First Name:
Latifa
Last Name:
Bousselmi
Type of BP
Technical solution
Typology of Non- Conventional Water Resources (NCWR) What kind of NCWR do you deal with ?:
Rainwater (RW), Greywater (GW)
What are the challenges raised by your Best Practice?
NCW not valued locally, Move towards zero discharge at local level, Closing the water and nutrient cycle, Low sustainability of the treatment system, Operational conditions not optimised, Inadequate strategy, Vulnerability to climate Change, Reclacitrance to use treated NCW
How could you describe your Best Practice?
The Living green wall LGW is a system for treating grey water, recycling it in toilet flushes after disinfection and reusing it to irrigate an edible garden. Grey water is the water used for showers and comes from the university hostel. The LGW is a nature-based solution made up of three components: the plants, the substrate and the grey water to be treated. The final water quality required for each use is the objective of the treatment and the driving force behind the design in terms of surface area and residence time. The whole system is equivalent to a vertical constructed wetland built but implemented in a wall, making it an ideal solution for urban environments. The system is integrated into local water management, mobilizing rainwater collected from rooftops in addition to grey water. Rainwater is used to maintain the well condition of the LGW in the absence of grey water. It is also used to irrigate the vegetable garden, while the treated grey water irrigates the fruit trees. The irrigation system is underground, using olla trickle irrigation system. The LGW creates a relaxing space for students, introduces biodiversity into the city and contribute mitigate the impact of climate change.
The green wall was implemented in the frame of NAWAMED project (ENI CBCMED Program) by the Centre for Water Research and Technologies (CERTE) in collaboration with the partner IRIDRA at the SWM House, CERTE's pilot station located within INAT.
The green wall was implemented in the frame of NAWAMED project (ENI CBCMED Program) by the Centre for Water Research and Technologies (CERTE) in collaboration with the partner IRIDRA at the SWM House, CERTE's pilot station located within INAT.
Please describe your Best Practice in 5 keywords?
Living Green Wall, Grey water, Non-conventional water, Urban area , Nature based solutions
Please provide any links to useful documentations (including website)presenting your Best Practice
In which area has your Best Practice been implemented ?
Urban area
Best Practice location implementation (Country)
Tunisia
Localisation
POINT (10.182250126987 36.832176737008)
Please add the date of implementation of your best practice
Who are the beneficiaries and/or the target group of your Best Practice ?
Water Utilities, Local Population, Municipalities, Farmers, Householders, Management Authorities
f the Best Practice has been implemented within a partnership, who were your partners ?
The Living Green Wall has been implemented in the frame of NAWAMED Project by the centre for water research and technologies, laboratory of wastewater and environment in collaboration with IRIDRA and the national support of National Institute of Agriculture of Tunisia, the students house and the municipality of Tunis.
Have you involved stakeholders?
Yes
What are the obstacles to implementation of Best Practice ?
Lack of an adequate regulatory framework, Lack of dissemination of success stories related to NCW, Isuffi cient funding instruments to support solution for NCW, Lack of public acceptance of water reuse, Lack of training of professionals to take up best practices in their portfolio, Other (Please specify below)
Other obstacles
The NCW is not considered as ressource in the national governance system.
Did you receive funding for the research and development of the proposed BP?
Yes
Please indicate the source of funding
EU funding, National funding
What difficulties you have faced to access the funding ?
High competition among very interesting projects and low number of funding projects.
Has your Best Practice been validated/upscaled?
The living Green Wall is a pilot implemented in a real site with possibilities to treat all produced grey water by the student house. It was adapted to the national context by applying, when possible, local materials. It is implemented also in Sicily and Lebanon in the frame of the same project.
Is there the potential to exploit/outscale the Best Practice?
The potential is very high considering that the LGW is adapted solution to water scarcity and adaptation to climate change as well as the transition of cities to green and sustainable ones.
Do you have or know any platform of sharing Best Practice that you would like to link to this inventory platform?
