Bahrain Is Facing Rising Demand for Desalinated Water
The Middle East is set for a rise in demand for desalinated water. Particularly in the Kingdom of Bahrain, it is expected that by 2030, the total desalinated water production will increase about 72 per cent, as the government has developed major plans for meeting and increasing the water demand for the next 15 years. Gulf Arab states are heavily dependent on desalination technology for water supplies, as desalination is the only available option in the region.
According to the French Institute of International Relations, the UAE relies on desalinated water for 42 per cent of its supply, Kuwait 90 per cent, Oman 86 per cent, and Saudi Arabia 70 per cent. The report claims that by 2030, desalination capacity in Middle Eastern countries is expected to double. This makes it more difficult to control CO2 emissions as the process and energy that is required from desalination plants are produced on electricity from natural gas. And not only does the desalination process emit an overload of CO2 into the atmosphere, but the process also leaves our oceans with increased salinity.
When the remaining water, heavily loaded with salt particles having been separated from the seawater, is often released back into the sea, this causes increased salinity levels in coastal waters, which can lead to damaging marine life. And although governments must prepare for increasing demands due to increasing populations, experts and various sources are claiming there are more effective and environmentally friendly ways to do this.
For example, sources are now saying that Gulf states are beginning to realise the imminent threat of how such processes can harm the environment and are aware that strategies must change to protect the future. Using harmful processes to solve current issues, only creates more future challenges that could pose greater damage, climate change. Gulf states are now beginning to plan for the future by switching to solar energy, such as NEOM, which will be solely powered by clean and renewable energy. Although Gulf states have the privilege of containing an abundance of oil and gas, they lack fresh water, which causes the environmentally threatening processes of desalination.
