Towards the use of industrial wastewater for irrigation in Kuwait

Abstract

The water resources in Kuwait are very limited. Groundwater exists in an aquifier stretching east of the Arabian peninsula and gently sloping towards the Gulf. Therefore, agricultural development depends mainly on groundwater. In recent years, however, the practice of protected agriculture (greenhouse) has spread, increasing the demand for desalinated water at escalating costs. Hence, there was a real need to search for a less expensive source of water to satisfy other uses than the domestic. This paper focuses on the industrial wastewater discharged into the Gulf in the Shuaiba Industrial Area (SIA). The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) and the Shuaiba Area Authority (SAA) have made a joint research study to protect marine ecology from industrial pollutants. Among their recommendations was the alternative of using such water for irrigation. The quality of the water, as indicated, presents no obstacles. However the duration and the quantity of flows were not discussed. This paper discusses the possibility of adding such a source to the allocated amounts for irrigation, based on time series analysis of the quantities of industrial wastewater delivered from Shuaiba Refinery (SR). The paper also suggests future work to capture the amounts of water releases below the industry.