PAN-AFRICAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE FOR WATER AND ENERGY SCIENCES (including CLIMATE CHANGE) Master Dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master degree in Water Policy Presented by Sihem RAHMOUN Water Quality Indices as Important Tools for Water Quality Assessment in WWTP: The case of the waste water treatment plan of Ain El Hout Tlemcen Defended on 04/09/2019 Before the Following Committee: Chair Assia BENDIOUIS Dr University of Tlemcen Supervisor Nadia BADR Prof University of Alexandia External Examiner Abdelhadi AMMARI Dr ENSH, ALGERIA Internal Examiner Abdelghani CHIBOUB Prof University of Tlemcen ACADEMIC YEAR: 2018-2019 DECLARATION I, RAHMOUN Sihem hereby declare that this thesis represents my personal work, realized to the best of my knowledge. I also declare that all information, material and results from other works presented here, have been fully cited and referenced in accordance with the academic rules and ethics. Signed Date__09/08/2019__________ i CERTIFICATION This thesis has been submitted with my approval as the supervisor Signed______ ________ Date____09/08/2019 Prof. Nadia Badr Environmental Sciences Department – Faculty of Sciences – University of Alexandria – Egypt. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to God, the Almighty this work has been realized. This research has been a success due to the cooperative effort from many people and organizations. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to: My supervisor Pr NADIA BADR and my co-supervisor Dr ABDELBAKI CHERIFA for their availability, advices and supports throughout the completion of this work; The Pan African University Institute of Water and Energy Sciences Including Climate Change (PAUWES), the Director and his team and the guest lecturers; The Wastewater Treatment Plant of Ain El Hout (Tlemcen) for the internship opportunity; The Environmental Sciences Department of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Alexandria, Egypt; iii DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my Father and Mother (ILIES RAHMOUN and FATIMA ZOHRA CHIALI). Their guidance, encouragement, affections, sacrifices, and prayers gave me the strength to achieve this success and honour. My sister Sarah RAHMOUN and my little brother Hassen Moulay RAHMOUN for their supports. My family and friends for their support and kindness. My colleagues and friends as well as all those who have not been mentioned. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ................................................................................................................................ i CERTIFICATION ...............................................................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................................... iv LISTE OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ........................................................................ ix LISTE OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................ x LISTE OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................... xi 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background......................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Problem Statement ............................................................................................................ 4 1.3 Justification ........................................................................................................................ 5 1.4 Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 6 1.4.1 General Objective ....................................................................................................... 6 1.4.2 The specific objectives are : ....................................................................................... 7 1.5 Research Questions ............................................................................................................ 7 1.6 Scope and Limitations of the Study .................................................................................... 7 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................................. 9 2.1 Overview of Wastewater Reuse for agriculture ............................................................... 10 2.2 Standards for wastewater reuse for agriculture .............................................................. 12 2.3 Water quality index : ........................................................................................................ 16 3 STUDY AREA ............................................................................................................................. 18 3.1 Presentation of Ain El hout in Tlemcen ............................................................................ 19 3.2 Situation of the Water Resources of Tlemcen : ............................................................... 19 3.3 Climate Study ................................................................................................................... 20 3.3.1 Precipitations ........................................................................................................... 21 3.3.2 Temperatures ........................................................................................................... 21 3.4 Bioclimatic syntheses ....................................................................................................... 22 3.4.1 The Aridity index of De Martonne (1926) ................................................................ 22 3.4.2 The precipitation quotient of Emberger .................................................................. 23 4 WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT OF AIN EL HOUT (TLEMCEN) ............................................ 33 Description of the Operating Process of the Treatment Plant .................................................... 35 v 4.1 Description of the Treatment Processes of the Wastewater ........................................... 35 4.1.1 The storm weir ......................................................................................................... 35 4.1.2 Pre-Treatment .......................................................................................................... 35 4.1.2.1 Screening .............................................................................................................. 36 4.1.2.2 Sand, Grease and Oil Removal ............................................................................. 37 4.1.3 Secondary Treatment: Biological Treatment ........................................................... 38 4.1.3.1 Nitrification and Denitrification ........................................................................... 38 4.1.3.2 Aeration Basins ..................................................................................................... 39 4.1.3.3 Secondary Clarifier ............................................................................................... 40 4.1.4 Tertiary Treatment ................................................................................................... 41 4.1.4.1 The Clariflocculators ............................................................................................. 41 4.1.4.2 The Disinfection Basin .......................................................................................... 42 4.2 Description of the Treatment Processes of the Sludge .................................................... 43 4.2.1 Recycling and Disposal of the Exceeded Sludge ....................................................... 43 4.2.2 Thickening of Biological and Chemical Sludge ......................................................... 44 ❖ Sludge Dewatering ....................................................................................................... 44 4.2.2.1 Mud thickener: ..................................................................................................... 45 4.2.2.2 Drying Beds ........................................................................................................... 45 5 MATERIAL AND METHODS ....................................................................................................... 47 5.1 Temperature .................................................................................................................... 48 5.2 pH ..................................................................................................................................... 48 5.3 Electrical Conductivity ...................................................................................................... 49 5.4 Total Suspended Matters (TSM) ...................................................................................... 50 5.4.1 Experimental Procedure ........................................................................................... 50 5.5 Dissolved Oxygen (DO) ..................................................................................................... 51 5.6