microbes or microbiological contamination where bacteria, viruses and parasites are the leading organisms found in water. Lastly, radiological contamination indicates chemical elements with an unbalanced number of protons and neutrons resulting in unstable atoms, causing the emission of ionizing radiation (EPA, 2015).

The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that 50 to 100 litres of safe drinking water

(potable water) per person per day is needed to ensure the most basic needs are met and limited health concerns arise. The minimum access to water per person per day is 20 to 25 litres, however this severely increases health concerns because it is insufficient to meet basic human hygiene and consumption requirements. These results however, are indicative, as they depend on a particular context and can differ depending on many factors like an individual or group health, status, work and climate conditions. Furthermore, a water source needs to be at no more than a distance of one kilometre from the home and should not exceed 30 minutes to collect (G.Howard & J.Bartram,

2003). United Nations Human Rights (UNHR) states that water services must be affordable to all individuals, and they should not be denied access to safe drinking water if they are unable to afford it. As a result, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) suggests that the price of water should not exceed three percent of a household’s income (UNHR, 2010).

When water becomes contaminated there is a variety of ways to remove unwanted pollutants, where the purpose is to produce water suitable for a specific use. Removing biological and chemical contamination is challenging and requires purification technology to produce potable water.

The Hague Humanitarian Cooperative for Water (HHCW) and Water Future have collectively created a technology combining activated carbon absorption, ultrafiltration, capacitive Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 8

electrodialysis (CED) and ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) to remove microbiological and chemical contamination from water to create safe drinking water. The technology has an 80 to 90 percent water recovery rate, meaning it is capable of creating 80 to 90 percent of potable water, meaning 20 to 10 percent of waste water respectively.

Capacitive electrodialysis (CED) is a tested technology which purifies chemically contaminated water into potable water. CED uses selectively permeable membranes to separate the required ions from water. The membrane stack consists of Cation (positively charged ion)

Exchange Membranes (CEM) and Anion (negatively charged ion) exchange membranes (AEM), where CEM allows only cations to pass through and AEM, anions. CED can remove chemical contamination from water by an electric current transferring ions through the paired CEM and

AEM, allowing ions to pass through electrodes whilst avoiding reduction oxidation reaction whereas the input water acts as an electrolyte. CED however, is unable to remove biological contamination like bacteria, viruses and pesticides from water. Therefore, additional pre- and post- treatment water purification is needed to produce safe potable water.

Pre-treatment needs to be performed before CED is undertaken in order to remove particles which can lead to blockage or damage of the membranes, potentially causing a decrease in membrane productivity and increase of operational cost. Thus, activated carbon absorption and ultrafiltration are used to remove particles larger than one micrometre from the water. The activated carbon absorption filter removes natural organic matter and synthetic organic contaminants from water, specifically pesticide removal. Ultrafiltration membranes remove particles over 0.1 micrometre and are capable of removing humic substance and 90 to 100 percent of pathogens. Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 9

Once pre-treatment and CED has been conducted, the final stage of purifying the water is post-treatment. During post-treatment ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) is performed, which uses Ultraviolet (UV) light to kill, and subsequently remove, bacteria such as microorganisms, viruses and any other remaining pathogens from water.

Another technology available to HHCW is a water purification technology based on reverse osmosis (RO) technology called OPV. In 2005 OPV technology concept won an award for leading design and innovation at INDEX in Copenhagen, Denmark. The technology uses the same membrane module used in RO which meets the 58 standards of US Food and Drug Administration

(FDA) and National Standard Foundation (NSF)/American National Standards Institute (ANSI) at the point where the water is being used. The OPV technology has the possibility to be portable and stand-alone with patented technology enabling the filtration to be manually driven, which needs

90 newtons (nine kilograms) of pressure to do so.

Depending on a variety of factors including flow rate, pressure and stabilised salt rejection percentage, the technology has a potable water recovery rate of 10 to 15 percent. OPV technology can remove all bacterial and chemical contamination from three to four litres of polluted water per minute, meaning it can create about 500 centilitres of potable water per minute. If the technology is applied to a small scale, portable device, it can only remove contamination from 500 centilitres per minute, resulting in 50 to 75 centilitres of potable water per minute.

Problem Statement

Lebanon is witnessing and enduring a severe humanitarian, socioeconomic and political crisis, with over 1.5 million displaced individuals from Syria and over 311,000 Palestinian refugees who are seeking asylum in Lebanon where there is a harsh deterioration of water and food Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 10

security. The legal minimum requirement of clean drinking water for basic survival set by World

Health Organisation (WHO) is 50 to 100 litres per person per day. In the current situation, due to the lack of funding and support, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have decreased their volume of clean drinking water per person to an emergency amount of 15 litres per person per day. This is only 15 to 30 percent of the minimum required for an individual to meet basic hygiene and health requirements.

Water resources in Lebanon have a persistent amount of contamination which ensures the water is not adequate to be used for consumption, preparation of food, hygiene purposes or horticulture. This problem shows the immediate need of creating affordable and accessible clean drinking water for Lebanese communities.

Research Question

What is the most plausible and efficient way to implement water purification technology into Lebanese communities to provide more accessible and affordable potable water sources, ensuring safe and healthy water for their communities?

Literature Review

The Stress on the Lebanese Economy and Services Causing Poverty to Heighten Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict over seven years ago, Lebanon has been at the forefront of one of the largest humanitarian crises. The large influx of displaced people from Syria has enhanced the constraint on basic resources and public services in Lebanon. They are largely overstretched and have a demand which exceeds the capabilities of institutions and infrastructures, where they cannot meet needs and demands. The Lebanese service sectors are heavily overburdened, with the public health sector accumulating a large amount of debt, partly due to displaced Syrians being unable to cover their medical bills (Government of Lebanon, 2017). Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 11

The Lebanese social and economic growth has additionally been significantly hindered due to the conflict in Syria causing increased poverty and humanitarian needs, whilst magnifying the already existing constraints and problems within the country (Government of Lebanon and United

Nations, 2018). In 2015 the Syrian crisis had an accumulated cost of an estimated US$18.5 billion to the Lebanese economy (World Bank, 2017). This calculation incorporates the cumulative cost in terms of lowering the GDP growth rate from the economic slowdown, loss in fiscal revenues and additional pressure public services encountered (Government of Lebanon and United Nations,

2018).

As a direct consequence, unemployment and high levels of informal labour have further increased what was already a serious problem in Lebanon (Government of Lebanon and United

Nations, 2018). During 2017, the enduring inequalities at local level have deepened with tensions rising, primarily due to competition for jobs and access to resources and services (Government of

Lebanon, 2017).

Further Insight into the Status and Conditions of Palestinian and Syrian Nationals in

Lebanon

In addition to the estimated 1.5 million displaced Syrians and combined 300,000

Palestinian Refugees from Syria and in Lebanon, there is an additional 1.5 million vulnerable

Lebanese and estimated 35,000 Lebanese returnees from Syria (International Organisation for

Migration, 2015). Currently, 1.5 million Lebanese, more than 76 percent of displaced Syrians, 65 percent of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon (PRL) and 89 percent of Palestinian Refugees from

Syria (PRS) live below the poverty line (US$3.84 per day) (World Bank, 2013). Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 12

Due to the high numbers of people living in poverty, the debt rate is as increasingly high among the vulnerable population in Lebanon. In 2018, 87 percent of displaced Syrian households had debt, an increase of 26 percent since 2014. This debt is primarily accumulated from regularly borrowing money to purchase food and water, pay for rent and access to healthcare. These needs account for 75 percent of their total expenditures per month. The average cumulative debt of a displaced Syrian household is US$798 (WFP, UNHCR, UNICEF, 2017). In addition to the accumulation of debt, displaced Syrians, PRL and PRS rely heavily on United Nation (UN) humanitarian organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGO) and non-profit organisations for aid, where 98 percent of the PRS population relies heavily on the assistance provided by

UNRWA as their main source of income (Government of Lebanon and United Nations, 2018).

