Abstract

In the Nile Delta region in Egypt, agriculture represents a crucial economic activity, and all the agricultural surface is irrigated with freshwater ultimately provided by the Nile river through a complex network of canals. Surface irrigation is widely applied, and the excess irrigation water, contaminated with fertilizers and pesticides, is collected by means of an intricate network of drainage water canals. However, several villages in Egypt are still suffering from low sanitation coverage and poor sanitary technology. Therefore, small drainage canals are often used to dispose untreated municipal wastewater (MWW) and industrial wastewater. The contaminated drainage canal water (DCW) is typically discharged in main drains, which eventually discharge in the Mediterranean sea. The treatment of drainage canal water potentially represents an important option for the Nile Delta, with the double purpose to produce water that can be reused for irrigation or for aquaculture and to reduce the pollutant load discharged in the Mediterranean. Thus, simple, low-tech, low-energy water treatment technologies are needed to treat drainage water up to irrigation-quality water. This dataset comprises the concentrations of key parameters measured in the inlet, outlet and in several intermediate sections of the NWRC pilot plant of drainage canal water treatment located near Lake Manzala, Egypt. The NWRC constructed wetland pilot project (250 m3/d) consists of a 500 m3 capacity sedimentation pond and 3 vegetated free water surface wetlands (20*10*1 m and 100 m3 capacity each) The 3 free water surface cells were designed to examine 3 new wetland types as follows: 1. Cascade Hybrid Constructed Wetland (CHCW): Consists of a 0.4-m deep FWS wetland on top of 0.4-m gravel bed subsurface wetland GBSW. A group of metal baffles were fixed at the entrance, exit and middle and inner parts to force water to flow through FWS and GBSW cells to create the maximum treatment paths. Reeds were transplanted at 25 stem/m2 density on top of the gravel surface. 2. Sequent Hybrid Constructed Wetland (SHCW): Consists of 2 0.8-m deep FWS wetland at the entrance and exit of the wetland cells which confines 2 GBSW 0.8-m cells deep between the entrance and the exit. A 0.10-m gravel layer was put above the 0.8-m GBCW cells to create the subsurface aeration conditions. Each treatment part is 5-m long and 10-m wide. A group of metal baffles were fixed at the entrance, exit and middle and inner parts to force water to flow through FWS and GBSW cells to create the maximum treatment paths. Reeds were transplanted at 25 stem/m2 density on top of FWS cells beds and the GBCW surface. 3. Floating beds Constructed Wetland (FBCW, control): A 20*10*0.8 m floating treatment wetland cell (FTW) will be used as a control; Baffles were installed as in the other 2 hybrid wetland cells in order to mimic water flow paths. Reeds plants were planted on recycled floating foam mats 1.0*0.5*0.05 m each. The rooted plants were grown in a shallower water depth for 2 months to enlarge the root length. Prof. Ahmed Rashed of the National Water Research Council of Egypt is the idea owner, planner, designer and operator of the hybrid wetland pilot plant object of this dataset. The construction of the pilot plant was financed by the National Water Research Council of Egypt, whereas the operation of the pilot plant and the scientific elaboration of the monitoring data were conducted by the National Water Research Council of Egypt in cooperation with the partners of the MADFORWATER project.