This desalination plant in Al-Hidd will be joined by additional facilities as Bahrain seeks to boost its water production. (Image via sidem-desalination.com)
Aiming to meet its growing water needs, Bahrain is pursuing an ambitious plan to increase its production of desalinated water. The kingdom currently produces 142 million gallons of water a day.
The first stage of the plan will cost some $400 million and has a particularly ambitious timetable: The aim is to already produce an additional 48 million gallons of water a day by mid-2011. The second stage will phase in production of another 52 million gallons per day over the next two decades, bringing total daily capacity to 242 million gallons.
“Bahrain consumes 140 million gallons of water per day, so we need to have 420 million gallons to be enough for three days if an emergency strikes,” Dr Abdulmajid Al-Awadhi, chief executive of Bahrain’s Electricity and Water Authority (EWA), told the Gulf Daily News. And this is before taking into account future growth in water consumption.
Al-Awadhi acknowledged that it is also necessary to address Bahrain’s high rate of water consumption, noting that per capita consumption of water is about 125 gallons in the kingdom, compared to about 60 gallons in Japan.
The plan to increase water production includes building new desalination stations and water networks. “Bahrain is planning to secure water in all five governorates and connect water pipes to new houses, malls, shops and other buildings,” Al-Awadhi said.
:: ArabianBusiness.com
:: Gulf Daily News
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Author: Ira Moskowitz
When his kids were small, Ira would point to litter on the ground and tell them: “That makes me angry!” He still gets angry about pollution, waste and abusive treatment of our world, but is encouraged by the growing awareness of environmental issues and has been following the latest developments in cleantech with great interest. Ira grew up in the green hills of western Massachusetts and moved to Israel in the early 1980s after completing an MA in Middle Eastern Studies. He has worked as a software developer and journalist, and translates works of Hebrew fiction and non-fiction to English. Ira is trying to age gracefully, but refuses to surrender his youthful belief in the potential for change, including a collaborative future for the peoples of the Middle East. To contact Ira, email ira (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