Displaced Syrians, PRL and PRS are presented with the ongoing challenge of an inability to have legal residency in Lebanon. This continues to undermine their living conditions as they are deprived of their basic civil and political rights and as a direct consequence they experience socioeconomic exclusion (UNRWA, 2016). Obtaining civil documentation in Lebanon is difficult and costly for displaced Syrians, PRL and PRS which further intensifies their vulnerability. In

2017 the General Security Office of Lebanon waivered the US$200 legal residency fee per person per year, aged 15 years and over for displaced Syrians registered with UNHCR. This however leaves over 800,000 displaced persons and refugees who are unable to obtain legal residency due to the high costs which consequently causes further obstacles in their mobility, access to basic, essential services and puts them at risk of detention and exploitation (Government of Lebanon and

United Nations, 2018).

Lebanon contains 12 recognised Palestinian camps located primarily along the coast of

Lebanon, besides one; Wavel Camp which is in the Beqaa Valley (UNRWA, 2018). The Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 13

recognised camps were created through an agreement between UNRWA and Lebanon after the

Arab-Israeli War to accommodate Palestinian refugees who were expelled during the Nakba (1948

Palestine exodus). (UNRWA, 2018) state that currently around 53 percent of PRL and the majority of PRS (Government of Lebanon and United Nations, 2018) live in the 12 allocated, recognised camps, all of which encounter serious problems, including poverty, lack of infrastructure, unemployment, overcrowding and poor housing conditions. Three other recognised camps were destroyed during the Lebanese Civil War and a fourth evacuated in 2007 due to the creation of

Fatah al-Islam (a radical Sunni Islamist group) who engaged in open combat with the Lebanese

Army.

The Government of Lebanon’s (GoL) no-camp policy has led to the formation of informal tented settlements (ITSs), where currently 17 percent of the overall displaced persons population in Lebanon reside, primarily in the regions bordering Syria. The remaining 73 percent reside mostly in urban and suburban areas in and around the main cities of Tyre, Saida, Tripoli (UN-

Habitat, 2016) and Greater Beirut in residential buildings, with nine percent residing in non- residential buildings (garages, warehouses, farms etc.) (Government of Lebanon and United

Nations, 2018).

Nearly the entire population of PRS and 67 percent of displaced Syrian households are economically vulnerable. Due to this and increased debt accumulation, 53 percent of the displaced population have been forced to reside in inadequate shelter (overcrowding, structures in dangerous condition or quality of shelter below the standard) (Government of Lebanon and United Nations,

2018). In 2017, 33 percent of displaced Syrians were residing in overcrowded shelter with less than 4.5 square meters per person (WFP, UNHCR, UNICEF, 2017). Therefore, the increasingly vulnerable displaced population has problems in covering rent costs due to a limit in low-cost Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 14

housing which cannot meet demand in quality or quantity (UN-Habitat, 2015). Displaced Syrians who regularly cannot afford their rent experience an accumulation of debt with their landlord which creates risk of eviction, where 45 percent are expected to change accommodation due to eviction. (Government of Lebanon and United Nations, 2018).

Lebanon’s Struggling Water Resources and the Stress Occurring on their Water and Wastewater Systems Lebanon’s available water, including rivers, springs, storage dams and groundwater, is estimated at 2,000 to 2,700 million cubic meters (mcm) per year which exceeds projected water demand of 1,800 mcm per year in 2035. However widespread pollution and poor water infrastructure restrict the ability of the GoL’s ability to meet water demands.

Although Lebanon is described as the ‘water tower’ of the Middle East, its water resources remain fragile and vulnerable to pollution. The leading causes which worsened the water crisis are the rapid urban population growth in confined areas, age structure, economic growth, climate change, high percentage of potable water being wasted or lost through poor infrastructure and anthropogenic pollution (UNRWA, 2016) (MOE/UNDP/ECODIT, 2011).

Significant investment is made for potable water resources in Lebanon, however insufficient work is being done to preserve it as human activities exert strong pressure on both water abstraction and water pollution of water resources. Furthermore, activities like deforestation, dams, irrigation and drainage canals effect the water cycle, and shift conditions of water replenishment. Soil erosion and the loss of plant cover further causes groundwater recharge to diminish and leads to scarcer water resources and worsened quality of water (UNEP, 2014).

In regard to water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) only 36 percent of the Lebanese population has access to safely managed drinking water services (WHO and UNICEF, 2017), and Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 15

only eight percent of all water consumed was treated before reaching the environment, below the

Middle East and North Africa (MENA) average of 32 percent (MOEW, 2012). A recent study by

(UNICEF, 2016) highlights that only three percent of Lebanon’s sewage receives secondary biological treatment before entering the local environment. With over half of all water supply infrastructure outdated, unsafe solid waste management, urban sprawl, and thousands of ITSs are causing water sources to be severely compromised (UNICEF, 2017b). Due to the large number of displaced populations there has been an increase by 15 percent of solid waste, 14 percent of wastewater and 12 percent in water demand (MOE/EU/UNDP, 2014) where propagation of illegal private boreholes and intermittence of power supply adds to the complication of this situation

(Government of Lebanon and United Nations, 2018).

The GoL developed a national water sector strategy in 2010 which aimed to improve the management of the sector, the environment and bring services to the required level for the

Lebanese population. However, the beginning of the Syrian crisis prompted the focus to switch to addressing the emergency needs of the displaced populations and their host communities. A daily, costly challenge presented to the GoL is supporting the most vulnerable who have no, or limited, access to basic water supply and sanitation, where supporting expensive competition markets instead of the cheaper public services adds further burden to the services (Government of Lebanon and United Nations, 2018).

Of the 272,000 people residing in ITSs, 61 percent still rely on trucked water that is unregulated and normally from illegal sources while the remaining 39 percent rely on unsafe wells or illegal network tapping which has cost humanitarian organisations US$17 million over 12 months. Wastewater is primarily collected in holding tanks and cesspits in ITSs, which require regular desludging and trucking to the inadequate facilities that can process it, most of which will Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 16

not be treated. Therefore, 71 percent of ITSs require regular desludging services costing US$8.6 million over a 12-month period (UNICEF, 2017a).

Currently, 20 percent of displaced Syrians living in ITSs, 23 percent of displaced Syrians in non-residential buildings and 17 percent who live in residential buildings do not have access to the sufficient amount of water. Furthermore, 57 percent of displaced Syrians living in ITSs, 42 percent of displaced Syrians in non-residential buildings and 16 percent in residential buildings do not have improved toilet facilities (Government of Lebanon and United Nations, 2018).

Research Methodology

Interviews

The American University of Beirut (AUB) Ghata School Program

The American University of Beirut is a private and independent university located in Beirut,

Lebanon where degrees are awarded through the New York Board of Regents. In the 2018 QS rankings, AUB was the number one ranked university in the Arab region and number 237 in the world.

