Water conservation in the Arab region: a must for survival

Gamal M. Abdo , Abdin M. A. Salih , Abdulmohsen Al-Sheikh

1. Civil Engineering Department, University of Khartoum, Sudan

2. Alzamil Group Chair, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

1 Introduction

The Arab region is known for its problems of water scarcity which is becoming a serious constraint impeding the socio-economic development of many countries in the region. The region belongs to one of the most arid areas of the world, characterized by scare, unevenly distributed and highly variable water resources. Although there are considerable differences in estimated total quantities of renewable water resources in this region, the figure of 355 km3/a has been circulated in various reliable sources. With regards to water availability and the per capita share of renewable water resources, the region is classified in many international reports as the poorest region in the world, as presented in Figure 1 (AFED, 2010). The problem has been continuously magnified by vastly expanding populations and growing water demand to meet the great socio-economic development of the region in the last few decades. Urbanization,industrialization and the expansion of irrigated agricultural lands to achieve food security have all contributed to a dra-matic and unsustainable increase in water consumption.Frequent droughts, in conjunction with an overuse of groundwater from major aquifers, have greatly reduced the availability of both renewable and non-renewable water resources. Saline intrusion into fresh water aquifers and pollution from urban activities are also common phenomena in the Arab region that lead to a deterioration of water quality and reduced fresh water availability. Due to the aforementioned factors, the per capita share of renewable water has been reduced to less than the poverty line of 1,000 m3/(capita·a), and in some Arab countries, to less than the extreme poverty line of 500 m3/(capita·a). According to IFAD (2009), the per capita share in the year 2025 will be reduced to only 15% of what it was in 1960,when it stood at 3,300 m3/(capita·a). An important element that makes the water situation in the Arab region even worse is the trans-boundary nature of its water resources.According to available information, out of total renewable water resources of 355 km3/a, more than 60% originate from sources outside the boarders of the Arab region through international rivers such as the Nile, Euphrates-Tigris, and Senegal Rivers (AFED, 2010). Yet there are no formal agreements or institutional mechanisms for joint management of shared water resources in the Arab region.A major challenge facing the Arab region is therefore to shift the existing image of water competition and possible friction, to a more constructive image of water for national and regional development. Vulnerability of water resources to climate change and adaptation to scarcer water availability is another important challenge facing the Arab region.Recent reports (AFED, 2010) warned that climate change will be responsible for a 25% decrease in precipitation and 25% increase in evaporation in the Arab region by the end of the century, leading to severely negative impacts on water resources. In addition to the aforementioned challenges, most of the countries in the Arab region suffer from lower levels of education and capacities to deal with water resources scarcity in a sustainable manner compared with countries from other regions of the world (UNESCO,2010).

Figure 1 Actual renewable freshwater resources per capita by region (Source: AFED, 2010)

Many concerned entities in the region consider water security as a key element for food security and ultimately political security, and hence various efforts have been exerted to identify key water problems and make suggestions of possible solutions. The Arab Water Ministers Council of the Arab League, as well as Reports of the Arab Forum for the Environment and Development (AFED) and the recommendations of the 13th Regional Meeting of the Arab National Committees of the International Hydrological Programme of UNESCO (IHP), have all made similar recommendations on the need to address the issues of water scarcity in the Arab region. However, the most important of these recommendations are the realization of sound policies,strategies and action plans, development of models for integrated water resources management, sound water governance, capacity development, database and information systems improvement, technology transfer, public awareness and enhancement of research and development facilities.

This paper focuses on water conservation as a viable and strategically important option to enhance water availability and sustainability for socio-economic development in the Arab region. Water conservation is an improved water management practice achieved through implementation of measures that save water by reducing the use of conventional sources, or increase the use of non-conventional sources.Recently, there has been a growing international concern about water conservation, and the concept has now become an essential practice even in areas with abundant water resources. Consequently, water conservation programs are now being implemented in many parts of the world as an essential step towards development in all sectors, such as agriculture, industry and municipal areas.

