Dr. Farah Al Barwani

Research and Development Senior Manager
Oman Environmental Services Holding Company's (be'ah)

Dr.- Ing. Atef Belhaj Ali

International Sales Manager / Geospatial Technologies Expert Barthauer Software GmbH

Dr.-Eng. Belhaj Ali, a seasoned expert with over three decades of experience, is a leader in geospatial database design, GIS web application development, and advanced technical studies in GIS. His specialization spans spatial analysis, geospatial data integration, and the development of custom technical specifications tailored to client needs. Proficient in industry-leading tools like ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Desktop 10, QGIS, and GvSIG, Dr. Belhaj Ali also brings deep expertise in image processing with software such as PCI Geomatica, Erdas Imagine, and Envi. His track record includes successfully managing complex GIS projects and designing innovative geospatial databases. In the realm of project management, Dr. Belhaj Ali excels in strategic planning, team coordination, and the management of budgets, contracts, and partnerships. A multilingual communicator fluent in English, French, and Arabic, he has guided technical teams and mentored interns with remarkable effectiveness. Beyond industry contributions, Dr. Belhaj Ali has an extensive academic footprint, actively participating in international conferences and symposiums while leveraging over 20 years of teaching and mentoring graduate students across Tunisia, France, and Saudi Arabia.

Dr. Farah Al Barwani

Research and Development Senior Manager
Oman Environmental Services Holding Company's (be'ah)

Abdullah Salim Suhail Al Awaid

Wastewater Projects Manager
Nama Dhofar Services

Using treated water for aquifer recharge of groundwater presents a wide spectrum of technical and health challenges. A major consideration is the possible presence of chemical and microbiological agents in the source water that could be hazardous to human health and to the environment. Concerns about hazardous agents in the water apply particularly to potable reuse. Although non-potable uses such as irrigation can result in human exposure to hazardous agents, there is less potential for exposure and the risks are therefore significantly lower. In the present study, the sampling and observation results clearly indicate that the injection of the treated water in the aquifer system improves the groundwater quality and it may not have any discernible risk and harmful impacts for the aquifer system as well to the human health. A summarized review of the study is given in the case study. The concept of treated water injection is becoming widely accepted and adopted by many countries especially those experiencing water shortages and saline water intrusion problems (Metcalf & Eddy, 2003, Toze, 2006; Fytili and Zabaniotou, 2007). Injection of treated water effluents can significantly reduce or completely remove the impact of these effluents on receiving environments. Additionally, the injection of treated waters may reduce the amount of water that needs to be extracted from environmental water sources. However, due to health and safety concerns, a careful study is required on the same. Over ten years of treated water injection by SSDC (Currently NDS) into the quaternary rocks and the Adawnib formation aquifer has demonstrated that it has positively impacted the aquifer as evidenced by the increase in prevailing groundwater level. The historic groundwater level contours along with the current groundwater level contours results clearly indicates gradual increases in the groundwater level in the aquifer system, especially at the down gradient side of approximately 1.0 to 2.0 km distant from the Arabian Sea shore along injection strip (where the saline water intrusion possibilities are more). Also, EC (Salinity) of the groundwater wells is shown to decrease in the injection area. From the TDS contour map , it is clearly evident that in and around the injection strip, groundwater TDS value is ≤ 2000 mg/L, whereas the outside of the injection strip the groundwater TDS value is > 2000 mg/L. Hence the results signify that due to injection of treated water, the salinity level gradually decreased in the aquifer system and therefore the actual objective of the injection of treated sewage effluent water in the aquifer was to stave off increasing groundwater salinities along the coastline resulting from seawater intrusion which was recommended in Dames & Moore 1993 report and the Groundwater Pollution Protection Master Plan (GWPPMP) prepared by Mott MacDonald (1999) is achieved by SSDC (Currently NDS).

Oriol Carbó Monmany

Research And Development Technician
GS Inima Environment

Oriol Carbó holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), MSc in Biological and Environmental Engineering also from UAB and a PhD in Water Science and Technology from the University of Girona. He completed his doctoral studies in an industrial setting at the company GS Inima Environment, where he currently works in the R&D department developing new wastewater treatment technologies. He is currently working on the demonstration at full-scale of the combined HRAS, AGS and anammox processes in the mainstream of urban WWTPs.

Sankar Natarajan

Global Head Sales,
Process Engineering and Commissioning - Gradiant International Holdings Pte Ltd

Marcus Vollmer

CEO
Bioworks Verfahrenstechnik GmbH

Said Al Busaidi

Asset Performance Manager
Nama Water Services

Said Majid Al-Busaidi is an Asset Performance Manager with 17+ years in the utilities industry, specializing in ISO 55000, asset integrity, lifecycle management, and risk assessment. At Nama Water, he leads asset performance, maintenance optimization, and pipeline rehabilitation. Certified in ISO 55000 (IAM UK) and ISO 50001, he has a strong background in power and desalination plants, reliability engineering, and energy management.

Mohammad Mourad

Country Manager
KSA / Development Manager Middle-East - Seureca - Veolia

Dr. Mohammad Mourad is a distinguished environmental and water engineering expert with over 20 years of experience, including 15 years in project management and 9 years leading engineering and consultancy business units. As Country Manager for KSA, Kuwait, and Bahrain at Seureca, he oversees diverse projects in water, wastewater, and waste management for clients such as NWC, MEWA, and ARAMCO. Dr. Mourad's expertise spans waste management, environmental assessments, and infrastructure engineering. He has led impactful initiatives, including the development of Saudi Arabia's National Environmental Strategy, a diagnostic study of 94 sewage treatment plants, and the formulation of hazardous waste facility RFPs. In addition, he has conducted environmental assessments for industrial wastewater and lagoon remediation projects. An innovator in Research & Development, Dr. Mourad has pioneered patented solutions for wastewater networks and developed predictive tools for bathing water quality, funded by the EU and French governments. He has authored over 30 scientific publications in renowned journals and conferences. Dr. Mourad holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the National Institute for Applied Sciences, LyonFrance, and is fluent in Arabic, French, and English.