In response to the Syrian crisis AUB has partnered with local communities, Lebanese authorities and worldwide organisations to initiate the Ghata School Program. The program has successfully designed and built portable Ghata classrooms approved by Lebanon’s Ministry of

Social Affairs, whilst also training educators and school staff to provide quality education to displaced Syrian children in ITSs. There are currently seven Ghata schools and two vocational training centres in the Beqaa region serving more than 4,500 children. The key challenges which displaced children face in accessing education, which the Ghata schools address, is the delivery of the Lebanese curriculum in the Arabic and English language, with teachers from the community, Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 17

establishing schools within the proximity of the ITSs and ensuring child-friendly spaces (AUB, n.d.).

One interview was conducted with AUB during a mission trip to Lebanon with The Hague

Humanitarian Cooperative for Water. Ali Basma, the Project Manager and Built Environment &

Design Expert of the Centre for Civic Engagement and Community Service (CCES) hosted a visit to ITSs in Beqaa which the Ghata School Program were incorporated, where the non-structured interview was conducted. The interview took place on 28 May 2018 in the morning on an AUB provided minibus travelling to the Beqaa Valley. Documentation was taken in the form of notes and the interview remained conversational. The aim of this interview was to gain further insight into the current situation in Lebanon, more specifically, the conditions in ITSs for displaced

Syrians, information on displaced Syrians themselves, what aid AUB are providing to the Syrian crisis and whom they are collaborating with.

Insight into the Syrian Crisis Through the Eyes of a Displaced Syrian

Most informal tented settlements of displaced Syrians in Lebanon are assigned a settlement manager. The settlement manager is responsible for making decisions on behalf of the settlement they reside in. They are normally the oldest member of the settlement and therefore most respected, as is common in Arabic culture. Furthermore, the settlement manager is the contact for UN humanitarian organisations, NGOs, non-profit organisations, government officials and land owners aiding the settlement.

During a visit on 28 May 2018 to the first ITS for displaced Syrians, and Ghata school within, located in the Beqaa Valley, an interview was conducted with the settlement manager. The settlement has approximately 150 tents with an estimated 600 children and three wells, one of Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 18

which is in the school. The non-structured interview took place within the ITS and was kept conversational, where an employee from AUB was used for translation from English to Arabic and notes were taken for documentation. The aim of this interview was to gain insight into the context of living in an ITS as a displaced Syrian who had experienced the struggles because of the

Syrian crisis, where the focus was on shelter, WaSH, employment and the organisations involved.

Information was to be obtained regarding the costs and standards of shelter and where water used by the residents in the ITS was sourced, which organisation assisted with the provision and the costs involved.

Solidarités International’s Perspective of the WaSH Program in the Akkar Region

Solidarités International are a humanitarian, non-governmental organisation (NGO) who are committed to providing universal access to potable water and sanitation for people who are affected by war, epidemics and natural disasters. Around 30 members of Solidarités International provide humanitarian assistance to over 24,000 displaced Syrians and their host communities in

Lebanon. They are providing housing security to improve the lives of displaced Syrians in over

600 locations, whilst restoring and building water and sanitation infrastructures to ensure access to clean drinking water. Furthermore, Solidarités International are conducting awareness raising campaigns and training programs to minimise the risk of a health crises and to teach new farming techniques, particularly urban agriculture (Solidarités International, n.d.).

On 29 May 2018 a field trip to ITSs and WaSH interventions in the North of Lebanon were facilitated and hosted by Solidarités International, led by Ahmad Sweid. The interview transpired in the Tall Aabbas El-Gharbi 048, an informal tented settlement in Halba, Akkar region in North Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 19

Lebanon, in the afternoon. The semi structured interview was kept conversational to allow Ahmad

Sweid the freedom to openly speak as visual and audio recording was used for documentation.

The purpose of this interview was to attain a more in-depth awareness of ITSs in the Akkar region. The leading focus was of Solidarités International viewpoint of the current situation displaced Syrians are encountering. Explicitly looking at what problems are being faced due to the water contamination in the ITSs and what solutions they are using to deal with them, concentrating on comparatively, how much the solutions are costing, how much potable water they offer and whether this is adequate for the community, and if so to what extent.

The Impact Water Purification Technology has on Tall Aabbas Ech-Charqi 022

Layla is a displaced Syrian because of the Syrian Civil War and lives in an ITS; Tall Abbas

Ech-Charqi 022 in Akkar, Northern Lebanon where she is the settlement manager. On 29 May

2018 and interview was conducted with Layla in the afternoon at the ITS, where the number of tents was unknown, however there are 125 residents of which 60 of them are children. The partially-structured interview took place within the ITS and was kept conversational, where an employee from Solidarités International was used for translation from English to Arabic and visual and audio documentation were taken.

The aim of the interview with Layla was to access information regarding the conditions of living in Tall Abbas Ech-Charqi 022, more specifically focusing on the WaSH intervention being undertaken. The interview intended to gain information of the initial concerns and issues regarding water and what was done to solve these problems. Due to prior knowledge from Solidarités

International, it was known that this ITS was granted the installation of a water purification device called Village Pump and thus, the leading reason for conducting the interview. Furthermore, Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 20

discussions were held with Layla to understand her opinion with the children’s lifestyle onsite and their access to education.

Oxfam’s Operations in Lebanon and Their Pre-existing Problems

Oxfam is an international confederation consisting of 20 organisations who works with partners and local communities in over 90 countries. Since 1993 Oxfam has been present in

Lebanon, providing humanitarian assistance to people affected by emergency situations and maintained partnerships in areas of economic development, service delivery and women’s rights.

Since the Syrian crisis, Oxfam has scaled up its efforts in Lebanon in response to the refugee and displaced persons influx. Oxfam contributes to improve the protection and empowerment of people to provide them with basic rights and to live in dignity whilst promoting transparency, accountable resource management, wealth distribution and WaSH assistance to address the immediate needs of displaced Syrians (Oxfam, n.d.).

An interview with Lama Abdul Samad, the WaSH coordinator for Oxfam in Lebanon, was conducted in the morning of 30 May 2018. The interview was semi structured and kept conversational to enable a natural interview which made it easier to direct the discussions when necessary. It took place in the Oxfam Beirut Headquarters in Lebanon and audio recording was used for documentation.

The objective of this meeting was to gain detailed information into what Oxfam is doing for displaced Syrians in Lebanon. The focus was on where Oxfam is currently operating in

Lebanon, regarding ITSs, and how it is dealing with the current water crisis. Although Oxfam has current solutions to deal with the situation, the interview intended to uncover what problems are Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 21

still existing for them and which are the most paramount. Lastly, the interview aimed at exposing what plans Oxfam has for the future and what its outlook is for displaced Syrians.

UNRWA Donor Relations Unit in the Near East Lebanon Field Office

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is an UN humanitarian organisation, it aids and protects over five million registered Palestinian refugees.

UNRWA focuses on human development and humanitarian services encompassing primary and vocational education, health care, relief and social services, infrastructure and shelter improvement, microfinance and emergency response. Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon (PRL) and Palestinian

Refugees from Syria in Lebanon (PRS) represent an estimated 10 percent of Lebanon’s population.

All PRL and PRS are registered with UNRWA and over 51 percent live in one of the 12 registered refugee camps in Lebanon. UNRWA provides education, healthcare, shelter, WaSH and relief assistance to Palestinian refugees (UNRWA, 2018).

A semi-structured interview was conducted with Mohamed Abdel-Al, Chief of Field

Infrastructure & Camp Improvement Program and Rasha Akel, Partnership Coordinator at

UNRWA. The interview occurred at the engineering department of the Lebanon field office in

Beirut on 30 May 2018 in the morning and was kept conversational with written notes being taken for documentation.

