Water Provision Methods in Arid Region of Egypt - Term Paper Example

Introduction The main aim of this report will be to bring out a comparison between two methods used in water provision for arid region in Egypt. The two methods include desalination and water re-use. This will be culminated by making a recommendation on water re-use as the best method to be employed in providing water for arid regions in Egypt. This recommendation will reached after putting into consideration factors such sustainability of supply, quantity of water produced against demand and its social impact. Existing water situation in Egypt Egypt as a country in particular is in dire need of water because most of its regions are more of arid. The climate experienced here is hot desert type of climate. As a result the region receives low amount of rainfall or even to the extreme rainfall becomes rare. Temperature are also very high which brings with it high evaporation rates. The population is also increasing at a rapid rate which means more water is needed to meet the population’s water needs. The average per capital water availability has been experiencing a declining trend; for instance in 1995 it was at 2385m3 for the whole year this then dropped sharply to 1046 m3 in the yaer 2000 and a similar decline is expected to continue and reach 676m3 in the year 2025. The lack of water in Egypt has become a barrier to its quest for economic development and support to the society. Because of this it is clear that looking for a suitable method for water provision in Egypt arid areas is a priority. Expansion in industrial, agriculture and tourism sectors have also contributed pressure being exerted on natural resources. Agriculture tops the list in terms of water consumption in Egypt with a demand of between 80-85% of the entire water demand. In order to ensure sustainability in the agriculture, it is important that Egypt conserves and manages its water resources well. Egypt’s water resources include both conventional and non-conventional. Conventional resources include rainfall, Nile river, under ground water, desalination of sea water while non-conventional ones comes from reuse of agricultural drainage, re-use of treated wastewater. The fact that water is becoming a scarce resource in Egypt has left the country’s planners with choice to consider other sources of water that might come in handy in meeting the increasing demands. In instances where quality water is scarce, the options to consider marginal water for use in agriculture the better choice. Egypt is well known for its horizontal expansion in agriculture which is linked to its ability to provide the needed water. The business of water use and the prospect of using it in the future make the search other alternatives are inevitable. Desalination Desalination employs nanotechnology to help come up with a sustainable method which aims at curbing water shortage in Egypt. Since time immemorial the Nile River has been the key source of fresh water for use in the country capable of supplying about 95% of total volume of water used. According to studies done by the UN on Egypt water demand, it has been found that the country experiences a water shortfall by approximately 7 billion M3 and this is accompanied by ever increasing domestic water consumption which is expected to go up by 25% come the year 2025. According to a study conducted by UNEP, Egypt’s water demand is approximated to be 80 billion M3 per year. These demand over rides the Nile treaty of 1959 which provided Egypt as a country with a quota of 55 billion M3 annually. This means that Egypt is restricted on its water use from Nile despite its increasing water demand resulting from its rapid population growth and development. These challenges have prompted Egypt to look for other water provision methods which include desalination; this involves the extraction of salt form sea water and brackish water to get fresh water best suited for irrigation and human consumption. Despite desalination being used decades in other countries, it has a major drawback which is the fact that it requires a lot of energy and has high installation costs. The installation requires expensive infrastructure that are also specific to it. As for the case of thermal desalination, large amount of is needed which in turn result into an escalation in carbon dioxide emissions thus air pollution. Currently, it has been of concern to come up with desalination methods that are cost less to develop and be environmentally friendly at the same time. With current the turf economic times across the world mean setting aside large amount of money for such projects and cutting down on other important areas thus having a negative social impact to the citizens. To solve this, there was the adoption of a prototype that utilizes nanocomposite membrane that depends on reverse osmosis. The salt is retained at the membrane as fresh water goes through. The salt can be recycled for other industrial uses and the water used for domestic purposes and agriculture. Egypt has most of its desalination plants located along the coastal regions thereby servicing the tourism and industrial sectors. Owing to the high costs involved in its installation and running, the plants produce relative small volumes of fresh water. Making desalination cost effective will therefore mean increased production of fresh water that can be used for domestic consumption in the upcoming settlements and use in agriculture. This would in turn contribute greatly to the development of the country as a whole. The method can be used to provide water in large scale and by many people only that the membrane technology knowledge is lacking. It worth noting that acquiring the membranes is also costly as they are imported and their cost is about 15 to 20 % of the total installation cost. The membranes also get worn out and needs to be replaced after a certain period of time. This would therefore additional operational costs on such plants. Thinking of local manufacture of membranes and other components will bring down the cost of desalination water. Making innovation of cheaper desalination method will help a great deal since it will be used extensively to produce fresh water at a reduced cost and with minimum energy spent. Wastewater Reuse In order to curb the ever increasing demand for fresh water to practice agriculture and domestic use, Egypt has adopted a policy on wastewater reclamation and reuse to help reduce the pressure on fresh water resources. Egypt’s strategy to this has been treating the wastewater which thereafter becomes useful at home and in the fields. It has been found that Egypt produces about 5.5 to 6.5 billion m3 (BCM) of wastewater annually. Of this amount, approximately 2.97 BCM is treated and only about 0.7 BCM annually utilized in the fields for agriculture. The treated water is used either directly in the desert regions or indirectly after mixing with agricultural drainage water. Water reuse or recycle have been beneficial to many countries with water stress. Some of the reasons that have prompted arid countries to recycle wastewater include but not restricted to prevention of surface water contamination which would occur if such waters were allowed to drain into rivers and lakes. Through wastewater recycle and reuse, it has been possible to postpone other water supply approaches such as desalination which are costly. It also gets rid or minimizes the use of costly and complicated means of water treatment procedures and particularly extraction of phosphorus and nitrogen. The fact that the amount of water generated will always go up with the growing population and increasing industrial developments. This therefore means a growth in treatment capacity as well. This simply means water reuse is capable of providing enough water required for other uses since almost equal amount of water used is released as a waste and becomes available for recycle and reuse. Conclusion and recommendation Egypt’s water sector has been facing numerous challenges ranging from water scarcity to decline in water quality due to increase in population and limited financial resources. Subdivision of water management and missing awareness concerning water challenges is also an issue. This now calls for more financial and technical assistance to develop other programs that could help in alleviating or reducing the water scarcity problem. According to the national water balance made for Egypt, it is shown that the country has a deficit of about 8 billion m3. That shortage was curbed by elevating the efficiency of existing water resources through reuse of wastewater, drainage water and underground water. In the recent past, the techniques for managing the reuse of wastewater have moved from the conventional disposal ideas to value added products. Concerns over environmental and health negative impacts of the reuse programs which had increased has been overcome by the employment of the intermediate drainage reuse which mixes drainage water with fresh branches of canal waters. It is further suggested that intermediate drainage can take the place of unofficial reuse procedures thus limiting the negative impacts on public health and environment. This brings out the need for supporting and encouraging the use of intermediate drainage reuse. References Shaalan NS (2001) Egypt country paper on wastewater reuse. Joint FAO/WHO consultation for launching the regional network on wastewater reuse. Amman, Jordan Read More