Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Constructed Wetlands as a Green and Sustainable Technology for Domestic Wastewater Treatment Under the Arid Climate of Rural Areas in Morocco

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment in Hot and Arid Climates

Part of the book series: Wetlands: Ecology, Conservation and Management ((WECM,volume 7))

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to demonstrate the applicability and the adaptation of constructed wetland (CWs) eco-technology for the treatment of domestic wastewater, especially in rural areas under the arid climate of Morocco. As most rural areas in Morocco are suffering from water and soil pollution, there is a potential health risk posed by untreated wastewater discharge into the environment. Lack of sanitation in these regions, where technical and financial resources are usually limited, has a negative impact on the quality of life of the rural population and their water resources. Developing treatment techniques adapted to this context is very challenging, taking into account the social, technical, and financial capacities of rural areas. Green and sustainable technologies such as CWs have several inherent advantages compared to conventional treatment systems, including low capital costs, less infrastructure, lower operating costs, simplicity of construction, and ease of operation. CWs under different sanitation typologies proved an efficient wastewater treatment method in real applications in the rural villages of Morocco and could be considered as an efficient domestic wastewater treatment solution under arid conditions to promote environmental protection and wastewater reuse.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. CREM (2018) Etat des lieux du secteur de l’eau au Maroc, Projet « CREM » Coopération Régionale pour une Gestion Durable des Ressources en Eau au Maghreb (GIZ/OSS/BGR), 172 p

    Google Scholar 

  2. Mahi M, Lamzouri K, Ouatar S, Hadraoui A, Bartali EL, Mandi L (2013) Improving sanitation Project Management for Unsewered rural communities in Morocco. Int J Comput Eng Info Technol (IJCEIT) 2(1):34–41

    Google Scholar 

  3. Stefanakis AI (2020) Constructed wetlands for sustainable wastewater treatment in hot and arid climates: opportunities, challenges and case studies in the Middle East. Water 2020(12):1665

    Google Scholar 

  4. Moreira FD, Dias EHO (2020) Constructed wetlands applied in rural sanitation: a review. Environ Res 190(2020):110016

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Elfanssi S, Ouazzani N, Latrach L, Hejjaj A, Mandi L (2018) Phytoremediation of domestic wastewater using a hybrid constructed wetland in mountainous rural area. Int J Phytoremediation 20(1):75–87

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Dotro G, Langergraber G, Molle P, Nivala J, Puigagut J, Stein O, Von Sperling M (2017) Biological wastewater treatment series – treatment wetlands, vol 7. IWA Publishing

    Google Scholar 

  7. HCP (2014) Haut-Commissariat au Plan, Recensement général de la population et de l’habitat au Maroc 2014

    Google Scholar 

  8. Morocco country brief (2019) Sector ministers’ meeting 2019, San José-Costa Rica, 4–5 April, 6 p

    Google Scholar 

  9. WHO-UNICEF (2017) World Health Organization, UNICEF– the United Nations Children’s Fund, 2017. Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: 2017 Update and SDG Baselines. WHO, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  10. MI (2016) Programme National d’Assainissement liquide en milieu Rural (PNAR). Direction de l’Eau et de l’Assainissement, Ministère de l’Intérieur

    Google Scholar 

  11. EURONET Consortium (2014) Étude d’assainissement en milieu rural au Maroc, Rapport final, version définitive, 4 avril 2014, Contrat Cadre Bénéficiaires EuropeAid/127054/C/SER/Multi6Lot6 Environnement, Demande N°2012/291 867. 133p

    Google Scholar 

  12. PNAR (2013) Projet de programme national d’assainissement en milieu rural, Étude d’assainissement en milieu rural au Maroc, Rapport de phase 3: formulation. Programme National d’Assainissement Liquide et d’Epuration des Eaux Usées. Septembre 2013. Royaume du MAROC. p. 17

    Google Scholar 

  13. CESE (2017) Développement du monde rural, défis et perspectives, Avis du Conseil Economique, Social et Environnemental, Auto-Saisine n°29/2017, 29 p

    Google Scholar 

  14. Mandi L, Darley J, Barbre J, Baleux B (1992) Essais d’épuration des eaux usées de Marrakech par la jacinthe d’eau (charges organique, bactérienne et parasitologique). Revue des Sciences de l’eau 5(3):313–333

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Mandi L, Ouazzani N, Bouhoum K, Boussaid A (1993) Wastewater treatment by stabilization ponds with and without macrophytes under arid climate. Water Sci Technol 28(10):177–181