The purpose of the interview was to gain insight into how the Palestinian camps in Lebanon are being managed and what roles are being undertaken by the Palestinian refugees, living in the camps, and UNRWA in further detail. Additionally, information was acquired regarding the quality and quantity of water resources currently being used within the camps and where they are being sourced from. Lastly, the interview aimed at uncovering what effects are being undertaken Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 22

concerning potable water accessibility and if there is a need and potential for water purification technology in the Palestinian camps, and if so, what criteria need to be met.

Observations

Ghata School: United Nations Women for Peace Association School for Girls

The Ghata School: United Nations Women for Peace Association School for Girls is an external school (not located in an ITS) located in Beqaa and is a collaboration, initiated by AUB, between UN Women for Peace Association (UNWFPA), Republic of Lebanon Social Affairs and

Kayany Foundation. The school is designed for displaced Syrian girls who do not have an education. UNWFPA are a humanitarian organisation aimed to help advance academic and charitable organisations to provide opportunities for women and girls and commit themselves to the prevention of violence and the empowerment of females in society (UNWFPA, n.d.). Kayany

Foundation are a Lebanese NGO committed to bringing education and providing safe spaces to the most vulnerable displaced children from Syria (Kayany Foundation, n.d.).

The aim of this visit on 28 May 2018 was to establish a connection with the Ghata School

Program as a potential for pilot testing any water purification design in the future. Additionally, this was an opportunity to assess the conditions of the school, the water sources within, the infrastructure that is used to obtain the water from the source, any treatment, if any, to the water, the usage of the water and to gain information on the quantity and quality of water consumed by the school.

Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 23

Ghata School: L’ecole de L’espoir

The Ghata School: L’ecole de L’espoir is situated in an Informal Tented Settlement in

Beqaa. The school is a collaboration, headed by AUB, between the Republic of Lebanon of Social

Affairs, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) and L’ecole de L’espoir (Teach for Hope) which is designed to bring education to hundreds of displaced Syrian children. (JRS, n.d.) are an international

Catholic organisation whose mission is to accompany, advocate and serve refugees and forcibly displaced persons that undertakes services at national and regional levels with support from Rome.

L’ecole de L’espoir is a non-profit organization who raise funds for secular schools for displaced

Syrian children in Lebanon, Bekaa (L’ecole de L’espoir, n.d.).

The objective of the visit to the Ghata School: L’ecole de L’espoir on 28 May 2018 was to further develop knowledge of the Ghata School Program. Similarly, to the previous Ghata School visit, this was a chance to evaluate the conditions of the school, the water sources used, the infrastructure being used to obtain the water from the source, any treatment to the water, what the water is being used for and to gain information on the quantity and quality of water consumed by the school. An additional aim of this visit to observe how having the school located onsite in an

ITS effected the situation.

Halba 041 and Halba 054 Informal Tented Settlements

The Halba 041 and Halba 054 ITSs were the first two ITSs visited on 29 May 2018 in

Halba, Akkar region in North Lebanon. The purpose of these visits was to witness the conditions and the socioeconomics of the settlements whilst gaining useful information regarding Water,

Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) and explicitly focus on where the water consumed by the residents Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 24

was sourced, what quality and quantity it was, what infrastructure was being used to extract or transport the water and what the displaced Syrians were primarily using it for.

Tall Aabbas El-Gharbi 048 Informal Tented Settlement

The Tall Aabbas El-Gharbi 048 ITS was the first of two ITSs visited in Tall Aabbas, Akkar region in North Lebanon on 29 May 2018. The purpose of this visit was to observe the WaSH intervention and site management conducted by Solidarités International. Primarily though, the objective was to examine Solidarités International’s water quality and quantity data collection and to review the Sky-hydrant Filter, a water purification system, installed in the ITS.

Tall Aabbas Ech-Charqi 022 Informal Tented Settlement

The second ITS visit was to Tall Aabbas Ech-Chargi 022 on 29 May 2018 in Tall Aabbas,

Akkar region in North Lebanon. Like the previous ITS, the intention of the visit was to gain insight into the WaSH intervention and site management conducted by Solidarités International at the settlement. Again, the primary purpose of the visit was to observe a different water purification system installed in the ITS called the Village Pump Filter.

Results

Interview with Ali Basma from AUB

The results from the interview with Ali Basma found that Informal Tented Settlements use either dry or wet sanitation. Dry sanitation is a system, primarily referred to as a toilet, that operates without the flush water and instead excreta falls through a drop hole externally. The most common types of dry sanitation are: Composting toilet, which in many cases does not divert urine; Urine Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 25

diverting dry toilet (UDDT); Arborloo, this type of sanitation is similar to a pit latrine but has a much shallower pit to enable composting within; Container-based toilet, where human excreta is collected in sealable, removable containers (also called cartridges) that are transported to treatment facilities; Bucket toilet, this is a very basic form of dry toilet consisting of only a bucket which can be upgraded with urine diversion and the use of covering material; Simple pit latrine, this is a pit latrine that does not have a water seal; incinerating toilet and freezing toilet. These are toilets with more complicated technology and higher costs.

ITSs in Beqaa primarily used dry sanitation, container-based toilets due to the design not using water. However, after one or two years the containers where the excreta is collected and contained becomes full. This therefore, causes issues for the ITSs and humanitarian organisations as they do not have the means to dispose of the containers when they are filled. This consequently results in residents of ITSs sending dynamite into the containers, which subsequently creates cracks in the containers, allowing the excreta to seep into the ground, which allows space for more excreta. Although this solves the problem of overflowing excreta from the containers, it causes severe side effects. This method of freeing space firstly defeats the objectives of having a sanitation system, and secondly is extremely hazardous to the environment and resident’s health at the ITS.

Furthermore, the extrusion of excreta in the ITS land ensures anything grown on this land is contaminated and causes potential contamination of the water sources.

Climate change is a recent crisis affecting the world, including Lebanon. According to Ali

Basma there has been a noticeable transformation in recent years due to climate change. Lebanon typically used to have four seasons over a calendar year, however now he states Lebanon only has two; winter for three months and summer for nine months. The harsh and cold weather of longer winters causes displaced Syrians in ITSs to require more warmth and food due to poor shelter Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 26

living conditions which requires more energy, water and money. Additionally, extended hotter summers cause the need for more water to tackle dehydration and sanitation in warmer weather.

A socioeconomic problem recently occurring in Lebanon is; refugee camps and ITSs are gaining popularity with the public, essentially becoming tourist sights. This has therefore caused

NGO’s and humanitarian organisations managing the camps and settlements to be careful and selective of who can visit the sites, ensuring that people or organisations are trying to help and make a difference by adding value to the situation

The Sannine Mountain is a mountain in the Lebanese mountain range, with a highest point of 2,628m above sea level and is the source of many mountain springs due to its limestone base.

Mount Sannine is the source for Rim Spring which is the major water source for Lebanon and where most of the bottled water is sourced.

In May 2018, the Syrian government passed a law called; Article 10: Syrian Property Law.

The law gave Syrians 30 days to return to Syria to claim ownership of their property in person with legal documentation, where all property unclaimed within this period would become state property. This however was difficult for Syrian nationals as they believed they would be prosecuted for not supporting the government regime during the Syrian crises if they were to return or that most had lost their documentation through the war, causing them to be unable to prove that the property is theirs.

