Questions/Answers

Located in Al Rayyan region, 60 km south west of Doha, Al Karaana Lagoons cover more than 4 km2. For more than 10 years, the site of Al Karaana Lagoons was a dump place for more than 6000 m3/day industrial wastewater transported by trucks. The lagoons consisted of 9 large ditches/holes in the ground without any lining or insulation to protect the ground water from pollution and without any pollution treatment/control measures. Water in these ditches/lagoons were subject to natural evaporation leaving behind a thick layer of deposits that consisted of solids, sludge, oil, grease, hydrocarbons, and many other waste materials. These lagoons generated a lot of environmental problems including groundwater and soil pollution, bad smell affecting nearby residents, drastic negative impact to the wildlife (fauna and flora), solid waste dumping of tires and other solid waste materials in the site by trucks, elimination of biodiversity, air pollution, and many more. In 2012, and in line with Qatar National Vision for 2030, Ashghal carried out a study to consider the Reclamation and Rehabilitation of Al Karaana Lagoons. The Project aimed to reclaim and rehabilitate the site including: remove all negative environmental impacts, decontaminate all polluted soils, re-establish a natural habitat for wildlife and migratory birds, prevent groundwater contamination, remove and clean the site from solid wastes (tires, plastics, bottles, bags, and other solid wastes), stop bad odour nuisances to nearby residents, stop air pollution, and bring the site into its natural original status.

This project is submitted under Category 2, which aims to recognize efforts to enhance the effectiveness of institutions in pursuit of the SDGs, underscoring the linkages among many of the SDGs via integrated policies and development plans. This project contributed to achieving SDG 6, water and sanitation, through elimination of uncontrolled and un-monitored sanitation practice and provided an alternative to this by designating and constructing a new state of the art industrial wastewater evaporation ponds that comply with all environmental regulations and the best practices. The project is also contributed to SGD 3, health care, by eliminating ground water pollution, eliminating air pollution, and providing clean water lagoons that brought biodiverse life back to the site and are used as a recreation place for the people in Qatar. The project additionally was a partnership between the Ministry of Municipalities and Environment (MME), the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), and the private sector (SUEZ and EGIS) which contributes to implementing SDG 17, promoting partnerships. Lastly, the project promotes sustainability in all aspects which contributes to achieving SDG 16.

The project converted the 4 square kilometers site from a polluted and contaminated place with no biodiverse life into a clean natural land, with 3 clean water lagoons that has all types of biodiversity, a recreation place for families, and an important stop station for a migratory birds.

a. Social sustainability: i. All sorts of pollutions (soil, air, solid waste) in the site were removed/treated and the 4 square kilometers site has been returned to its original natural status. ii. The 70 hectares TSE lagoons (green areas with many birds species) provided a recreation and attractive area for families and wildlife observers. iii. Complaints from nearby neighbors about pollution and bad smells have stopped completely. b. Economical sustainability: i. The new state-of-the art Industrial Evaporation Ponds (IEPs), complying with all environmental regulations, rely on natural evaporation of water for treatment without a need for any mechanical or electrical equipment. From trucks discharge by gravity, to water evaporation by sun and air conviction, no need for power at all to treat the 4,500 m3/day of industrial wastewater received by the new IEPs. ii. Very limited maintenance is required for all parts of the project, therefore very limited operating cost. iii. The project created research opportunities where Weill Cornell Medical College students started research to monitor biodiversity at site. iv. The project become an attractive spot for tourism. A lot of tourists visited the site since its completion. c. Environmental sustainability: i. Three 70 ha Lagoons were constructed to store 2.4 million m3 of treated wastewater (clean water) and to recreate a natural environment for wildlife, especially for migrating birds in Qatar. ii. The project also included new evaporation ponds (basins) with a storage capacity of 1.2 million m3 that can be used as an emergency disposal system for industrial effluents. Equipped with oil separation units, these basins are also protected by a thick insulating layer that prevents the leakage of contaminated water to groundwater. iii. State-of-the-art technologies were used to decontaminate sediments/soli using a thermal desorption unit to treat the most highly polluted sediments. iv. Lagoons drying, soil decontamination, elimination of air pollution, and creation of new three clean water lagoons has led to the sustainable development of the site with the preservation and restoration of biodiversity. A total of 78 species of bird have been recorded at the Al Karaana Lagoons, which constitutes a relatively large proportion of the recognized avifauna inventory of Qatar. v. The entire site has been remodelled and recovered its original environment aspect (desert with uneven shapes)

