The Ministry of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resource and Fisheries aims to ensure integrated, efficient, ecological and sustainable management of water resource and the sustainable use of agricultural soils on the Mornag plain, southeast of the city of Tunis. The project consists of two components: the first is dedicated to the artificial recharge of the Mornag aquifer with treated wastewater from the “Sud Méliane II” water treatment plant, and with surface water from the Medjerda Cap Bon Canal (CMCB). The second component addresses the rehabilitation of Mornag irrigated schemes on a total area of 6,812 ha.

The recharge component aims at recharging the aquifer with treated wastewater and surface water from the Medjerda Cap Bon Canal (CMCB). The rehabilitation component aims at rehabilitating the irrigation infrastructure of the Mornag irrigated public schemes, which have been operational since 1982.

One of the main challenges of the project is to transfer the management and maintenance of the secondary and tertiary water supply networks to farmer’s organizations (GDA) after their rehabilitation. The participation of all beneficiaries in the different components is essential for the successful completion of the project. The components include conventional and non-conventional recharge, the acceptability of the use of treated wastewater for irrigation, the rehabilitation or modernization of existing infrastructure and their autonomous management/operation, as defined in the project framework, and irrigation water fees.

The pressure in the irrigation network will be increased to enable the introduction of water saving methods (such as drip and sprinkler irrigation). The management and the maintenance of the tertiary system and the water fees collection will be done by farmer’s organizations (groupements de développement agricole).