The idea of a ‘water war’ is no longer a theoretical discussion for the Gulf states, as it has now become a real-world vulnerability, said a Bahraini expert yesterday.
An Iranian rogue drone yesterday targeted a water desalination plant in the kingdom that caused material damage, the Interior Ministry said yesterday.
Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) yesterday confirmed there will be no impact on water supplies or the power grid due to the plant attack.
Access to water is protected under the laws of armed conflicts, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 is to ‘ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’.
Arabian Gulf University’s water resources management professor Dr Waleed Zubari told the GDN yesterday that due to the ongoing regional conflict people need to be more conscious of their water consumption, which he described as a ‘national duty’.
“Deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure that is essential for survival is prohibited by international law,” said Dr Zubari. “Recent conflicts have shown a breakdown of these norms, and the risk is considered very real.
“The situation has moved from a theoretical risk to a real-world challenge. Such targeting of civilian infrastructure would disrupt economic and social progress.”
Water scarcity, low rainfall, and no fresh water resources have left many countries water stressed in the region, including the Gulf.
This means that domestic water supply security represents one of the main challenges in the GCC countries. “The domestic water supply system in the GCC countries depends heavily on water supplied by desalination plants with their feed water in the Arabian Gulf,” he added.
“Desalination plants are highly vulnerable and at risk to many threats that might occur in the Arabian Gulf seawater from various activities, both land-based and marine-based activities.
“These could be natural or man-made, which include maritime pollution and actual combat-related, which is targeting desalination facilities.”
However, he said GCC countries have established a strong, resilient water supply system with a capacity to recover quickly and return to its original conditions.
“Recognising these risks, the GCC countries have spent decades building water sector resilience,” he added.
“The GCC countries learned in 1981, when desalination plants were threatened by spilled oil from tankers during the Iraq-Iran war, and then in 1991, when massive oil spills were released in the Arabian Gulf, and later during Covid-19, when the water system was stressed due to manpower and spare parts shortages.”
Dr Zubari explained that every GCC country has developed comprehensive, integrated emergency preparedness plans ready to be activated in a short span through a set chain of command lines of authority.
“These plans are multi-layered defence systems designed for scenarios ranging from the failure of a single pumping station to the catastrophic loss of a major desalination facility.
“This water security network includes desalinated water strategic storage reserves, groundwater, wellfields, mobile desalination plants, residential water storage, bottled water stockpiling and many others.”
The Bahrain expert further highlighted during this heightened period of conflict that has affected Bahrain and neighbouring Gulf states that it is important for the public to be aware and conserve water.
“Infrastructure is only part of the equation, as what I want to emphasise here is the critical role and behaviour of the public that matters,”said Dr Zubari.
“By being more conscious of their water consumption, the public can dramatically lower overall demand.
“This collective effort reduces stress on the system and gives water authorities precious time they need to manage the crisis, make repairs, and restore normal service.
“In a water emergency, conservation isn’t just helpful; it is a civic and national duty.”
According to the EWA website, water is produced from six desalination plants across the country using both Reverse Osmosis (RO) and thermal desalination technologies with a production capacity of 213 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD).
Once water is produced, it is transmitted through a network of 622 km of pipelines to the 48 forwarding and distribution stations, which feature ground storage tanks (GSTs) of different capacities.
The GDN reported that over the last 19 years, the average daily water consumption in Bahrain has increased from 100.41 litres in 2006 to 163.75 litres per person in 2023, according to open source data published by the EWA.
The production of distilled potable water has also increased to match this demand, standing at 60,991.55 million gallons in 2023, while groundwater production has dropped from 10,568.62 in 2006 to zero in 2020 and onwards.
sandy@gdnmedia.bh
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