In the Arab region, water use efficiency is known to be very low especially in the irrigation sector. Therefore, a shift in water use practices is urgently needed in order to secure more water to meet the increasing needs for development.The shift in water use has already been reflected in developing water saving programs which have begun to be implemented in many countries of the Arab region. Some of these programs include irrigation management projects aimed at increasing irrigation efficiency. Water loss reduction in distribution networks is also an important practice that could conserve large volumes of water. The use of non-conventional water resources is also receiving considerable international attention and efforts are underway in several Arab countries to develop these resources. Recycling of wastewater and agricultural drainage provide additional water sources that could be allocated for irrigation in exchange for fresh water diverted from agriculture to meet the growing demand for urban and rural water supplies. Water harvesting is also one of the most effective practices for non-conventional water use in the Arab region. Large potential and extensive experience in various aspects of water harvesting already exist in the region. The aforementioned water conservation methodologies, together with others, will be elaborated in the subsequent sections of this paper. It is to be noted that water conservation methodologies are, in many cases, interlinked and can have negative impacts on each other. An example is that of groundwater aquifers depending on their recharge from irrigation canals that may be lined under a new water conservation program. Therefore, the adoption of an integrated approach in addressing the technical, environmental and socio-economic impacts of water conservation projects is needed.

2 Water utilization and future demand in the Arab region

Water utilization in the Arab region is distributed among three main sectors: agriculture, domestic and industry. According to data provided in AFED (2010), the agricultural sector is the highest consumer of water in the Arab region,utilizing on average about 83% of the natural renewable available water resources. The remaining amount is distributed amongst domestic and industrial sectors at 10% and 7%,respectively. Data on water availability and water utilization also show that some countries such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and UAE are using much more water than that is renewable.These countries have historically been faced with extreme water shortages and have eventually resorted to more expensive sources, namely desalination and non-renewable groundwater, to provide reliable water supplies to meet their demands.

Regarding future water demand in the Arab region, Salih(2011) reported that if current water use patterns in the region remain unchanged, water demand for the year 2030 is expected to increase to about 670 billion m3. Concerning water use efficiency, the Arab region is known for its inefficient utilization and significant water wastage in individual sectors.

In conventional irrigation systems, which are common in the Arab region, the overall efficiency could be as low as 20% compared with 60% to 70% in advanced systems such as drip and sprinkler systems (UCO, 2003). Furthermore, a substantial volume of water is lost daily in water supply distribution networks. Previous studies estimate the percentage of losses of produced water in some countries of the Arab region is between 30% and 70% (AFED, 2010). Realizing the water scarcity situation in most of the Arab countries and the challenges to meet the increasing water demand,water conservation has been recommended by many researchers as a sound and viable option to harness substantial volumes of water to meet the demand. It is therefore suggested in this paper that Arab countries should primarily direct attention towards water conservation and accordingly,make more effort to develop action plans for implementing appropriate programs.

3 Previous recommendations to meet water challenges

Concern about water scarcity in the Arab region has been raised by many forums, conferences and regional reports, reaching similar recommendations for coping with this critical scarcity. The most important of these recommendations are for enhancing the water supply from conventional and non-conventional sources, water demand management and conservation, innovative water governance in arid and semi-arid zones, adapting to climate change including effects of floods and droughts, protection of the resources from pollution and over abstraction, as well as capacity development including innovative uses of science and technology.

Augmenting supply from conventional sources could include water harvesting from rainfall, groundwater (renewable and non-renewable), surface water including Wadi systems and lakes (if any), swamps and wetlands. However,these methods have to be reached in an integrated sustainable manner considering the present need and future generations. Non-conventional sources could include desalination of saline waters, waste water treatment and reuse, virtual water, among others. Desalination has been utilized widely in the Arab region, particularly in the Gulf countries, but not without considerable problems. One outstanding problem is rising groundwater levels beneath many cities such as Riyadh, Jeddah, Kuwait, and Doha. Waste water reuse is still not fully utilized in many countries of the region but could represent a good potential source of water supply.

Water governance and sound policies, adaptation to climate change, protection from pollution and over abstraction,capacity development and innovative utilization of science and technology are areas that need urgent focus and action.However, it is considered in this paper that equal, or indeed greater, focus should be given to demand management and water conservation. The region cannot continue to utilize water in the same manner as regions with an abundance of renewable water resources. A similar quality of life could be achieved with less water if a business as usual approach is abandoned. A good initiative on demand management has been undertaken by the Canadian International Development Research Center (IDRC) for Middle East countries (Wadimena project), based in Cairo. Considerable results have been achieved in this project but still more work is needed to go beyond demand management to a wider conservation concept that could include socio-economic parameters as well as innovative alternatives including integrated consideration to virtual water.

