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Wastewater management is not limited to the technology used to collect and treat wastewater. It begins with the early planning phase of building a society and includes considerations of how that society will grow. Therefore, history, culture, religion, and socioeconomy are important components to include in any relevant and integrated studies of wastewater management and reuse. Engineering, health, chemistry, biology, food production, cultural heritage, and the needs of people of all ages should be considered together when making management decisions regarding issues so intimately tied with humanity as water and sanitation. Other escalating challenges such as poverty, food, and water scarcity, migration and instability, flooding and catastrophes, diseases and mortality, etc. should also be considered as part of wastewater management and reuse planning. Emerging contaminants could be associated with the urbanization, modernization, and industrialization of several countries. Several arid countries have developed water security strategies where wastewater reuse is a major component. The existing wastewater treatment technologies in these countries are, in most cases, unable to remove such contaminants which may affect irrigation waters, industrial products, groundwater, etc. People would have to accept that the food on their tables could be irrigated with treated wastewater that they generated a few months ago, even if very advanced technologies were used to treat it. The purpose of this review is to highlight multidisciplinary areas of research on wastewater and to propose applicable and affordable mechanisms by which we may consider wastewater as a legitimate resource.

Support for the use of treated gray water as an alternative water resource in the Middle East and North Africa is high, especially given the lack of religious restrictions against its use, but several obstacles have kept application of treated gray water near 1 % in some areas. The largest of obstacles include the cost of treatment and the ambiguity surrounding the health safety of gray water and treated gray water. This paper aims to provide an overview of current gray water practices globally, with specific focus on household-level gray water practices in the Middle East and North Africa region, and highlight the need for cost reduction strategies and epidemiological evidence on the use of household-level gray water and treated gray water. Such actions are likely to increase the application of treated gray water in water-deprived areas of the Middle East and North Africa.

Abstract. Harsh environment, severe aridity, and climate change create chronic water shortages in the Middle East. Technical challenges, socio-economic factors, and competing uses of water have escalated the difficulties in water planning at national and institutional levels. This research identifies opportunities and challenges associated with wastewater treatment systems and the potential for wastewater reuse in the West Bank, Tunisia, and Qatar through the following objectives: (1) identify the factors associated with successful and unsuccessful reuse schemes, (2) compare treated wastewater quality with end use application of treated wastewater, and (3) identify the governance and social challenges preventing the use of treated wastewater, specifically in agricultural applications. Water quality analyses and consultations with farmers, local stakeholders, and water and agriculture experts were conducted. Opportunities and challenges for treated wastewater reuse in agriculture are identified as the proximity of the treatment facility to agricultural areas, water quality, and motivation of farmers. With proper maintenance and appropriate monitoring, the modest (natural) treatment facilities in the West Bank and secondary treatment technologies in Tunisia are capable of producing effluent safe for use in production of certain agricultural products; however, in Qatar, despite massive investments in producing high-quality treated wastewater using advanced treatment technologies, there is little demand. Water policies, laws and acts, and action plans are urgently needed to be coupled and integrated for implementation. Keywords: Arid lands, Food security, MENA, Wastewater treatment, Water reuse.

neering Program and leads the Global Engineering Education Collaboratory (GEEC) research group. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Michigan Tech and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Science and Technology Studies (STS) from Virginia Tech. Dr. Jesiek draws on expertise from engineering, computing, and the social sciences to advance understanding of geographic, disciplinary, and historical variations in engineering education and professional practice.