Clean and Green environmentally impacts Gardez  

A completed three cell sand filter. (Photo by Jon C. Allen)

Jon Allen, pictured with the Sand Filter, an integral part of the Gardez Wastewater Reclamation Project. (Photo by Jon C. Allen)

The Gardez Rose Gardens, which even bloom with ice hanging off of them in the dead of a below zero Gardez winter, are attracting attention far and wide. (Photo by Jon C. Allen)

Dec. 22, 2008

By Brenda L. Beasley
Afghanistan

Few trees are on the valley floor.  Rugged mountains make travel difficult.  The city, at an elevation of about 7,600 feet, nearly a half-mile higher than Denver is about the size of South Carolina.  The terrain looks like a cross between the Badlands of South Dakota and the Painted Desert of Arizona.  This is the city of Gardez, the capital of the Paktia Province in Afghanistan, where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Afghanistan Engineer District (AED), has established a successful Clean and Green program that is helping to sustain the environment, with a Horticulture and Re-Forestation Program on the horizon that could help further economic growth.

At the Afghan National Army (ANA) Garrison in Gardez, AED worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development, to collect and treat wastewater on the base for reuse in certain applications and to conserve clean treated groundwater as potable water.  Instead of drawing down the aquifer, the current status and health is unknown, recycled water is now used repeatedly for watering gardens, washing vehicles and flushing toilets. 

"Fresh water in Afghanistan is like gold," said Jon C. Allen, the AED operations and maintenance manager of region five.  "It's a precious commodity that needs to be protected."

Completed in October 2007, the program consists of four functioning components - a sand filter, a wastewater retention reservoir, a vehicle wash rack and a recycling station.  By reusing the treated wastewater for irrigation of plants and shrubs, the Afghan National Army realized a huge savings.  Then reusing it for washing vehicles instead of fresh water that comes from their wells at a finite cost per liter almost doubled their savings.   

"Altogether, we conserved 2 million liters of fresh water a month," Allen said.

"First, the sand filter purifies the wastewater generated by the Afghan National Army base.  All wastewater flows to a Master Lift Station where it is then pumped into the first stage of a four-stage wastewater treatment facility consisting of eight large lagoons," said Allen. "These lagoons are equipped with aerators that add oxygen to the water and simultaneously accelerate the process of separating solids which go to the bottom of the lagoons."

"Secondly, by creating a wastewater retention reservoir to capture the water for storage until needed, they were able to further develop a valuable resource in the arid Gardez, where wastewater evaporates quickly," Allen said. 

Previously the water simply exited the last stage of the wastewater lagoons, entered underground piping and flowed outside the base, where it was forgotten.
   
The third component, a vehicle wash rack, is a closed loop system, where excess water is captured, directed through an oil/water separator and then pumped into the first stage of the wastewater treatment lagoons. 

"The closed loop system helps make efficient use of the wastewater by preventing an outlet for evaporation," said Kathryn A. Carpenter, the program manager for water resources in AEDs Water and Infrastructure Branch.

Located near the water reclamation project is a burn pit that is used by the Afghan National Army to incinerate garbage and other various undesirable materials.  They took the program a step further and turned the pit into a recycling center where materials are segregated and then sold to the community in Gardez.

"This not only brings useful materials back to the community, but drastically reduces the amount of materials being incinerated," Allen said.  "It also resulted in a marked decrease in air pollution."

With the four components in place and functioning, there is a proposal that focuses on the next step, which is establishing a Horticulture and Re-forestation Program, Allen said.  

This will require the support of all organizations involved in the ownership and authority of the real estate inside and around Afghan National Army Garrison Base Gardez.  Non-government organizations have expressed an active interest in being involved in an agriculture project at Gardez.

If supported, the proposed benefits would include educating University of Gardez students on the complete growing cycle needed from germination to harvest; sustainability of not only food crops but also crops that can be harvested, processed, packaged and sold on the open market to provide a means of income for the community; and turning a brown, desolate piece of land into a lush, nutrient-rich source of food and income-producing agriculture, Allen said.

Like the rest of Afghanistan, Gardez has suffered from a decade-long drought.  Even the heavy rains of the winter have not replenished the water table in this area.  Sustainable use of limited natural resources is extremely important to an arid country that only gets 250 millimeters of rain per year on average. 

"The most readily available source of water is groundwater," Carpenter said.  "They've been in a drought since 1999, and the groundwater levels have been steadily declining."

Right now there is very little infrastructure to capture and hold water coming from the spring snow melt, which directly affects Afghanistan's agriculture.  About 80 percent of Afghanistan's economy is based on agriculture, which relies on irrigation.  Proper management of water resources supports irrigation, which in turn drives agriculture, which in turn boosts the local economy. 

"Water is the base of all life," Carpenter said.  "You're not going to have a sustainable economy unless you manage your water resources."

Since Gardez is also a major lumber market, many of its natural forests are being cut down.  The proposed re-forestation project will result from seedlings and produce forest products that will help provide food, wood, shelter and wildlife habitat.  It will also help to raise the aquifer levels and reduce soil erosion. 

"Plants hold soil in place and slow water down so it won't run off as quick," Carpenter said. 
"It percolates down into the ground and recharges the groundwater aquifer."

AED is continually bringing Western technology and ideas to Afghanistan.  The Afghans have embraced some, while others are slower to take hold.  Because it's been a struggle just to survive over the past 30 years, the culture in this country has never really embraced the idea of conserving natural resources.  But the concept of treating and reusing wastewater is very low technology which they'll be able to easily maintain. 

"What we're doing with this wastewater is very simple.  They'll be able to sustain use of this system after we leave," Allen said.  "We're helping them develop their water resources, which is a cornerstone of living for the future."