PERSGA, the Regional Organization for Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, an intergovernmental organization based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, invited 5 faculty members from the Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division (BESE) at KAUST, 4 from WDRC, to give specific lectures in the 3-day regional workshop on Mitigating the Impacts of Desalination Brine and Wastewater on the Marine and Coastal Environment in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, held in PERSGA headquarter in Jeddah from May 15-17, 2016.
On the first day, dedicated to the impact of water desalination, Prof. Noreddine Ghaffour from WDRC started the workshop with a presentation on Making Seawater Desalination Greener, followed by presentations given by Prof. Kim Choon Ng (WDRC) on Alternative Low Energy for Future Sustainable Desalination, Prof. Burton Jones from (RSRC) on Effects and Monitoring of Discharge Plumes in Coastal Regions, and Prof. Thomas Missimer, former Professor at WDRC and currently Professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, USA, on New Strategies for Disposal of Concentrate from Desalination Plants Discharging into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, Saudi Arabia.
The second day was dedicated to wastewater treatment and reuse. Prof. TorOve Leiknes, WDRC Director, started with a presentation on State of the Art of Wastewater Treatment for Reuse, followed by a presentation by Prof. Pascal Saikaly (WDRC) on Next Generation Biotechnologies for Wastewater treatment.
Other Professors, Engineers and researchers from PERSGA and the participating countries gave different presentations on the state of the art, needs and plans, regulations and standards as well as their experience on risk mitigations and monitoring in their respective countries.