The Ghata Schools which AUB built use water storage tanks to provide water to the displaced children which are refilled from trucked water. They have different sizes of water storage tanks which hold different quantities of water, however on average one meter cubed holding tanks are used. One meter cubed of trucked water costs between US$10 and US$15, it is dependent on where the water is sourced from and who is selling it. The trucked water is sourced from wells or Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 27

springs in Lebanon and tested by UNHCR and AUB for contamination or pollution to ensure it is drinkable for the schools.

Interview with Settlement Manager of Informal Tented Settlement, Beqaa

In the ITS one tent costs US$100 or US$150 with water and electricity inclusive.

Employment is a daily struggle for displaced Syrians in Lebanon and is apparent in the ITS. Most jobs available are daily, therefore residents of the ITSs search daily for employment, meaning there is no guarantee of work. Thus, employment for most displaced Syrians is not permanent, creating vulnerability among the community due to a lack of job security. Furthermore, the jobs which are available are generally very labour intensive like farming and agricultural work. Labour intensive jobs cause employees to require more food and water resulting is further stress on their limited resources. UNHCR used to provide vouchers to the ITS, however now they work with cash. Every family (maximum of 5 family members) receives US$27 per person per month. Not all families receive this, where there is no managed system to which families are chosen to receive the cash aid.

When asking the settlement manager what the biggest issue they are currently dealing with, his answer was: Water. The settlement has water tanks of one cubic meter situated outside each tent where water is sourced from the wells in the settlement. The purpose of this water is for cleaning the resident’s tents and for washing as is has too high salinity for drinking or cooking.

Residents of the community have become sick and developed skin conditions from the well water.

The settlement manager drank the well water to test the quality, where he became sick and had diarrhoea, and since this, the water has not been consumed. Furthermore, to extract water from the boreholes, a pump is installed which uses a large amount of energy, three amperes. The tanks are Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 28

provided by World Vision, who once a month clean the tanks before filling them with potable water. This drinking water lasts between three and 20 days depending on the family size, however it never lasts the full month.

The Ghata School: L’ecole de L’espoir in the settlement is the only source of drinking water. Therefore, most people are forced to buy bottled water which costs US$1.50 per 1.5 litres.

The school has a tank with a tap that runs into the informal tented settlement, allowing anyone access to the water tap. The water consumption works on a first come first serve basis. The settlement manager made clear that even if people cannot afford the price of water they will find any way of paying to survive and all families find a way to manage.

Interview with Ahmad Sweid, Solidarités International

Solidarités International aid around 670 ITSs in Lebanon, themselves and Concern

Worldwide are the only two agencies working on the WaSH intervention in the Akkar region. In

Lebanon, most displaced Syrians who are residing in ITSs are living on agricultural land. As a result of this, over 400 ITSs water sources are contaminated due to the boreholes being too shallow and having poor sewage infrastructure. Consequently, Solidarités International cannot provide displaced Syrians with potable water directly from the water sources onsite to their water holding tanks as it will lead to problems arising and effect the people’s health.

UNHCR used to provide 35 litres of water per person per day, this dropped to 25 litres and now they only provide 15 litres per person per day since January 2018, due to a significant cut in funding. During the first three days after the arrival of displaced Syrians, Solidarités International provide each household with 18 litres of potable water a day, 54 litres to sustain for the three days, because there is no infrastructure to provide them with trucked water. After the initial three days Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 29

they install a water holding tank and then provide one cubic meter of potable water per day per 50 individuals over a six-week period. This quantity of water is low (20 litres per person per day) but is according to the sector standards for the emergency intervention of six weeks. The water provided in the initial six week period is used by the people for drinking and cooking.

The individuals will source additional water outside the ITS to use for hygiene purposes and cleaning. If there are no resources available or they cannot afford additional water, they will manage the use of the limited water provided. After the six week period Solidarités International provide 15 litres of potable water per person per day according to the new UNICEF strategy. If, however, there is a source of water onsite that is contaminated, they will provide 10 litres of potable water. Once this amount of water is provided, the people in the ITSs will seek additional water resources, due to their restriction of water provided by agencies, of 20 to 35 litres extra. Solidarités

International only provide this small amount of water due to their restriction of funding.

Most ITSs with contaminated water sources are biological, however there are cases where chemical contamination is present also. Solidarités International claim there are an estimated 40 sites with chemical contamination. This number fluctuates seasonally due to rainfall and flooding which can cause gutters to overflow and contaminate water sources nearby.

When the water sources onsite the ITSs are biologically contaminated, Solidarités

International has two solutions. The first resolution is to truck potable water from external sources or to provide a sustainable solution using water purification technology. Water trucking is not a justifiable solution for Solidarités International due to the high costs, resulting in a limitation on resources provided. Due to this, it is preferable to provide water purification technology.

Before Solidarités International installs a water purification system into an ITS it conducts a cost effectiveness survey. The purpose of this test is to calculate the cost of water trucking to the Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 30

site in comparison to installing a water purification system. The solution that is estimated to be cheapest will be chosen as the source of water for the ITS. Other factors that are taken into consideration are ensuring the source does not have chemical contamination and that there is someone available onsite to take responsibility of maintaining the system.

Solidarités International has two examples of successful biological water purification system installations. In 2016, with funding obtained under UNICEF, it acquired a sustainable water purification system from SkyJuice Foundation called SkyHydrant Ultrafiltration System. The

SkyHydrant Ultrafiltration System only purifies microbiological contamination that requires manual cleaning and self-pumps the potable water into an external holding tank. Currently the

SkyHydrant Ultrafiltration System provides the beneficiary of Tall Aabbas El-Gharbi 048 with six cubic meters of potable water a day and costs around US$1600 with an additional US$1500 to

US$2000 for installation. With daily and weekly cleaning, the device lasts between 5 and 10 years before the filter needs replacing.

In 2017 Solidarités International installed a new water purification technology pilot test with the Villagepump 500. The system is a self-cleaning system that also only purifies microbiological, but no chemical contamination that is manually pumped to provide potable water via tap to be collected externally meaning there is no water storage. Currently the Villagepump can provide the beneficiary of Tall Aabbas Ech-Chargi 022 with 250 litres of potable water a day, the same quantity as the SkyHydrant Ultrafiltration System and costs around US$4000 with an additional US$1000 for installation. The use of robust materials gives the device an expected life span of five years with normal use.

Currently Solidarités International only has two solutions to chemical water contamination with one again being water trucking. The second solution available is reverse osmosis (RO). Water Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 31

trucking is not a sustainable solution due to the decrease in funding for refugees and displaced persons in Lebanon and RO being unsustainable due the high costs of the system and its large usage of electricity. Solidarités International is currently seeking innovative solutions to purify chemical water contamination.

Solidarités International test and monitor the water sources onsite the ITSs every month for microbiological and chemical contamination. If the conditions of the water source have changed they adapt their services accordingly. Therefore, if chemical contamination becomes present, Solidarités International will remove the microbiological water purification technology and revert to trucking water to the site. The testing takes place in Solidarités International’s internal laboratory and if required, through external laboratories.

Interview with Layla, Tall Aabbas Ech-Charqi 022

Since the Syrian Civil War began Layla has been witness to internal displacement. She had been living in various locations in Syria until, in 2016, troops forced her to evacuate where she relocated to Tall Aabbas Ech-Charqi 022 and has been living since. When Layla first arrived in

North Lebanon she witnessed the residents of Tall Aabbas Ech-Charqi 022 obtaining skin irritations and diarrhoea, where children were repeatedly itching themselves, had throat infections and were spreading germs. Due to this, three tests were conducted by Solidarités International to test the water sources onsite the ITS for contamination.

