Water security in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries: challenges and opportunities

Abstract

In terms of natural water resources, the GCC countries are ranked among the poorest and least secure in the world. During the past 50 years, and as a result of the oil boom, these countries have relied almost entirely on seawater desalination (reliance on desalination to produce freshwater in the GCC countries ranges from 50−90%) to meet the freshwater needs of the various consumption sectors. However, such reliance on desalination comes at a very high price. The extremely high capital and operational costs of seawater desalination have weighed heavily on the financial resources of these countries at the expense of other developmental plans and strategies. For example in Kuwait, the government spends 1.3 billion KD (US$4.55 billion) annually to operate and maintain water desalination and energy production plants. According to a recent study conducted by the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), Kuwait currently uses about 12% of its oil production to provide the fuel needed to operate these plants. This percentage is expected to increase to about 50% by 2050 (El-Sayed et al. 2010). In addition to the high financial burden, these plants pose a serious environmental threat in terms of gaseous emissions into the atmosphere (for example, seawater desalination and power generation plants in Kuwait emit 230 metric tons of nitrogen, sulphur and carbon annually into the atmosphere; El-Sayed et al. 2010). Furthermore, these plants are vulnerable to unexpected shutdowns and/or periodic maintenance, particularly in cases of seawater pollution, environmental catastrophes and war. Therefore, the GCC countries should relentlessly explore all possible avenues to find additional sources of freshwater supplies to meet the increasing demand. Despite its limited quantities and mostly poor quality, groundwater is an indispensable source of water for the GCC countries. It is used for blending with desalinated water to make it potable, as well as in numerous agricultural and some oil-related activities (with the need to enhance recovery and to produce heavy oil reserves, oil companies in the GCC countries are relying more and more on injecting either groundwater or steam produced from it into the oilbearing aquifers to increase their pressure and/or the mobility of oil, thereby increasing the quantity of oil produced). The aforementioned activities have resulted in a significant drop in the groundwater levels and deterioration of its quality. Treated wastewater is one of the emerging water resources in the GCC countries. Dependence on this source of water has increased significantly, particularly during the past few years. The produced water is used for agricultural and landscaping purposes as well as various non-potable activities. Despite the fact that this source of water is the only source that increases with the increase in population, its utilization has been constrained by the “impure” stigma attached to it.