100% Recycling Of Wastewater on Campus
Every year, World Environment Day is celebrated globally on June 5th and adopts an annual theme aimed at raising awareness about the importance of safeguarding our planet and developing a sustainable development model. This year, Ecosystem Restoration is the main focus, and NDU wanted to highlight one of the many ongoing initiatives in that regard.
“Every drop counts” was the motto behind the successful work done on the wastewater project. NDU successfully recycles 100% of its wastewater on campus. The University has, since its inception, constructed a complete wastewater treatment plant made up of two on-campus stations, with secondary stage treatment and a final chlorination phase.
All generated wastewater is treated on-campus, and the effluent, which is considered adequate for irrigation of forests and trees, is discharged into an irrigation channel that feeds into Nahr-El-Kalb valley.
Further upgrading to landscape irrigation water quality has been established, and a pilot project to further upgrade the effluent quality through advanced recycling in natural reedbed systems has been launched without adding to the carbon footprint of NDU. The outcome of the pilot project is very promising, and the water quality is improved to allow storage and reuse of water for landscape irrigation purposes.
This project was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through a Lebanon Water Project (LWP).
Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU) is a committed and responsible steward of the Earth and the human race. From innovation to public engagement, #NDUers are striving to balance today’s economic, environmental, and social issues with related needs for the future.