HIGHER charges for lower quality water may be on the way for Bahrain's consumers, says a top scientist. Bahrain, like other countries in the Gulf, is facing increasing demand for water and the likely result is higher costs for lower quality water, said Arabian Gulf University (AGU) vice-president and professor for water resources Dr Waleed Zubari.
Population growth and dwindling underground water reserves, along with climate change, mean that Bahrain must find solutions to meet the rising demand for water.
Researchers at the AGU are now looking at the impact of population growth and climate change on water resources and the best way to meet increasing demand.
"In Bahrain, the ground water is deteriorating and desalination plants are very expensive; at the same time waste water is of a low quality and can only be used for things like irrigation," Dr Zubari told the GDN.
"We need to know how we can balance this with population growth and climate change.
"We must look at the best way we can deal with this, we must look at the vulnerabilities and how we can adapt."
Dr Zubari and a team of researchers at the AGU are using existing data on water demands and resources to build an integrated model for Bahrain that could be used to support decision making.
The model will show what would happen to water resources if the population grows at a given rate. It will also look at the impact of climate change on water resources.
"With climate change, the more heat there is, the more water that is needed and the more water needed, the more energy that is consumed to produce that water and the more energy that is consumed, the more water that is needed and so on," said Dr Zubari.
"We only have one choice and that is, to desalinate water and reuse waste water.
"So we can expect lower quality water in the future at a higher cost.
"In the 1990s the water demand was more than the desalination plant produced, and history can repeat itself.
"The bottom line is, we need to look at how we can have a sustainable water supply in Bahrain without immense economic and environment costs."
Dr Zubari was speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony for a workshop on Water Resources Planning and Management Applications.
The workshop was part of the joint efforts to prepare the second volume of Bahrain's National Communications to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will be submitted next year.
The Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife, which produces the report, contracted the AGU to conduct a study on the vulnerability and adaptation on climate change, water resources, land, etc.
Other research being carried out for the report includes compiling an inventory of Green House Gases (GHGs); GHGs mitigation; and the socioeconomic context of climate change.
During the workshop, the group was trained to use a computer programme that can be used as a tool to support decision making for the management of water resources.
The programme was developed by Stockholm Environment Institute and delivered by Arab Centre for Arid Zone Studies, Syria.
Twenty-five water resources experts from the GCC are attending the workshop at the AGU.
"It's hard to deal with water management because there are so many sources and usages," said Dr Zubari.
"You need a system that can combine all these aspects together and manage them in an integrated way.
"You need to be able to calculate different scenarios, such as if water consumption increases by this much what will happen in the future and what will help if population and climate change work together.
"This programme shows the impact of each decision you take."
becky@gdn.com.bh