No
Does your Best Practice contribute to an innovation? If so, please provide a short description of the innovative component
The main innovation components are (1) the application of the constructed wetland design in vertical walls to tackle the low availability of area at urban context. (2) To optimise the interaction plant/substrates/greywater to reach the target quality of treated grey water function of the reuse.
What technolog(ies) and/or tool(s) has(ve) been used for your Best Practice ?
Living Green Wall, Pretreatment, Desinfection , Olla trickle irrigation system
Please indicate the TRL associated with your Best Practice
TRL7 : System prototype demonstration in operational environment
Flow rate (m3/day)
2.20
Flow rate
The average flowrate is 2,2 m3/day but strongly depends on the activities of students. It decreases to zero during student's holidays and summer period.
What is the necessary area to implement your Best Practice (m2) ?
70.00
What is the necessary area to implement your BP ?
The surface of covered wall depends on the flowrate of greywater to be treated and the design/selection of the reactors (plant/substrate).
COD (mg/l), Chemical Oxygen Demand
109.00
Comment : COD
The COD range is between 50 to 180 mg O2/l, 109 is an average value.
Flow rate (m3/day) of treated NCW
2.20
Flow rate of treated NCW
The average flowrate is 2,2 m3/day but strongly depends on the activities of students. It decrease to zero during students holidays and summer period
What is the average number of people producing this NCW flow per day (number of population)
212.00
What is the average number of people producing this NCW flow per day
The student's house has a capacity of 212 students.
Efficiency (BOD5 % Removal)
The Living Green Wall was operated since February 2023, and operation is still under optimisation
Comment : Efficiency (COD % Removal):
The Living Green Wall was operated since February 2023, and operation is still under optimisation
Efficiency (SS % Removal):
The Living Green Wall was operated since February 2023, and operation is still under optimisation
Efficiency (Salinity % Removal)
The Living Green Wall was operated since February 2023, and operation is still under optimisation
Comment : Other (% Removal)
The Living Green Wall was operated since February 2023, and operation is still under optimisation
What is the impact on the beneficiaries of your Best Practice ?:
Development of sustainable solution (LGW) with multi-effects and functions, ready to be adopted by stakeholders and decisionmakers.
Water available at the local level for multiuse.
Implementation of edible community garden for students thanks to the treated greywater and collected rainwater.
Water available at the local level for multiuse.
Implementation of edible community garden for students thanks to the treated greywater and collected rainwater.
Comment : O&M Cost:
The O&M cost are mainly related to the wall maintenance (plants)
Capital Cost
The implemented LGW is experimental one with several operation options in order to collect informations and optimise its functioning, which impact on the capital cost.
Comment : Average Energy consumption:
Information is not available but energy is used for pumping and disinfection.
Toilet Flushing, Garden Irrigation
Information not available but flow meters are under implementation
Is your Best Practice economically viable ?
8
Is your Best Practice environmentally sustainable ?
10
If there was a sustainability assessment carried out, what are the result of this assessment ?
Not available
Number of jobs created &/or preserved
3.00
Comment : Number of jobs created &/or preserved
2 engineers and 1 researcher have been recruited to conduct the LGW implementation and monitoring.
Please indicate the other various social impact of your Best Practice :
Social Cohesion, Preservation of living environment, Improvment of health conditions, Sustaining natural ecosystems
To which Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) your Best Practice contributes?
SDG3: Good Health and Well-being, SDG4: Quality Education, SDG6: Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG13: Climate Action, SDG17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal
Sustainable NBS need a holistic approach and multidisciplinary expertise for its implementation.
LGW is complex system strongly impacted by the local context.
LGW is complex system strongly impacted by the local context.
Have you any recommendation to add?
This Best Practice (BP) will be updated to integrate the efficiency and costs after optimisation and monitoring.
Please indicate the acronyms of used &/or developed technologies/Tools:
Desinfection process, UV, Nature based process, Living wall, Degreaser