The test results concluded that the water sources onsite were contaminated, and the recommendation was to buy one to two bottles of water per family. Layla and Solidarités

International agreed that this quantity of water was not enough for large families, or feasible, as the entire camp could not afford to do this. This concern instigated the donation of a water Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 32

purification device known as Village Pump. Therefore, the water onsite is now potable once filtered through the purification technology meaning it can be used for drinking, cooking and washing which prevents the need for the residents to spend money on doctors’ visits and medication.

To maintain the water purification device and ensure the water does not become contaminated, once a month 5 chlorine tablets are used to clean the filter and once every 15 days they change the water in the holding tank and clean the inside. The device can fill the cubic meter holding tank within two to four hours. Four people have acquired the necessary skills and knowledge regarding the water purification device and work shifts, so if any problems arise when

Layla is not present they are either able to solve them or call Layla for assistance.

The water that comes from the holding tank more than satisfies the needs of the ITS, where there is enough water for drinking, cooking, cleaning and laundry. If surrounding settlements need water, Tall Aabbas Ech-Charqi 022 will share their water with them as Layla states that:

“If they are in need, they come, and they take, I have no issue” as there is enough water to share with other settlements and no one at the settlement has an issue with sharing it.

No children in Tall Aabbas Ech-Charqi 022 go to school. The leading reason for this is the children’s parents work on olive farms for a two month duration. They need to work to provide for their family and are left with no option, other than to bring their children with them. The result of this is the children are not provided with an education as the parents miss the opportunity to register their children due to being away working on the olive farm, and once they return the classes have already exceeded capacity. A solution to this suggested by Layla is to build a school in Tall Aabbas

Ech-Charqi 022. If a school was built onsite then they would have the ability to change the start Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 33

and end dates of the semesters to take place after the harvest season when the children have returned.

Interview with Lama Abul Smad, Oxfam

Oxfam work with an estimated, due to fluctuation, 20,000 displaced persons, the equivalent of 300 ITSs of which only three have more than four tents. None of the ITSs that Oxfam work with are registered in Lebanon. Oxfam conducted its own mapping of the ITSs, however, there is no official registered camp in Lebanon apart from the 12 government recognised Palestinian refugee camps. In November 2015 the Lebanese government prevented UNHCR from registering any more displaced Syrians. This has caused problems for humanitarian organisations and NGOs aiding, as this is how they manage their assistance and the number of displaced Syrians residing in Lebanon. This has therefore caused half of the displaced Syrians to be unregistered with

UNHCR and in Lebanon.

UN humanitarian partners working with refugees and displaced persons, work on a funding base, not needs base. They have dropped their water provision drastically since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War due to a lack of funding. Oxfam’s WaSH department has developed a water provision mentality, where depending on the water sources available to the ITSs onsite, they either get their water entirely from the water source onsite or they truck the water from a verified source which is chlorinated.

Quarterly, Oxfam tests all their water sources and monitors them for quality and quantity to assess whether it is enough for the ITSs daily use. Their target is to provide 35 litres of potable water per person per day, which is the Lebanese sector standard. Oxfam’s data suggests that people purchase approximately 30 to 50 litres of water per person per day in addition to the 35 litres they Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 34

receive from Oxfam. The water Oxfam provides is expected to be used domestically and primarily for drinking, cooking and bathing. If the ITSs water quality is poor, but good enough for household cleaning, then Oxfam provides 10 litres of potable water per person, per day.

Every three months Oxfam tests their water sources for chloroform, turbidity and

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), then once a year they test for metals, primarily nitrate. BOD is the measurement of the amount of dissolved oxygen which can be used by oxygen consuming microorganisms, where higher amounts of dissolved oxygen allow for more bacteria. Oxfam has their own testing facilities for assessing the quality of their water sources for testing of Nitrates.

Lebanon has government authorised laboratories in Beqaa for the water establishments which have been equipped by Swiss organisations to boost their capacities.

The one cubic meter holding tanks cost US$160 for the three-layer design and are paid for by Oxfam. If water is sourced from onsite the ITS it is primarily free, however occasionally land owners require payment for use of the water source. If this is case Oxfam will negotiate a price per household per month for usage of the water source.

Oxfam provides water at the household level, not community level, as they believe it is the best way to reduce contamination. Their infrastructure consists of a water pump at the water source, where piping leads the water directly to the ITS holding tanks. In larger ITSs Oxfam installs 6,000 litre, elevated holding tanks which are called water points. They go from the water source through a distribution point to holding tanks. Oxfam’s priority is to avoid the ‘bucket situation’ (having to collect water in a container from a water source). It wants to provide water directly from the borehole to the household.

If an ITS cannot provide potable water from boreholes and wells onsite, Oxfam delivers the required amount by truck. Oxfam used to pay an average of US$6.50 per cubic meter of potable Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 35

water, however through negotiation now pay a standardised price at US$4 which Oxfam refuses to negotiate on this price. The contract agreement states that Oxfam will provide chlorine to chlorinate the water, yet if their chlorine depletes, the water truck company is required to source chlorine from elsewhere. Oxfam is currently in the process of creating an agreement with the

Lebanese government, so their water truckers will obtain water from government sources rather than private sources. Doing this will allow the cost to drop to US$3.50 per cubic meter, where

US$0.50 will go to the government.

Oxfam installed an ultra violet system for water biological purification in one of its ITSs, however it was an expensive device. Although it gives value, it is unmanageable as a practice due to the large number of settlements, the cost of the devices and the need for adjustment of specifications to each water source.

For Oxfam’s sanitation work it uses latrines with a perforated holding tank (is not closed completely) meaning the excrete slowly seeps into the soil which has a poor infiltration rate, meaning the excrete will not filtrate through the soil into ground water. Therefore, Oxfam maintain a minimum 30 meters from boreholes and if a family decides to build a latrine, Oxfam will move it a sufficient distance from the water sources if necessary. Septic tanks are not used due to them being too expensive mainly due to sludging. Because the ITSs that Oxfam works with are sporadically located in Northern Beqaa, having a sceptic system would be inefficient as they cost around USD$1500 in comparison to US$100 to US$500 for a latrine. Although this system is not ideal for Oxfam, it is their current most cost-effective option.

The work Oxfam has undertaken over the past five years has formed strong relationships with Lebanese municipalities and their water truckers. However, the possibility of interference or conflict is always present, creating the work to be very sensitive. Further issues Oxfam encounters Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 36

are competition from the agricultural sector, causing tribal and illegal social dynamics that need managing. The process of water trucking is sensitive work and if not managed properly can result in conflicts with severe consequences.

The Global Humanitarian Team of Oxfam in Oxford believe that Oxfam needs to invest in innovative technology to aid in solving the water crisis in Lebanon. Oxfam state that if they were to invest in water purification technology they would obtain all water from these devices onsite, meaning they need to calculate for at least 90 litres of water per person per day. This is because if

35 litres were given for drinking, hygiene and cooking the people would still look to access additional water for other purposes. If Oxfam were to invest in water purification technology they would have to consider the distribution of the water to household tanks, due to the sporadic locations of the many ITSs. This distribution is the primary worry as Oxfam have experienced that the flowrates are not high enough for the transportation of water. Further issues present are the high prices of the water tank and network infrastructure, landlords who do not accept large infrastructures and the non-permanence of the ITSs.

