Evaluation and forecasting groundwater consumption in Kuwait

Abstract

With rapid growth of population coupled with increasing urbanisation and agriculture, the demand for water in Kuwait is continually on the increase. The objective of this research is to analyse and forecast groundwater consumption in Kuwait. Al-Rowdhatain and Umm Al-Aish aquifers in the northern part of Kuwait are the only regions in the country that contain fresh groundwater. Total groundwater consumption in Kuwait has increased from 190 × 106 imperial gallons (0.864 × 106 m3) in 1954 to 18.5 × 109 imperial gallons (84.1 × 106 m3) in 2010, which represents a 97.4 fold increase. The Government of Kuwait heavily subsidises water production. While 1,000 imperial gallons (4,545 m3) of water costs the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) KD 3.21 (US$11.00) to produce, the customer is charged KD 0.8 (US$2.72) for it. Predictions of future groundwater consumption would help the government in its efforts to reform its subsidy policy. Our conclusions provide useful remarks on groundwater usage rationalisation and future investigation of groundwater resources in Kuwait and other arid regions.