Minimization of Freshwater Extraction by Using Treated Wastewater: A Fuzzy-Based Approach

Abstract

The rapid growth of population, insufficient recharges of fresh water to the underground aquifers and increased agricultural and landscaping activities have stressed on the natural water systems in the Middle East countries. One of the available freshwater supply sources is the underground water system, which is commonly known as non-renewable water source. A large portion of domestic wastewater is currently discharged into the natural water bodies without primary treatment. Being contaminated by domestic use, discharged wastewater may cause serious environmental effects to the aquatic biota. Reuse of this water has dual benefit: reduction of fresh water extraction from stressed non-renewable sources and minimization of environmental effects. This study has introduced a fuzzy evaluation of treated wastewater reuse for agricultural and landscaping purposes. Fuzzy hierarchy structure has been developed to conduct this study. Fuzzy triangular membership functions have been employed to capture relevant uncertainties. The analytic hierarchy process has been incorporated to develop priority matrices for different hierarchy level attributes. The uncertainty in developing priority matrices was minimized through incorporating different experts' judgments from relevant field. Finally, a hypothetical case study was performed and future research directions were outlined.