4 Water conservation as a coping tool with water scarcity

There are many definitions of water conservation in the scientific literature, all of which aim at improving water management practices to reduce or enhance the beneficial use of water, while preserving its quality (Vickers, 2002). In general, water conservation methodologies may be categorized into two main groups:

(1) Water saving through water loss reduction (WLR) in the use of conventional water resources;

(2) Increasing the use of the non-conventional water resources.

Water conservation has been recommended by many researchers as a sound and cost effective option to cope with water scarcity and achieve food security in the Arab region(IFAD, 2009; Abdoet al., 2010). The topic is receiving considerable attention worldwide and there have been many international workshops and conferences discussing various aspects of water conservation, including technical solutions,economic, institutional and capacity development issues(UNU, 2008, 2009). Consequently, there exists a wide range of experience and examples of success stories of water conservation from different parts of the world. An excellent review of the experiences of many countries from different parts of the world on water conservation and water loss reduction in the municipal, agricultural and industrial sectors is given by Salih (2011).

4.1 Water conservation in municipal water supply

There is increasing international attention to water conservation and loss reduction in municipal water supply systems, to save water and use it to expand supplies for an increasing population. It is estimated that approximately 45 million m3of drinking water are lost in the world’s water systems every day which if saved, could serve nearly 200 million people (UNU, 2008). Reducing water losses in urban water supply networks could therefore make a substantial contribution in achieving target 10 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); to half by 2015 the number of people without sustainable access to clean water. Furthermore, substantial volumes of water could be lost inside the house through washing machines, dishwashers, showers,taps, sinks and toilets, or outside in car washing and garden watering. Garden watering is estimated to consume about 50% of the total house-hold consumption (Salih, 2011), of which significant quantities are lost due to inappropriate watering practices. In addition to a reduction of revenue,water losses from distribution systems could also contribute to rising groundwater levels in urban centers leading to many geotechnical and environmental problems. This problem has been discussed at length in a case study of Riyadh City in Saudi Arabia by Hamadto (2009).

There are no reliable estimates published on the percentages of losses in water supply networks in countries of the Arab region, but many researchers indicate that they are high. Salih (2011) presented some estimates for selected cities in Egypt and Jordan, where the losses range between 30% and 60% of water produced. However, these losses have significantly been reduced after implementation of conservation programs.

Water conservation methods in domestic water supply include:

(1) Water loss reduction in the water supply system;

(2) Use of household water saving devices;

(3) Metering.

Figure 2 shows the water balance table proposed by the International Water Association (IWA) and the American Water Works Association (AWWA) to assist water authorities in tracking distribution system losses (EPA, 2010). In the AWWA/IWA methodology, all water that enters and leaves the distribution system can be classified as belonging to one of the categories in the water balance table. The losses to be reduced are due to leakage from transmission and distribution mains, leakage and overflow from storage tanks,and leakage from service connections up to and including the meter. Preventing or repairing these losses usually requires an investment. However, there is a point at which it costs more to control leakage than is economically justifiable. Therefore, a balance must be maintained between water loss reduction and costs associated with water loss reducing measures (EPA, 2010).

Household water saving could be achieved through the use of waterless utilities such as low flow showers, ultra-low flush toilets, waterless washing machines and dish washers.According to CUWCC (2000), water savings from using the aforementioned devices is estimated at an average of 15% of the total domestic water use.

Metering water consumption is an aspect of the water supply operations and it is an effective means to encourage water conservation by making customers aware of their usage. Meters also make it possible to charge customers based upon the quantities of water that they consume and therefore make billing fair for all customers.

Privatization of water supply sectors has recently emerged and has been adopted by many countries around the world as an important step towards effective and sustainable supply systems. Private water supply companies tend to impose wa-ter pricing policies that maximize their profit. However, when implementing privatization, water charges should be affordable and should take into consideration the poor and needy sectors of the community. This is an important issue that should be considered seriously in developing and water scarce countries, such as those in the Arab region.

Figure 2 IWA/AWWA water balance (EPA, 2010)

4.2 Water conservation in the agricultural sector

As has been mentioned previously, the agricultural sector is the major consumer of water in the Arab region, utilizing on average more than 80% of available renewable water resources. Over the past three decades, there has been a significant expansion in irrigated agriculture in the Arab region in an effort to achieve food security. However, with current irrigation management practices, water losses in most of the countries are very substantial, leading to low irrigation efficiency. Available estimates for some Arab countries indicate that the average irrigation efficiency ranges between 30%and 45% (AFED, 2010). This is mainly due to a traditional belief of water as a basic necessity and human right and the failure to recognize its economic value and the real cost of providing its services.