Interview with Mohamed Abdel-Al and Rasha Akel, UNRWA

UNRWA provides services, inclusive of 69 schools with over 30,000 students, two vocational and technical training centres and 27 primary health centres, in the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. They do not however administer the camps, as this is the responsibility of the host community authorities. The management of the camps is undertaken by beneficiaries within and UNRWA aids from providing the construction of water supply networks and systems, to changing and repairing generators and water pumps and operational training, to these people. Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 37

Currently due to the sensitivity of the Palestinian refugee camp locations, they are witnessing a relentless stress on their water resources. This is primarily because of coastal areas in

Lebanon facing protracted urbanisation and seawater intrusion in water resources with Beqaa encountering intense agricultural activity. Therefore, UNRWA have prioritised their WaSH interventions over 2018 to creating sustainable, integrated water resource management with the implementation of qualitative and quantitative water monitoring surveillance plans. Further focuses are the identification of pollution origins and water source protection whilst encouraging development of prosperous infrastructure.

According to UNRWA six of the 12 Palestinian refugee camps are experiencing water quantity shortages. UNRWA tested samples of drinking water sources onsite and bottled water consumed from the 12 camps for biological and chemical contamination. All samples taken showed a higher concentration of coliform and Escherichia coli (E. coli) than groundwater samples.

Nearly all samples showed contamination of coliform with around 60 percent and 40 percent showing the presence of E. coli in the drinking water sources and bottled water respectively.

UNRWA believe that the contamination lies within the water distribution network and private tanks resulting in bottled water not being a feasible alternative. Furthermore, samples of ground water sources in Lebanon show an intrusion of seawater with a total of six Palestinian refugee camps witnessing saline water and two in coastal locations not currently encountering any issues.

As a result of this, UNRWA aims to provide all camps with at least one water committee in charge of the operation, management and maintenance of their water supplies forming a more coherent and effective system. Moreover, UNRWA intend to connect all the shelters in the 12 camps to adequate water networks and equip all water sources with qualitative and quantitative surveillance systems creating more refugees to be using safely managed potable water. Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 38

The water supply networks and systems which UNRWA have built within the Palestinian refugee camps all focus on providing every shelter onsite with an indoor water supply. This means that from the extraction point at the water source they pump the water through piping to each shelter creating water availability at the household level. Nearly all the camps in Lebanon host thousands of Palestinian refugees, with Ein El Hilweh Camp hosting nearly 55,000 refugees.

Consequently, the water supply networks and systems are complex and intricate taking large amounts of time and money to construct and maintain.

Due to the complexities mentioned, UNRWA gained funding to install three biological and chemical water purification technologies, reverse osmosis (RO) devices, in three Palestinian refugee camps. The purpose of the RO devices is to serve the whole community within the camp.

Therefore, the devices are large scale so to provide thousands of people. The devices are installed at the water source where a pump, powered by an external generator, siphons water into the device.

The water then undergoes a series of filtration steps, and once purified, is distributed through the already existing water supply network and system. Currently, only one of the three devices is working. The camps themselves are supposed to manage the devices provided by UNRWA, where one camp has succeeded and the other two have not due to internal conflict amongst themselves.

Ghata School Visits, Beqaa

The Ghata Schools which AUB initiated, designed and installed in collaboration with other organisations, are an inspiring and innovative project which have provided young displaced

Syrians the opportunity to their right of education. The schools have created a safe and controlled environment for the young individuals whilst also creating jobs for displaced Syrians. Both Ghata schools visited in Beqaa provide all children with education five days a week, clean drinking water, Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 39

clean latrines and one meal a day. The schools provide education to children and normally teach two separate groups each day in two periods for four hours each between 08:00 and 16:00.

The United Nations Women for Peace Association School for Girls has one well located onsite at 10 meters deep. The water is extracted from the well via a generator and pump system that is then used for latrines, sanitation and cleaning the school as the water is contaminated and not safe for drinking. Therefore, water is trucked to the school once every two days and stored in a cubic meter holding tank within the school and is used for drinking and cooking.

The L’ecole de L’espoir Ghata School has two wells onsite, due to it being larger than

United Nations Women for Peace Association School for Girls and are both also around 10 meters deep. Because this water source is contaminated it is used for latrines, sanitation, cleaning and hand washing. Currently, water is trucked once every one or two days into the school and stored in two, one meter cubed holding tanks. This water is used for drinking and cooking and is trucked from the same source as the United Nations Women for Peace Association School for Girls. The

L’ecole de L’espoir Ghata School uses an average of 1.25 litres of water per day and Jesuit Refugee

Service (JRS) has recently donated an Aura Compact Cebilon Reverse Osmosis System to the ITS.

The Compact Cebilon Reverse Osmosis System treats bacterial and chemical contaminated water through the process of Reverse Osmosis (RO). It has an interior storage tank with removable covers where the filters can be checked via a digital control panel and notifies when filters need changing or if there is a leakage in the system. The device has a five step filtration phase where semipermeable membranes remove ions, molecules and larger particles from the water. The disadvantages with this device is the high purchase and running costs as RO uses large amounts of energy. Although L’ecole de L’espoir Ghata School has access to this technology, it has yet to be installed into the ITS due to the residents, AUB and JRS not knowing how to install the device. Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 40

Within the Ghata Schools the students are encouraged to help themselves to the potable water from the holding tank. This occurs primarily due to logistics, where the small number of staff members are not able to escort and supervise each child when they require water and because the school wants to keep a professional and respectful environment, where students do not feel restricted by the Ghata School staff. Consequently, the schools are witnessing a higher risk of contamination to the water because of the children potentially being ill and contaminating the water access point. If the water becomes contaminated, then there is a high risk of the entire school becoming ill due to their only being one or two access points and the scarce water sample testing.

Informal Tented Settlement Visits, Akkar Region

The ITSs visited in the Akkar Region all house displaced Syrians who have fled Syria due to the Civil War. Each ITS was similar in size, however conditions were contrasting in each settlement with access to water sources and their quality and quantity varying.

Halba 041 is an example of an ITS in a better situation with improved conditions, compared to others in the North of Lebanon. Halba 041 has a well situated onsite at 50 meters deep avoiding seasonal water fluctuations and providing protection from contamination sources originating on the surface. This is because of the longer the flow path of water, the more opportunities there are of bacteria being trapped by soil and rocks. The water from this source has been tested by

Solidarités International for chemical contamination like nitrate, nitrite, magnesium, nickel and chromium with Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) being used for virus testing. Due to the water source onsite being potable and in abundance the ITS uses this water for all uses; drinking, cooking, sanitation and cleaning. Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 41

Halba 054 ITS has two wells onsite, which were tested for chemical contamination and biological contamination via BOD testing by Solidarités International. The results of the tests showed that both wells are contaminated biologically and chemically due to the location and insufficient depth of the wells. For this reason, water is trucked to the Halba 054 ITS by a non- governmental, private provider at a cost of US$5 per cubic meter of potable water. As the trucked water provider is private, Solidarités International conduct biological and chemical tests on the source to ensure it is safe for consumption. If problems persist with negative results from the water trucking provider, then Solidarités International will additionally test the water holding tank for contamination.

