Lebanon: Water is more dangerous than electricity

Climate change is just a different breed of terrorism threatening water in the Middle East, especially in Lebanon. Will water be the main headline of the next war if it becomes scarce in the region? NOW investigates.

A Ministry of Environment report on climate change confirms that Lebanon faces a growing shortage in water resources and rising salt water contamination of coastal groundwater wells. Water shortages are expected to range anywhere between 250 and 800 million cubic meters annually by 2015.

The report further predicts a rise in temperatures and a 10-20% fall in precipitation by 2040. As some crops, especially citrus, olive, and apple trees, move to higher altitudes, agricultural crops are expected to change amid a rising demand for irrigation, leading to additional water shortages. As a result, food security would be threatened, some crops would disappear and be replaced by others, and historical cedar forests would be endangered by rising temperatures. Yet the problem of water in Lebanon is not about “mismanagement, bad distribution, and pollution inasmuch as it is about scarcity and shortages,” as Lebanese University’s Health and Environment Department Chief Dr. Jalal Halawani told NOW. “70% of the water is used for irrigation and agriculture, out of which 50% is squandered in distribution networks.” Halawani argued that “organizing the process of digging artesian wells, closing illegal wells, and fitting new meters is likely to save some 50% of groundwater and important revenues for the Treasury. Reinstating water as public property would provide the Lebanese people with a minimum of rights to free and natural drinking water, knowing that dams should not be built before all other storage options and all other alternatives to groundwater storage are used.”

Moreover, Halawani asserted, “Distribution networks should be rehabilitated in order to put an end to waste as it turned out that 50% of water is squandered despite the use of meters if one takes into consideration the volume of water coming out of the [main supply] source and compares it to the volumes distributed and consumed through meters.” Halawani warned that “water supply shortages and disregard for hygiene requirements are the main reasons underlying the spread of cholera and other diarrhea-causing diseases.”

In addition to dams, Dr. Halawani proposed another solution to preserve water: “artificial charging” as is done in Tunisia. Rainwater there is filtered by the soil and connected to the groundwater, which would allow for recovery of 50% of the groundwater. Currently, among other issues, urbanization and the lack of any scientific water management plans prevent such substantial recovery. Because of the lack of recovery structures, Lebanon has gone from having a water surplus to seeing most of its water lost to the sea even though this water could be exploited by building mountain dams or lakes.

Against a backdrop of this crisis, Director General of Water and Electricity Resources Dr. Fadi Comair offered some solutions, including several measures to alleviate the effect of climate change  on the water cycle, particularly on precipitation, inundation, drought, dry springs, and rising temperatures. Dr. Comair also mentioned certain factors to be taken into consideration when building dams. According to Comair, recent climate changes have altered predictions based on previous studies, which now need to be amended to take into account environmental impacts and water security.

Dr. Comair told "NOW" that the Ministry of Energy has stopped granting licenses for well digging in order to organize the process, as well as launching a new mechanism with meticulous conditions to preserve underground water resources.

According to Comair, all artesian wells in Lebanon – be they licensed or unlicensed, private or public – are to be surveyed in cooperation with all ministries involved, especially the Ministry of the Interior and Municipalities. The aim is to control these wells, have meters installed on them, levy due fees, and close those wells that threaten public wells or springs. Furthermore, a new, more stringent licensing mechanism is to be adopted in addition to rationalizing all water uses, limiting demand instead of promoting it, curbing domestic consumption by installing meters for home supply pipes, repairing networks to stop waste, improving the levying of water fees, installing meters and reuse systems, and rationalizing consumption, especially in hotels and private beaches during the summer.

This would be preceded, he said, by conducting a comprehensive survey of water consumption patterns, levying fees on various kinds of consumption, and seeking a speedy solution to the sewage problem in Lebanon. According to Qomeir, this would help protect groundwater sources from contamination. Furthermore, treated sewage water can be reused in agricultural areas or in the tourism sector, especially for the irrigation of trees and flowers, and for providing freshwater in the tourism sector. The Central Laboratory should be reopened as soon as possible, he asserted, or an alternative facility acting as an observer should be provided soon. Samples should be tested for free and the decree establishing the water sources monitoring committee, which is chaired by the director of the Central Laboratory, should be implemented.

This article is a translation of the original Arabic.