Water Pilot Projects
JDAIDEH Municipality
- Farmers’ projects in the lower part of Barouk river and channel rehabilitation in the upper part of the river in Jdaidet el Chouf, Lebanon.
The intervention will work closely with another water/energy intervention that seeks to install a solar powered water pump at the Barouk River next to the canal. The pump will provide access to water to 25 different farms using a 3-kilowatt PV system, by pumping around 12 cubic meters per hour of water from a stream multiple times per week to 25 different tanks, totaling 150 cubic meters in volume. Farms in the area will have constant access to water that is vital for farming.
MONASTIR Municipality
- Rainwater harvesting tanks (well) for use in municipal gardens and farmers in Monastir, Tunisia.
The activity will oversee the excavation of a well and installation of a tank in it with a capacity of almost 750 m3, for the purpose of rainfall collection. In the Monastir municipality, a local soccer stadium roof contains a rain catchment system that is not utilized in any manner, and currently releases collected water onto the streets eventually reaching the ocean. The tank will be filled using rainwater at least twice a year.
The municipality currently waters the stadium lawn with clean potable water, costing it around $2000 a month for a total of $24,000 a year. The intervention will install a solar water pump at the tank to pump the collected rainwater to the stadium, saving $24,000 a year for the municipality for a system payback period of 2 years. Using the monthly savings, the municipality will begin applying the same project in other areas and facilities in Monastir, among them a large swimming pool that uses a large amount of water resources.
AL-KARAK Municipality
- Decorative plant nursery using treated water, composting and solar pumping in Lajoun in Karak, Jordan.
The intervention will create a plant nursery on municipality land and will install a solar water pump and a solar farm to power it. This is in addition to the existing solar farm in the area that will provide the energy for all non-water pumping related needs.
Al-Karak municipality currently spends $120,000-$150,000 a year on roadside plants for the purpose of minimizing and preventing erosion. This project aims to utilize a stream produced by a water treatment plant to irrigate decorative plants by pumping the water using solar power.
The project will be profitable when the municipality starts producing its own plants, saving around 50% of the annual budget allocated for this purpose. The new income will be a driving factor for the creation of jobs through the new source of income, while the income will be used to fund other NEXUS projects by the local development unit at the municipality. The project will also assist in restoring Al-Karak’s ecosystem through the regrowth and spread of plant species native to the area.