Multilateral Working Group on Water Resources,
Middle East Peace Process
Second World Water Forum, 17-22 March 2000, The Hague
Enhancement of Water Supply
Regional Water Supply and Demand Study
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| King Abdullah Canal at outflow of the "peace pipeline" bringing
water from Lake Tiberias. |
The German Government undertook a study of the long-term strategic development of water
resources in the region. The objectives of the study were to (1) elaborate specific
proposals for the provision of additional water resources on the basis of a comprehensive
demand forecast and (2) develop a concept for coordinated future management of all regional
water resources. The study has been implemented in three phases. Phase I is a review of
local and regional water-related data, establishing water balances, determining the size of
the long-term net water gap between supply and demand, and identifying options for bridging
this gap. Phase II is an assessment of local development options and regional options for
developing additional water resources, using short-term (2000), medium-term (2010), and
long-term (2040) scenarios. Phase III is the joint elaboration of a regional water resources
strategy and the provision of recommendations on key short-term regional activities. The
study was completed in 1998.
The data show a significant gap between water supply and demand throughout the region,
even when using conservative estimates of future population growth and water use. In addition,
deteriorating water quality already is a serious issue in some parts of the region and increasing
pollution and salinization threaten to make more and more regional water resources non-utilizable
in the future.
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| Roman-era cistern. |
The conclusions and recommendations drawn from this study consider potential alternative water
sources such as reuse of waste waters, sea water desalination at coastal locations, intersea schemes
conveying water to the Dead Sea, importing water by pipeline, and importing water by large,
refurbished crude oil tankers or new tankers, or the towing of large vinyl bags. They present
a regional strategy, include immediate steps related to each of the regional participants, and offer
short- to long-term priorities in a regional context. The five activities considered to be the
highest priority are:
- Joint development of prototype desalination plant(s) at the Mediterranean and/or the Red Sea.
- Prefeasibility study of large-scale coastal desalination plants.
- Comparative study of intersea schemes (Med-Dead; Red-Dead).
- Prefeasibility study of intra-regional conveyance systems.
- Study on regional institutional set-ups.
Middle East Desalinization Research Center
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| Power generation at a solar farm. |
The Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRC) was established in Muscat, Sultanate
of Oman in December 1996. Initial funding for the Center was obtained through contributions
from several donor nations. The economy of the Middle East is inextricably tied to the high
cost of seawater and brackish water desalination, a cost the Center will try to reduce.
The mission of MEDRC is to conduct, facilitate, promote, coordinate, and support basic
and applied research in water desalination and supporting fields, and to raise the standard
of living in the Middle East and elsewhere by cost reduction and quality improvement in the
technical processes of water desalination.
The objectives of MEDRC are:
- Discovering, developing, and improving methods of desalination through basic and applied research.
- Initiating training programs in the field of desalination to develop expertise as well as technical and scientific skills.
- Promoting electronic networking communi-cations to improve the dissemination of technical information on desalination.
- Establishing regional cooperation and work to foster progress in the development, improvement and use of water desalination and related technical areas.
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| Touring a research project at MEDRC. |
The Center is directed to focus on priority research, training, and communication needs.
Their research program is based on seven primary goals:
- Decrease the cost of desalination.
- Develop productive partnerships and cooperation.
- Develop sustainable desalination technologies.
- Improve communications in the desalination community.
- Develop human resources for application of desalination and foster international cooperation in research activities, particularly among regional experts.
- Utilize limited regional and international research resources.
- Maximize technology transfer of research activities.
The types of research projects sponsored by MEDRC include: Examinations of best practice for
the disposal of brine from thermal and RO plants; Vari-RO solar powered desalting study; Novel
material selection to improve corrosion resistance: automation and operation optimization to
reduce water costs; Hybrid desalination systems; Innovative small desalination systems, hybrid
fossil/solar heated multi-effect-still; Development of new tech-nologies for the reduction of
fouling; Investigation on the use of evaporation ponds for brine disposal in inland desalination
plants; and Assessment of aquifer storage and recovery using desalinated water.
Multilateral Working Group on Water Resources, Middle East Peace Process
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