There has been a growing concern on the inefficient use of water resources in the agricultural sector among many specialized regional and international organizations, such as the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the International Commission for Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), the United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AODA), as well as many other scientific institutions. The general consensus is that such a wasteful use of scarce agricultural water resources in the Arab region should not continue and more efforts should be directed towards water conservation practices. Many studies indicate that agricultural production in the Arab region could be doubled with the same amount of water that is currently being used if better irrigation management practices are adopted(Abdoet al., 2010). A number of successful applications of water conservation programs in the irrigation sector from the Arab region are discussed in an important document on water conservation published by the Azzamil Group Chair for Conservation of Electricity and Water, King Saud University,Saudi Arabia (KSU, 2011).

Water conservation in the irrigation sector could be achieved through the use of better on-farm water management systems that reduce irrigation water distribution losses,changing cropping patterns, improving irrigation scheduling,and adopting modern irrigation technologies such as sprinkler or drip irrigation. AFED (2010) reported that the use of sprinkler and drip irrigation systems in some Arab countries has reduced water losses considerably. For example in Morocco and Jordan, the efficiency level has increased to about 70% due to the adoption of these techniques. Furthermore,the use of drip irrigation in many parts of the Arab region has increased agricultural productivity. In addition to their potential for increasing water use efficiency, drip and sprinkler irrigation technologies can also provide opportunities to cultivate low quality lands, sandy and rocky soils, and enable some countries to change cropping patterns by shifting from high water consumption, low value crops, to low water consumption, high value crops. However, due to high purchase prices and high operation and maintenance costs of these technologies, their agronomic and economic feasibility should be justified.

4.3 Water conservation in the industrial sector

Industrial activities use substantial amounts of water,amounting to about 22% of the world’s consumption of fresh water (Abdoet al., 2010). In industrial facilities, water is used in a wide range of activities. Common uses include washing or rinsing of raw materials, intermediates or final products, preparation of solvents or slurries, cleaning of equipment and work spaces, removing or providing heat,meeting hygienic and domestic needs as well as being incorporated into the final product. Since most of these uses are non-consumptive, large volumes could be generated as waste water which could be highly polluted and may endanger the environment if not properly treated. Furthermore,significant amounts of water could be saved from treated industrial effluents.

As has been mentioned previously, the share of overall water use by the industrial sector in the Arab world is relatively small. However, industrial demand for water is also rising following similar trends in the agricultural and municipal sectors. Therefore, efforts should be directed towards enhancing water efficiency in industrial activities.Experience from around the world shows that adopting a systematic approach to water efficiency could reduce water consumption by 20% to 50%, and up to 90% when more advanced measures are implemented (AFED, 2011).Table 1 lists a number of industrial efficiency measures and their associated water-saving potential. As can be seen, the fraction of water that can potentially be saved by adopting closed loop re-circulating systems can be as high as 90%.

Table 1 Water-saving potential in industry (AFED, 2011)

4.4 Non-conventional water resources

4.4.1 Wastewater reuse

Wastewater reuse is considered to be one potential intervention strategy for developing non-conventional water resources. The scarcity of water and the need for protecting the environment and natural resources have motivated many Arab countries to introduce wastewater treatment and reuse as an additional water resource in their national water resource management plans. Since agriculture is the main water consumer, the extended reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation could contribute considerably to the reduction of water stress in the region. However, there are economic,social, institutional, health, and environmental constraints that need to be considered to ensure sustainable and safe reuse and recycling of wastewater. Based on estimates by FAO (2009), the volume of wastewater generated by domestic and industrial sectors in the different Arab countries is estimated to be about 13 billion m3/a. It has been reported that the volume of treated wastewater being utilized is higher in the Arab region than countries in Asia, Latin American/Caribbean and African regions (AFED, 2010).Within the Arab world, Egypt and Tunisia are the leaders in the area of wastewater reclamation and reuse. Reuse of agricultural drainage water could also save huge volumes of water in the Arab region. This is practiced on a very large scale in Egypt, where five billion m3of agricultural drainage water (equivalent to 10% of the total water resources) are reused annually after mixing with freshwater.Reuse of drainage water is practiced on a more limited scale in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria (WWF, 2006). While these examples are notable, the potential of wastewater reuse in the Arab region is considerably larger than is currently being implemented.

