Challenges and Prospects of Using Treated Wastewater to Manage Water Scarcity Crises in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are located in the driest part of the world with an annual per capita water availability of 500 m<sup>3</sup> compared to the world average of 6000 m<sup>3</sup>. Agricultural water demand, which is more than 80% of the total water...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/7/1971 |
| _version_ | 1797562612647460864 |
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| author | Asad Sarwar Qureshi |
| author_facet | Asad Sarwar Qureshi |
| author_sort | Asad Sarwar Qureshi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are located in the driest part of the world with an annual per capita water availability of 500 m<sup>3</sup> compared to the world average of 6000 m<sup>3</sup>. Agricultural water demand, which is more than 80% of the total water consumption, is primarily met through the massive exploitation of groundwater. The enormous imbalance between groundwater discharge (27.8 billion m<sup>3</sup>) and recharge (5.3 billion m<sup>3</sup>) is causing the excessive lowering of groundwater levels. Therefore, GCC countries are investing heavily in the production of nonconventional water resources such as desalination of seawater and treated wastewater. Currently, 439 desalination plants are annually producing 5.75 billion m<sup>3</sup> of desalinated water in the GCC countries. The annual wastewater collection is about 4.0 billion m<sup>3</sup>, of which 73% is treated with the help of 300 wastewater treatment plants. Despite extreme water poverty, only 39% of the treated wastewater is reused, and the remaining is discharged into the sea. The treated wastewater (TWW) is used for the landscape, forestry, and construction industries. However, its reuse to irrigate food and forage crops is restricted due to health, social, religious, and environmental concerns. Substantial research evidence exists that treated wastewater can safely be used to grow food and forage crops under the agroclimatic conditions of the GCC countries by adopting appropriate management measures. Therefore, GCC countries should work on increasing the use of TWW in the agriculture sector. Increased use of TWW in agriculture can significantly reduce the pressure on freshwater resources. For this purpose, a comprehensive awareness campaign needs to be initiated to address the social and religious concerns of farming communities and consumers. Several internal and external risks can jeopardize the sustainable use of treated wastewater in the GCC countries. These include climate change, increasing costs, technological and market-driven changes, and regional security issues. Therefore, effective response mechanisms should be developed to mitigate future risks and threats. For this purpose, an integrated approach involving all concerned local and regional stakeholders needs to be adopted. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:31:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-48a146aac4f94a3fa9445615e116a08b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:31:25Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-48a146aac4f94a3fa9445615e116a08b2023-11-20T06:34:02ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412020-07-01127197110.3390/w12071971Challenges and Prospects of Using Treated Wastewater to Manage Water Scarcity Crises in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) CountriesAsad Sarwar Qureshi0Water and Irrigation Management, International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), Dubai 14660, UAEThe Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are located in the driest part of the world with an annual per capita water availability of 500 m<sup>3</sup> compared to the world average of 6000 m<sup>3</sup>. Agricultural water demand, which is more than 80% of the total water consumption, is primarily met through the massive exploitation of groundwater. The enormous imbalance between groundwater discharge (27.8 billion m<sup>3</sup>) and recharge (5.3 billion m<sup>3</sup>) is causing the excessive lowering of groundwater levels. Therefore, GCC countries are investing heavily in the production of nonconventional water resources such as desalination of seawater and treated wastewater. Currently, 439 desalination plants are annually producing 5.75 billion m<sup>3</sup> of desalinated water in the GCC countries. The annual wastewater collection is about 4.0 billion m<sup>3</sup>, of which 73% is treated with the help of 300 wastewater treatment plants. Despite extreme water poverty, only 39% of the treated wastewater is reused, and the remaining is discharged into the sea. The treated wastewater (TWW) is used for the landscape, forestry, and construction industries. However, its reuse to irrigate food and forage crops is restricted due to health, social, religious, and environmental concerns. Substantial research evidence exists that treated wastewater can safely be used to grow food and forage crops under the agroclimatic conditions of the GCC countries by adopting appropriate management measures. Therefore, GCC countries should work on increasing the use of TWW in the agriculture sector. Increased use of TWW in agriculture can significantly reduce the pressure on freshwater resources. For this purpose, a comprehensive awareness campaign needs to be initiated to address the social and religious concerns of farming communities and consumers. Several internal and external risks can jeopardize the sustainable use of treated wastewater in the GCC countries. These include climate change, increasing costs, technological and market-driven changes, and regional security issues. Therefore, effective response mechanisms should be developed to mitigate future risks and threats. For this purpose, an integrated approach involving all concerned local and regional stakeholders needs to be adopted.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/7/1971wastewater reuseagriculturedesalinated waterheavy metalswater scarcity |
| spellingShingle | Asad Sarwar Qureshi Challenges and Prospects of Using Treated Wastewater to Manage Water Scarcity Crises in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries Water wastewater reuse agriculture desalinated water heavy metals water scarcity |
| title | Challenges and Prospects of Using Treated Wastewater to Manage Water Scarcity Crises in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries |
| title_full | Challenges and Prospects of Using Treated Wastewater to Manage Water Scarcity Crises in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries |
| title_fullStr | Challenges and Prospects of Using Treated Wastewater to Manage Water Scarcity Crises in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Challenges and Prospects of Using Treated Wastewater to Manage Water Scarcity Crises in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries |
| title_short | Challenges and Prospects of Using Treated Wastewater to Manage Water Scarcity Crises in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries |
| title_sort | challenges and prospects of using treated wastewater to manage water scarcity crises in the gulf cooperation council gcc countries |
| topic | wastewater reuse agriculture desalinated water heavy metals water scarcity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/7/1971 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT asadsarwarqureshi challengesandprospectsofusingtreatedwastewatertomanagewaterscarcitycrisesinthegulfcooperationcouncilgcccountries |