The US-Israeli war on Iran has starkly exposed the vulnerability of critical water infrastructure in the Persian Gulf, one of the most water-scarce regions globally. This week, Iran’s foreign minister accused the US of striking a desalination plant on Qeshm Island off Iran’s coast in the Strait of Hormuz, with reports indicating the attack cut off water supply to 30 villages. Merely 24 hours later, Bahrain claimed an Iranian drone caused material damage to one of its desalination facilities near Muharraq, escalating tensions over essential resources.

The six Gulf states – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – rank among the world’s most water-scarce nations, heavily reliant on desalination to meet the needs of their combined populations exceeding 62 million. These desert regions lack permanent rivers, forcing dependence on groundwater and desalination to sustain rapidly growing urban, industrial, and agricultural sectors, with their stability now threatened by military conflicts.

Gulf countries produce approximately 40% of the world’s desalinated water, operating over 400 desalination plants along their coasts. The United Nations threshold for absolute water scarcity is 500 cubic meters per capita annually, but the Gulf averages only 120 cubic meters of natural freshwater per capita, compelling heavy reliance on desalination to bridge the supply-demand gap. According to a 2023 GCC Statistical Center report, the six states produced 7.2 billion cubic meters of freshwater through desalination, equating to about 122 cubic meters per capita per year.

Saudi Arabia, the largest and most populous state with 37 million inhabitants, led in desalinated water production at 3 billion cubic meters in 2023, yet it remains the least dependent on desalination at 18% of total usage, primarily relying on groundwater. In contrast, Qatar depends on desalination for 61% of its total water supply and over 99% of its drinking water, highlighting regional disparities in resource management and vulnerability.

Desalination, achieved through thermal distillation or reverse osmosis, is crucial for making seawater potable and usable for irrigation. Reverse osmosis has gained popularity due to lower operational costs and reduced energy consumption, but attacks on these facilities underscore the fragility of Gulf water security. The ongoing conflict allegedly risks destabilizing a region already grappling with environmental and geopolitical pressures, raising concerns about long-term sustainability and the human cost of infrastructure targeting.

Source: www.aljazeera.com