4.4.2 Desalination

Desalination of seawater has been practiced in the Arab region since the 1950s to provide high quality and reliable water supplies. Since then, significant advances have been made in desalination technology. At the same time, there has been a significant expansion in the desalination capacity of the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC). According to GCC water statistics, the current total use of desalinated water is estimated at about four billion m3/a and the desalination capacity is over 11 billion m3/a (GCC, 2008). Therefore,there is an important role for water desalination to play in coping with water scarcity in the Arab region. However,there are major issues of concern that need to be investigated,such as economic and environmental aspects of water desalination as well as participation of the private sector in managing and operating desalination facilities.

4.4.3 Water harvesting

Many researchers believe that management and effective utilization of rainwater through water harvesting (WH) projects is a key solution to the water scarcity problem in the Arab region. WH technology is especially relevant to the region where the problems of environmental degradation,drought and population pressures are most evident. WH is increasingly gaining international attention as a suitable,practical and economic means to bridge the gap between water needs and available supply in many arid and semi-arid regions of the world (Abdo and Eldaw, 2006). Due to the significant importance of the subject, many regional and international organizations such as UNESCO, FAO, WFP,and AOAD are taking a leading role in fostering the use of WH techniques in Arab countries and other parts of the world. These agencies also assume responsibility for the successful implementation of WH systems and for supporting in-depth pilot studies aimed at improving the efficiency of traditional techniques. In addition to water supply augmentation, WH also has great potential in protecting the natural environment from degradation. Nasr (1999) discusses the problem of desertification in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and demonstrates the potential of using WH to combat desertification. The potential of WH in the management of groundwater recharge through artificial recharge methodologies is also great in the Arab region where there are numerous alluvial aquifers underlying Wadi systems.

Rainfall in the Arab region is minimal, with one millimeter of harvested rainfall equivalent to one liter of water per square meter, highlighting the importance of WH. It should be noted that 83% of the Arab region, excluding Sudan and Somalia, receives less than 100 mm/a in rainfall,13% receives between 100 to 400 mm, while only 4% receives over 400 mm (El Kady, 2003). Despite the long experience and extensive implementation of WH in the Arab states, the amount of rain effectively utilized is very small,with the total volume amounting to 2,180 billion m3. Therefore, available opportunities for the adoption of this technique are still great and promising. In Jordan, for instance,Abu-Zreig (2003) states that out of a total rainfall of 8.5 billion m3/a only 5% of this amount is being beneficially used. According to Al Ghariani (2003), total precipitation in northern Libya exceeds 30 billion m3, out of which only 3%is effectively utilized. Table 2 shows rainfall potential in some of the Arab countries and percentage utilization through WH projects, which does not exceed single digit percents at best except Morocco. This again demonstrates great potential and opportunities for future implementation of WH projects. Raising the percentage of utilization will certainly be a key factor in bridging the ever increasing gap between water supply and demand in the Arab region.However, there are many problems and constraints that hinder the use of this technique. These are mainly classified as technical, socio-economic, environmental, financial and institutional constraints. Abdo and Eldaw (2006) discussed these problems and suggested some actions to solve them.

Table 2 Total rainfall and percentage utilization through WH in some Arab countries (AOAD, 2002)

5 Conclusion

The Arab world is facing one of the most severe problems of water scarcity in the world. Water availability is decreasing and water shortages are rapidly increasing,threatening food and national security for almost all countries in the region. The water sector is characterized by inefficiencies in allocation amongst alternative uses with significant wastage of water in individual sectors. This reaffirms the need to reform current water management practices and shift towards focusing on water conservation and rationalizing water consumption to meet the challenges expected in the coming decades. International experience indicates that water conservation can be one of the most successful approaches to enhancing water resources and augmenting water supplies for all sectors. This paper has demonstrated that the potential for water conservation in the Arab region is great, especially in regards to water savings in irrigation and water harvesting. Therefore, several actions should be incorporated into a series of integrated water conservation programs in all Arab countries. Strong political support and adequate capacity (human, institutional and enabling environment) are essential to facilitate the implementation of these programs. It is also necessary to increase public awareness of politicians and society on water scarcity and its implications, as well as emphasizing the need to return to traditional and cultural values of water conservation.

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