    Google Scholar 

  16. Mandi L (1994) Marrakech wastewater purification experiment using vascular aquatic plants (Eichhornia crassipes and Lemna gibba). Water Sci Technol 29(4):283–287

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Mandi L, Bouhoum K, Asmama S, Schwartzbrod J (1996) Wastewater treatment by reed beds. Exp Approach Water Res 30(9):2009–2016

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Abissy M, Mandi L (1999) Utilisation des plantes aquatiques enracinées pour le traitement des eaux usées : cas du roseau. Revue des Sciences de l’Eau 12(2):285–315

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Abissy M, Mandi L (1999) Comparative study of wastewater purification efficiencies of two emergent helophytes: Typha latifolia and Juncus subulatus under arid climate. Wat Sci Tech 39(10–11):123–126

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Mandi L, Bouhoum K, Ouazzani N (1998) Application of constructed wetlands for domestic wastewater treatment in an arid climate. J Water Sci Technol 38:379–387

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. El Hamouri B, Nazih J, Lahjouj J (2007) Subsurface-horizontal flow constructed wetland for sewage treatment under Moroccan climate conditions. Desalination 215:153–158

    Google Scholar 

  22. El Hamouri B, Kinsley C, Crolla A (2012) A hybrid wetland for small community wastewater treatment in Morocco. Sustain Sanitation Pract 12(2012):22–26

    Google Scholar 

  23. WHO (2006) Guidelines for the safe use of wastewater, excreta and greywater. Volume 2: wastewater use in agriculture

    Google Scholar 

  24. Vymazal J (2013) The use of hybrid constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment with special attention to nitrogen removal: a review of a recent development. Water Res 47:4795–4811

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Chen J, Liu YS, Su HC, Ying GF, Liu F, Liu SS, He LY, Chen ZF, Yang YQ, Chen FR (2015) Removal of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in rural wastewater by an integrated constructed wetland. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22:1794–1803

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Zhang DQ, Jinadasa K, Gersberg RM, Liu Y, Ng WJ, Tan SK (2014) Application of constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment in developing countries - a review of recent developments (2000–2013). J Environ Manag 141:116–131

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Valeurs Limites Spécifiques de Rejet Domestique, Maroc. Arrêté n°1607–06 du Joumada II 1427 (25 Juillet 2006). Secrétariat d’Etat Auprès du Ministère de l’Energie, des Mines, de l’Eau et de l’Environnement, Chargé de l’Eau et de l’Environnement, Département de l’Eau. Royaume du Maroc, pp. 50

    Google Scholar 

  28. Normes de qualité des eaux destinées à l’irrigation, Maroc (2007) Secrétariat d’état auprès du ministère de l’énergie, des mines, de l’eau et de l’environnement, chargé de l’eau et de l’environnement

    Google Scholar 

  29. Kadlec RH, Wallace SD (2009) Treatment wetlands, 2nd edn. CRC Press, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  30. Zhang D, Gersberg RM, Keat TS (2009) Review constructed wetlands in China. Ecol Eng 35:1367–1378

    Google Scholar 

  31. Noyes R (1994) Unit operations in environmental engineering. Noyes Publications, Park Ridge (NJ), pp 40–43

    Google Scholar 

  32. Vymazal J (2007) Removal of nutrients in various types of constructed wetlands. Sci Total Environ 380:48–65

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Wu S, Carvalho PN, Müller JA, Manoj VR, Dong R (2016) Sanitation in constructed wetlands: a review on the removal of human pathogens and fecal indicators. Sci Total Environ 541:8–22

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Moroccan Standards (2006) Moroccan standard approved by order of the minister of industry, Trade and Economy Last Level. Moroccan Industrial Standardization Service

    Google Scholar 

  35. Li M, Zhang H, Lemckert C, Roiko A, Stratton H (2018) On the hydrodynamics and treatment efficiency of waste stabilisation ponds: from a literature review to a strategic evaluation framework. J Clean Prod 183:495–514

    Google Scholar 

  36. Çakir R, Gidirislioglu A, Çebi U (2015) A study on the effects of different hydraulic loading rates (HLR) on pollutant removal efficiency of subsurface horizontal-flow constructed wetlands used for treatment of domestic wastewaters. J Environ Manag 164:121–128

    Google Scholar 

  37. Temel FA, Avci E, Ardali Y (2018) Full scale subsurface flow constructed wetlands for domestic wastewater treatment: 3 years’ experience. Environ Prog Sustain Energy 37(4):1348–1360

