Water Resources in the Arabian Gulf

While the Gulf countries enjoy an abundance of gas and oil reserves, they suffer from a scarcity of water resources due to the desert nature of the country, and the United Nations has classified countries as countries suffering from "severe water scarcity".

Where does the Arabian Gulf get its water from?

The problem of water scarcity is not limited to them, but most Arab countries suffer from it, albeit to a lesser extent than the Gulf countries. This scarcity has made the GCC countries consider the situation a fait accompli and deal with it as a national security issue, and the necessary strategies have been developed to confront the challenges imposed by securing their water resources due to drought and low rainfall rates. All Gulf countries are located within a very dry climate zone, with the exception of some areas in Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman, which has prompted them to search for alternative solutions to provide water.

Natural Water Resources in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries

• Surface water, which depends on rainfall, ranging from 1 to 100 mm annually, is one of the traditional resources. It is true that the rainfall rate in the Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, has increased, but the benefit from it is not very effective. More than 50% of precipitation is lost due to evaporation, which prompted the Gulf countries to store water in natural underground reservoirs to reduce evaporation behind dams.

• Seasonal valleys are also traditional water resources in the Arabian Gulf, and they are networks of seasonal flowing valleys. The problem with this traditional resource is that they depend mainly on the amount of rainfall and the quality of the soil.

• Groundwater is a traditional water resource in the Arabian Gulf, but it varies from one region to another and it also depends on the amount of precipitation. It is the main source of fresh water in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, as these countries rely heavily on it as the only source of fresh water. In contrast, surface water is prevalent in Oman and the Emirates. However, the gap between what groundwater provides and demand is very large. For example, Bahrain uses 220% of its renewable water reserves, compared to 943% in the Kingdom and 2465% in Kuwait. As for the Emirates, the water consumption rate is double the global average, while its groundwater level has decreased by 5 millimeters.

Non-traditional water resources in the Arabian Gulf

* Desalination of seawater from water resources in the Arabian Gulf countries

The Arabian Gulf countries produce 60% of the world's desalinated water. Desalination is a series of industrial processes to remove all or some of the salinity and minerals from seawater. It is a very expensive process and consumes a lot of energy. Desalination is done through three stages: primary water treatment, water desalination process and final treatment.

As for the mechanism, it is done through two methods, the first is using membranes, which is the reverse osmosis method, which works with electricity, and the second is evaporation, i.e. distillation.

The problems associated with this mechanism, in addition to being expensive and consuming a lot of energy, are related to the fact that the salinity of the Gulf waters is constantly increasing. According to a report published in the Guardian newspaper, over time it will become impossible to desalinate water economically, and the higher the salinity, the higher the cost of desalination.

Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Kuwait are the Gulf countries that rely most on desalination, which has become one of the most important water resources in the Arabian Gulf. Saudi Arabia is the world's leading producer of desalinated water, followed by the UAE. Kuwait is facing a dangerous reality, as a regional report warned that within 15 years it may be forced to spend the vast majority of its oil production on desalination and enhancing water resources in the Arabian Gulf.

* Purifying wastewater from water resources in the Arabian Gulf

Purifying wastewater from impurities, suspended matter, pollutants and organic materials to make it suitable for use, and usually unsuitable for human use. However, recently, treatment techniques have been developed that make it suitable for human use. It is treated in stages, starting with the initial mechanical stage to remove impurities before treatment. Later, the filtration stage enters, removing sand, rocks and others, and then the sedimentation stage begins. If it is to be made suitable for drinking, then it is treated biologically and then purified.

* Cloud seeding to bring water from the Arabian Gulf

Cloud seeding is a form of weather modification by trying to modify the amount of rainfall. It is done by "scattering" clouds and providing the appropriate factors to make them drop their latent water content over specific geographical areas. During this process, industrial means and chemicals are used that are dispersed by aircraft because they are the most effective. This mechanism is adopted in a number of Arab countries, including the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Morocco and Jordan. However, it is an expensive method and its results are not guaranteed, as chemicals do not always succeed in making rain fall, because they require a certain climate that helps achieve this, including clouds spread over certain areas in addition to the presence of air currents laden with moisture and rising, and this climate is not always available in the Gulf countries.