This work package adresses a broad range and great variety of IWRM domains, such as water demands, water scarcity, costs and benefits of water projects,water pricing, institutions, poverty, and governance. It consists of 11 studies:

• Cost-benefit analysis of decentralized wastewater treatment (DWWT) and reuse in Jordan: An application in Maghareeb and Ma’addi
• Environmental and socio-economic benefits of decentralized wastewater treatment in Palestine
• Assessing the impacts of different water qualities and quantities on the farmers’ income and their economic situation in Palestine
• Assessing the impacts of different water qualities and quantities on the farmers’ income and their economic situation in the Jordan Valley
• Cost effectiveness of decentralized wastewater treatment (DWWT), water reuse, managed aquifer recharge (MAR), and brackish water treatment (BRT)
• Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of alternative IWRM strategies and their financial feasibility on the basin level in Palestine and the Lower Jordan Valley
• Costs of different IWRM technologies in the West Bank
• Social acceptability of different IWRM technologies in the West Bank
• Institutional feasibility of alternative IWRM technologies in the West Bank
• Assessment of multiple water qualities in Israeli municipalities
• Framework for decentralized wastewater treatment and water reuse in Jordan

As an example, an overview of the results of one of these studies is given below.

Social Acceptability of Different IWRM Technologies in the West Bank

The report deals with the main drivers of social acceptance, such as water and poverty, water pricing and tariff structure, willingness to pay and affordability. The Jericho case study focuses on the socio-economic implications of IWRM strategies in a specific basin.

In agriculture, water harvesting is often preferred, because it is a cheap option. Many of the farmers prefer drilling of own wells to keep the water costs low and to be independent of other sources. The readiness to use treated wastewater is low; a huge public awareness campaign to promote the concept water reuse is needed. Since the tariff systems for the domestic, commercial, and agricultural users appear to be somewhat unbalanced, the report contains some recommendations of how to improve them. With respect to the water tariffs for municipal users, the block rate settings should be revised in order to align them to the actual water consumptions, to encourage water saving, and to ensure social equity and cost recovery. (Klinger et al. 2014, Klinger et al. 2015)