    Google Scholar 

  38. Jozwiakowski K, Marzeca M, Alina Kowalczyk-Ju’skoa A, Gizinska-Gorna M, Pytka-Woszczyłoa A, Malika A, Listosza A, Gajewskab M (2019) 25 years of research and experiences about the application of constructed wetlands in southeastern Poland. Ecol Eng 127:440–453

    Google Scholar 

  39. Vera L, Martel G, Marquez M (2013) Two years monitoring of the natural system for wastewater reclamation in Santa Lucía, Gran Canaria Island. Ecol Eng 50:21–30

    Google Scholar 

  40. Latrach L, Ouazzani N, Hejjaj A, Mahi M, Masunaga T, Mandi L (2018) Two-stagevertical flow multi-soil-layering (MSL) technology for efficient removal of coliforms and human pathogens from domestic wastewater in rural areas under arid climate. Int J Hyg Environ Health 221:64–80

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Lamzouri K (2018) Development and adaptation of alternative domestic wastewater purification systems. PhD. Dissertation, Agronomic and Veterinary Institute Hassan II, Rabat, Morocco. 270p

    Google Scholar 

  42. Chen X, Luo AC, Sato K, Wakatsuki T, Masunaga T (2009) An introduction of a multi-soil-layering system: a novel green technology for wastewater treatment in rural areas. Water Environ 23:255–262

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Song P, Huang G, An C, Shen J, Zhang P, Chen X, Sun C (2018) Treatment of rural domestic wastewater using multi-soil-layering systems: performance evaluation, factorial analysis and numerical modeling. Sci Total Environ 644:536–546

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Zhang TX, Inoue M, Kato K, Izumoto H, Harada J, Wu D, Sakuragi H, Ietsugu H, Sugawara Y (2017) Multi-stage hybrid subsurface flow constructed wetlands for treating piggery and dairy wastewater in cold climate. Environ Technol 38(2):183–191

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Sato K, Masunaga T, Wakatsuki T (2005) Characterization of treatment processes and mechanisms of COD, phosphorus and nitrogen removal in a multi-soil-layering system. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 51:213–221

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Stevik TK, Aa K, Ausland G, Hanssen JF (2004) Retention and removal of pathogenic bacteria in wastewater percolating through porous media: a review. Water Res 38:1355–1367

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Latrach L, Ouazzani N, Masunaga T, Hejjaj A, Bouhoum K, Mahi M, Mandi L (2016) Domestic wastewater disinfection by combined treatment using multi-soil-layerin system and sand filters (MSL-SF): a laboratory pilot study. Ecol Eng 91:294–301

    Google Scholar 

  48. Lutterbeck CA, Kist LT, Zerwes FV, Lopez DR, Machado EL (2017) Life cycle assessment of integrated wastewater treatment systems with constructed wetlands in rural areas. J Clean Prod 148:527–536

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Gao J, Chen S, Wang W, Yan Q, Jiang N, Ruiqin Z (2012) Effects of unpowered complex eco-technology on sewage purification in central Chinese rural areas. Pol J Environ Stud 21(6):1595–1602

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Kouki S, M’hiri F, Saidi N, Belaïd S, Hassen A (2009) Performances of a constructed wetland treating domestic wastewaters during a macrophytes life cycle. Desalination 246:452–467

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Gholipour A, Stefanakis AI (2021) A full-scale anaerobic baffled reactor and hybrid constructed wetland for university dormitory wastewater treatment and reuse in an arid and warm climate. Ecol Eng 170:106360. S0925857421002159 106360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2021.106360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Gaballah MS, Abdelwahab O, Barakat KM, Stefanakis AI (2022) A pilot system integrating a settling technique and a horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland for the treatment of polluted lake water. Chemosphere 295:133844. S004565352200337X 133844. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.133844

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Center for Research and Studies on Water and Energy, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco

    Laila Mandi, Naaila Ouazzani & Faissal Aziz

  2. Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Laboratory of Water, Biodiversity and Climate change, Marrakech, Morocco

    Laila Mandi, Naaila Ouazzani & Faissal Aziz

Authors
  1. Laila Mandi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Naaila Ouazzani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Faissal Aziz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laila Mandi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Environmental Engineering and Management, School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Crete, Chania, Greece

    Alexandros Stefanakis

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Mandi, L., Ouazzani, N., Aziz, F. (2022). Constructed Wetlands as a Green and Sustainable Technology for Domestic Wastewater Treatment Under the Arid Climate of Rural Areas in Morocco. In: Stefanakis, A. (eds) Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment in Hot and Arid Climates. Wetlands: Ecology, Conservation and Management, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-03600-2_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation