Morocco Oum Er Rbia Sanitation

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The objectives of the Oum Er Rbia Sanitation Project for Morocco are to: (i) increase access to sewerage services and reduce wastewater-related pollution in selected towns in the Project provinces of Azilal, Benimellal, Khourigba, Safi, Yousoufia and Settat; and (ii) pilot non-conventional technologies for wastewater systems in selected locations. There are two components to the project. The first component of the project is wastewater collection and treatment. This component will finance the rehabilitation, and expansion of existing sewerage systems (collection networks and treatment plants) and the purchase of operation and maintenance (O&M) equipment for eleven medium and small centers (Afourer, Beni Ayat, Boujniba, Boulanouar, Chemaia, Demnate, El Brouj, El Ksiba, Hattane, Ouaouizeght, and Youssoufia) covering six provinces in the Oum Er Rbia river basin (Azilal, Benimellal, Khourigba, Safi, Settat, and Youssoufia). These eleven towns were selected on a multi-criteria basis taking into consideration: a) the size of the population, b) the current impact of raw wastewater discharges on the population and the natural environment, and c) the availability of feasibility studies. The second component of the project is piloting of wastewater technologies and implementation support. This component is divided into three sub-components: sub-component 2A - twinning arrangement for piloting low-cost technologies. This will finance the services to be provided by a twinning partner that can help Office National de l'Eau Potable (ONEP) introduce and test the applicability of non-conventional low-cost sewerage technologies; sub-component 2B - odor control pilots in two treatment plants. This will finance the covering of anaerobic ponds in two pilot cities as a measure to reduce odor and capture the methane for potential productive uses. This sub-component will finance the covering of the anaerobic lagoons in two locations to be selected. The wastewater treatment plants in M'rirt and Kalaat M'Gouna have been initially identified as potential sites for this activity; sub-component 2C - support to project implementation. It will finance consulting services for construction supervision, project management, monitoring and reporting activities including monitoring of the environmental management plans.