Gulf states try to tackle water woes

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - Plans are afoot to build what could become one of the world's longest pipelines, costing $10.5bn and stretching about 2,000 kilometres from Oman to Kuwait.

But instead of transporting the fossil fuels produced in this oil-rich corner of the Middle East, the pipes would be pumping something even more precious: water. With little groundwater - and, in some cases, just a few days' worth of fresh water in reserve - countries in the Gulf region fear they could face dire consequences if their water supply were to be disrupted.

This is an important project to secure water sustainability, because we are in a [water] scarce region.

- Rashid Bin Fahad, UAE's environment and water minister

Last week, the undersecretaries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries' water authorities met in Kuwait to discuss the proposed "water grid", which would shuttle the liquid from states with excess supply to those in need of a drink. Meetings on the mega-project are expected to resume in March at the ministerial level.

The GCC is a bloc of six oil-exporting monarchies including Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman.

"Water has always been the biggest challenge - not just for the UAE, but for the world," Rashid Bin Fahad, the UAE's environment and water minister, told Al Jazeera. "This is an important project to secure water sustainability, because we are in a [water] scarce region."

Water worries

Threats to the GCC countries' water supply, say some analysts, are magnified by the fact that they rely heavily on desalinating water from a single source: the Gulf.

Walid Khalil Zubari, a water scientist from Bahrain who participated in last week's meeting, said he sees five types of threats to the region's water supply: pollution caused by oil spills, red tides, or other factors; nuclear contamination; power outages or hackers disabling desalination plants; natural disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes; and acts of war.

"Most of the Gulf countries have relatively little water storage," said Tom Pankratz, the editor of Water Desalination Report. "If there are operational problems with multiple plants in one area, you could jeopardise the water production for a fairly large number of people and industries."

The transnational grid would be the first of its kind, according to Zubari. The plan calls for building two giant desalination plants on Oman's Indian Sea coast that would together be able to produce 500 million cubic metres of water per year.

Desalination plants extract the salt found in seawater - either by heating the water and condensing the steam, or pushing the water through a membrane that filters out the salt. The process is energy-intensive, but the Gulf countries have no shortage of fuel - and plants are becoming more efficient.

The biggest beneficiaries of the grid, Zubari said, would likely be Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait, because their limited amounts of groundwater give them few options in case of emergency. More

 

Hosting of water summit a testament to Abu Dhabi's commitment

 Never has water been a more critical resource for the UAE than it is today, as the country's population and growth swell further.

The announcement last week that Abu Dhabi would host an annual International Water Summit further testifies to this fact. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, even said recently that "water is more important than oil in the United Arab Emirates".

The UAE is among the world's most water-scarce nations, while being among the highest per capita water consumers in the world. Abu Dhabi's consumption of water resources is 24 times greater than its natural recharge capacity. To bridge the gap, the UAE has long relied on desalination - for about 90 per cent of its water, according to estimates. But this comes with a very high energy cost, which is tricky when the UAE is trying to cut carbon emissions.

It's time for the UAE to reduce the environmental footprint of its water treatment sector, which we hope to do in part through the establishment of a new Centre of Excellence for Water Technologies, being launched by the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. Work on the facility begins next month. More

 

Abu Dhabi to host water summit from next year

 ABU DHABI - In a move to promote water security in arid regions, General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, on Wednesday, announced the International Water Summit (IWS) to begin next year alongside the World Future Energy Summit in January 2013.

Dr Rashid Ahmed bin Fahd, Minister of Environment and Water; Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar; and Dr Glen Daigger, President of the International Water Association (IWA); were also present at a Press conference at the ongoing World Future Energy Summit (WFES) to announce the details of the summit.

The International Water Association (IWA) is a global network of water professionals, working everyday to provide water and sanitation services which create healthy living conditions, fuel the economy, protect the environment and enhance the living conditions.

During the Press briefing, the minister said as a result of the increased pressure on this valuable resource due to various factors including growing population, agricultural demands and economic growth and the unsustainable consumption patterns, various countries around the world are currently facing real problems with water resources.

Dr Fahad emphasised that the climate change has increased the pressure on the resources as well. Therefore, this launch — as a result of our visionary leadership’s drive towards achieving water security — helmed by the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will shed a real light on the subject.

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said that the launch of the International Water Summit reflects the important role the UAE is playing in supporting the international efforts in answering the pressing challenges facing the world today.

Quoting General Shaikh Mohammed, Dr Al Jaber said that water is more important than oil in the UAE. This is a bold and clear signal that an economy based on oil is placing water at the topmost of its agenda. He also made a clear call to action that we need to enhance and increase the studies and research, create strategic action plans, and find solutions to preserving this invaluable resource for future generations. More