Tall Aabbas El-Gharbi 048 ITS has one well onsite. The water source was tested by

Solidarités International and displayed the water to be chemically sound, but biologically contaminated from the extrusion of excreta from dry sanitation solutions onsite. Therefore,

Solidarités International provided Tall Aabbas El-Gharbi 048 with biological water purification technology from SkyJuice Foundation called SkyHydrant Ultrafiltration System. The SkyHydrant

Ultrafiltration System is an ultrafiltration device which can produce up to 10,000 litres of clean water every day. The device treats water for bacterial contamination, however not for chemical contamination, using a passive membrane technology. The device has a high-volume output and is lightweight, portable and sustainable. Although the SkyHydrant Ultrafiltration System is expensive, the technology is one of the very few available to Solidarités International. Furthermore, there is currently no affordable or accessible solution available to Solidarités International for chemical contamination removal from water sources in the ITS they work in.

Solidarités International tested the one well onsite for contamination at Tall Aabbas Ech-

Chargi 022 ITS and showed levels of biological contamination, yet no chemical contamination. Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 42

Like the previous ITS in Tall Aabbas, Solidarités International provided Tall Aabbas Ech-Chargi

022 with a water purification device from an innovative development company; Villagepump BV.

The device provided, called Villagepump 500, can purify water of microbiological content, however not of chemical content, creating 500 litres of potable water an hour through the employment of multistage filtering. The device does not require an external power source due to a handpump being attached, so an individual can manually pump the device to filter the water which can be stored in an external holding facility.

Discussion

The results show the stress encountered on Lebanon’s water and sanitation hygiene

(WaSH) resources and infrastructure. This has resulted in an increase of health implications for displaced Syrians, Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon (PRL) and Palestinian Refugees from Syria

(PRS). The leading issues presented, through the findings, are the quality of water resources in

Lebanon, not the quantity. Due to contamination within Lebanese water resources, costs of potable water and a lack of viable technology to purify contaminated water, means access to safe, clean drinking water has diminished.

The leading reasons for ground water contamination is anthropogenic pollution. The change in climate being witnessed in Lebanon is causing further droughts during the hot, long summer which makes individuals require more water. Sanitation infrastructure in ITSs is inadequate and the Lebanese disposal system is too expensive and unable to keep up with demand.

This has resulted in further, un-needed contamination of water resources. Additional human activities that is exerting strong pressure on water resources and their contamination and unmanaged abstraction of water as insufficient work is being done to preserve it. Moreover, coastal Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 43

ground water resources are undergoing seawater intrusion causing chemical contamination and saline water.

(UNICEF, 2017a) states that 61 percent of displaced Syrians in ITSs still rely on unregulated trucked water, normally from an illegal source, whilst the remaining 39 percent rely on unsafe private boreholes or illegal network tapping. UNICEF states that only 36 percent of the

Lebanese population has access to safely managed drinking water services (WHO and UNICEF,

2017).

The results from the interviews and observations showed that most ITSs have access to boreholes onsite, however, most are contaminated either biologically, chemically or both. Trucked water services are inconsistent in Lebanon, meaning ITSs pay a varied price for potable water, from as little as US$4 to as much as US$15 per cubic metre. As the water is generally unregulated, agencies and ITSs are unable to know or track the water source to ensure that it is potable without conducting contamination tests on each water delivery. The data shows that using contaminated boreholes and well water is the logical water source for the purification technology to extract water from.

The two technologies available to the Hague Humanitarian Cooperative for Water

(HHCW) are based on small to medium scale devices which can produce from 250 to 1000 litres per day. World Health Organisation (WHO) states that 50 to 100 litres of safe potable water per person per day is needed to ensure the most basic needs are met and limited health concerns arise

(G.Howard & J.Bartram, 2003). UNHCR used to provide 35 litres of water per person per day, which dropped to 25 litres and currently only provide 15 litres per person per day since January

2018 due to a significant cut in funding. These amounts are insufficient for an individual to meet their basic needs and limit health concerns because they are below the minimum, emergency Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 44

requirement of 20 to 25 litres per person per day as stated by WHO. The data from Solidarités

International and Oxfam suggests that displaced Syrians will consume approximately 50 to 80 litres of potable water per day from what agencies provide and people purchase in addition.

The 12 UNRWA registered refugee camps in Lebanon vary in population, each hosting between 1,000 and 55,000 residents. The water supply networks and systems constructed in the

Palestinian refugee camps focus on providing an indoor water supply to every shelter from one or two water sources. This means that any technology used to purify contaminated water onsite needs to either be large scale, producing at least 50 cubic meters and up to 5,500 cubic meters of water per day, or small scale at household level. Due to the technology available to HHCW being small to medium scale, Palestinian refugee camps being provided water at household level and not having the correct infrastructure, it would not be viable to provide purification technology to them.

There is a possibility to provide potable water through purification technology at household level, yet this would require a large number of devices and might not be a cost effective solution, depending on the price per unit.

ITSs around Lebanon vary in size, from one household to 150 households per ITS, averaging at 5 persons per household. UN humanitarian organisations and NGO’s who have large operations in Lebanon typically work with larger scale ITSs, whereas NGO’s with smaller operations tend to work closer with smaller ITSs. Therefore, if abiding by WHO figures ITSs will need an estimated 250 litres to 75 cubic metres per day, depending on their size. Therefore, displaced Syrians living in ITSs will become the target group because the amount of water required is manageable, feasible and cost effective for The Hague Humanitarian Cooperative for Water

(HHCW) and the technologies available. Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 45

Although energy is available within the ITSs through a generator or illegal network tapping, it is a limited and expensive resource. Therefore, it is logical for the technology provided to be function as a system off-the-grid and not need external power. The findings in this paper give valuable information into which water purification technology is most suitable. The OPV technology available to HHCW, although powered through manual drive, has a low potable water recovery rate of 10 to 15 percent. This low conversion rate results in large amounts of wastewater which needs to be disposed of appropriately to ensure it does not further contaminate the water resources nearby and have a negative impact on the surrounding environment.

Consequently, the most rational and efficient way to implement water purification technology into Lebanese communities is probably to provide more accessible and affordable potable water sources, ensuring safe and healthy water for their communities is through the combined carbon absorption, ultrafiltration, capacitive electrodialysis (CED) and ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) technology. This because of the variable amounts of water needed on the ITSs and the high potable water recovery rate of over 80. Additionally, the ability to scale this technology accordingly and power the technology without using an external power source are valuable assets towards provided ITSs with potable water.

Conclusion

The purpose of this paper was to find the most rational and efficient way to implement water purification technology into Lebanese communities to provide more accessible and affordable potable water sources, ensuring safe and healthy water for their communities.

The Government of Lebanon (GoL), United Nations (UN) humanitarian organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and non-profit organisations that participate in the water Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 46

and sanitation hygiene (WaSH) intervention are struggling to assist displaced Syrians residing in

ITSs in Lebanon. Due to funding cuts, causing redistribution to assistance, they are unable to provide residents, refugees and displaced persons with adequate amounts of water to meet basic hygiene and health requirements.

The paper has presented that displaced Syrians cannot afford and do not have viable access to potable water due to water contamination and the target group should therefore be displaced

Syrians living in informal tented settlements (ITSs) in Lebanon. There is a clear gap in the market in Lebanon for technology which can remove biological and chemical contamination from water to create potable water, showing the need for the technologies available to HHCW.

Due to reduced and unsafe sanitation and solid waste management and the purification technologies producing at least 10 percent of wastewater, this wastewater needs be to be disposed of appropriately to ensure it does not further contaminate the water resources nearby and have a negative impact on the surrounding environment. To ensure this is possible, further research into the disposal of wastewater is recommended. Water quality data of water resources, including groundwater in Lebanon and boreholes and wells in ITSs, is additionally recommended to be obtained in order to allow the purification technology to be adapted to purify the specific water sources.

Water Purification Technology in Lebanon 47

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