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The project is totally sponsored by the Government of Qatar, represented by the Public Works Authority (Ashghal). A total budget of 450 million Qatari Rials was allocated to implement this project. The conceptual design, detail design review and construction supervision was awarded to EGIS (Consultant), while the Design and Build (D&B) was awarded to SUEZ (Contractor). The contractual start and completion dates were 17 Dec 2017 and 08 June 2021 respectively however we managed to complete the project on 31 Dec 2019 (6 months ahead of time). All the project stakeholders showed a great cooperation which resulted in a huge success and early completion of the project.

Import of the thermal desorption unit from the Netherland to treat the highly contaminated soil on time. Cooperation at high level between all Government entities including the Ministry of Transport and port authorities was necessary in order to bring the unit and take all permits and make it available at site on time.

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The final cost of the project is 450 million Qatari Riyals (approx.. 125 million USD). A total of 200 people (at peak) were involved in implementing the project. More than 15 bodies were involved in the execution process of the project including client, ministries, consultant, contractor, sub-consultants and sub-contractors.

This project does not require any resources or power to run or maintain. It is a natural, recreational site that attract biodiverse communities including people to spend their times and enjoy and at the same time still provide (through the IEPs) a sustainable way to receive and treat industrial wastewater through natural evaporation complying with all environmental regulations and with no power requirement.

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a. It was evaluated by the Ministry of Municipalities and Environment (MME) from the date of sending them the environmental impact assessment (EIA) study for the project, to issuing the environmental permit, yearly renewal process of the environmental permit and after completion of the project. b. A research has been conducted by Weill Cornell Medical College to monitor the biodiversity at site and return of all types of funa and flora. c. No complaints have been received from nearby residents on pollution and bad smells after completing the project.

a. As part of the environmental permit, it was required to monitor the groundwater pollution. A total of 20 piezometers were drilled around the site during execution to monitor the impact of the project on groundwater. b. Odour monitoring station was installed in the nearby community to monitor odor impact of the project (before and after execution). c. Contaminants in soil were measured at site (in-situ) and by third party laboratories to ensure complete decontamination of the soil. d. Post project completion (31 Dec 2019), a quarterly monitoring report is submitted by the Contractor (SUEZ) to monitor groundwater quality, air quality, and engineered landfill (leachates and gas production) in the project to ensure that the project has achieved its objective and complies with the 44 environmental conditions issued in the environmental permit. e. Research by Weill Cornell has been conducted using drones, sampling of water at TSE lagoons, and visual frequent inspection to the site to monitor and record biodiversity at site after completing the project.

a. Complete drying of the old nine lagoons. b. Complete soil decontamination. c. Complete protection of the groundwater. d. Construction of three lined TSE lagoons to help brining biodiversity back to the site and create a beautiful recreational area. e. Construction of two Industrial Evaporation Ponds that comply with all environmental regulations to provide sustainable treatment for 4,500 m3/day of industrial wastewater. f. Bringing the site back to its natural clean and beautiful desert look.

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All related stakeholders took part in this project including the residents of the nearby Al Karaana Village who attended the project’s completion ceremony at site and planted trees at the edge of the TSE lagoons and expressed their happiness and joy to see the site cleaned from all sorts of pollution and brought back to its natural original status with the additional creation of clean water lagoons.

a. With the growing environmental knowledge and awareness of the Qatari community, uncontrolled dumping of raw wastewater in ditches dug in the desert will not be allowed anymore. b. Environmental protection and sustainability are two key objectives of all projects in Qatar. c. Participation of all stakeholders is key for a successful implementation of any project.