Abstract
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Acquiring water in the Middle East is an ever increasing problem that threatens the livelihood of millions of people. Water in the Middle East is a national security issue where signing a treaty, or losing a war would mean that there could be less water or even worse, no water. Water is also a pressing issue in the Middle East because of its link to the production of food. In order for humans to survive moderately comfortably, they need about 1000 cubic meters annually, many of the Middle Eastern countries fall well below the 1000 cubic meter level.  Middle Eastern governments need to look for technology and government solutions in order to establish better water management and practices in the Middle East.

Palestine and Israel
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Water is an extremely important issue in Israel. Being an arid country, with desert covering more than half of its land, water resources in Israel and Palestine mimic that of other areas in the Middle East. Israel acquires about 40 percent of its water from the Sea of Galilee which is in Israel's pre-1967 borders. Another 30 percent comes from the Western and Northeastern aquifers of the Mountain Aquifer system (Pal, 2010). The Western and Northeastern aquifers straddle the Green Line that separates Israel from the West Bank, but most of the stored water is under pre-1967 Israel, making it mostly accessible only to Israel (Figure 2). Being a country that has been at constant war with the Palestinians, water rights are a serious impediment (Pal, 2010).  The remaining 30 percent comes from a combination of natural springs, desalination plants, where about one million cubic meters of water are desalinated each day, and man made reservoirs for aquifer recharge (Mekorot, 2010). 

Figure 2. Israeli underground Aquifers (Serious Games, 2002).

Before the Oslo agreements of 1993, water rights belonged solely to Israel. With the responsibility of millions of people, Israelis and Palestinians, Israel promised safe drinking water to all of the people of the region. After 1993, with the signing of the Oslo agreements, Palestinians were allowed to have a share of the water that is under and flows through Israel. There were still problems building the infrastructure that was to carry the water. Due to political reasons, Palestine did not want an Israeli water infrastructure. To fix this, the Oslo II agreement gave Palestinians two-thirds of the development and Israel one-third (Pal, 2010).

After Oslo II was signed, Israel moved very quickly to fulfill their end of the bargain. The Palestinian Authority (PA) worked slowly and neglected its obligations. In many locations, nothing was done to create a Palestinian water infrastructure (Pal, 2010). The PA has many Israeli built wells but no pipes to bring the water to their people. There is also significant water loss due to corroded and insufficient water systems that are old or failing. In some areas, water is stolen through water trucks and is then sold illegally to needy Palestinians (Pal, 2010). There is also the problem of areas which are controlled by the PA that supply water to Jewish settlements. Some areas, such as Hebron, experience frequent water shortages along with undrinkable water (Pal, 2010).

To date, Israel has four main water issues that contribute to the overall health and disintegration of their water resources. The first issue is over-pumping. Over-pumping occurs when more water is pumped out of a water system such as an aquifer or river than can be replenished by the natural rain recharge. Another problem that is seen in Israel is water pollution. Water pollution can occur from over-pumping, sewage infiltration, leaching from dumps or waste piles, industrial spills, agricultural chemicals, fuel leaks, construction, urbanization, and transportation (Zaslavsky, 2000). The third problem which contributes to water resource problems is the demand for water both from Israel and its neighbors. Water demand has skyrocketed and population continues to grow as the development of new water systems and methods slows. The last problem deals with decision making and a lack of skilled personnel to make decisions in order to fix a problem. Water professionals in the region are scarce leading to corruption in the water systems (Zaslavsky, 2000).

There is a serious problem of water management that is occurring with the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. As population continues to grow in Israel and Palestine , solutions need to be reached in order to supply the people of Israel with clean fresh drinking water. Some of the most promising solutions deal with water conservation and new and improved technologies dealing with desalination.

Figure 3. The Dead Sea (Steitieh, 2008).

 The Dead Sea lies between the borders of Israel and Jordan. The sea is fed by three rivers which form the Jordan River. The three rivers which feed the Dead Sea are located in three different countries. The Hasbani of Lebanon, The Dan of Israel, and The Banias of Syria. Conflicts in this region have been ever-present since these states have formed which leads to concern over quantity and quality of water available (Lee, 1999). The Dead Sea is a water body that has no natural outlets. Since there are no natural outlets, the Dead Sea traps all the salt that is in the water and is making the sea twenty-five percent saline (Figure 3). The only way that water is lost from the Dead Sea is through evaporation and human use. In April 2008, the Dead Sea lost eight centimeters, the next month ten more centimeters were lost. The cause for the rapid decline of water in the Dead Sea is due to increased industrial factories along the Jordan River and its tributaries (Zafrir, 2008).

For more information on Israel's National water company link to Mekorot.

Tigris and Euphrates
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Two major water sources in the Middle East are the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The two rivers begin in Turkey, gathering water from Turkey's mountains and then heading southeast through Syria and Iraq (Kor, 1997). These two rivers are extremely important in the region. The historical importance of the rivers have given the area the name the fertile crescent and the cradle of civilization because of mans early emergence in the region. There are 22 dams on the two rivers and 19 hydroelectric plants (Kor, 1997). Water diversion of the rivers for agricultural use through natural and man-made canals has further diverted water from use for human life downstream. As with most rivers that run through multiple countries, there are disputes over the allocation of water (Kor, 1997). During the 1960's, water rights became a serious problem for Iraq, Turkey, and Syria when Turkey implemented its public-works project, the GAP project. The GAP project was designed to provide ample water sources for the 9 million people that were living in southern Turkey at the time. Turkey's decision to build the dams sparked much conflict between the Turkish Government and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), ( Astronomy, 2010). Throughout the 60's, 70's, and 80's, there were multiple skirmishes between the PKK and Turkey. One of the PKK's main targets were the Turkish dams which were cutting of Kurdistan's water supply. Kurdistan is a region in northern Iraq and north eastern Syria, and also runs into south eastern Turkey.

When Syria and Turkey joined the United Nations, they were asked to put sanctions on Iraq during the Gulf War. In August 6, 1990, four days after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, Turkey restricted the water flow from the Tigris and Euphrates into Iraq. After the fall of Saddam Hussein's government, the water was then supplied at the level to which it had been before 1990 levels. In 2008, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq decided to restart the Joint Trilateral Treaty, the purpose being to better manage the water resources of the Tigris and Euphrates. In September 2009, the three countries constructed water monitoring stations throughout the two rivers in order to ensure proper distribution of water. The flow of the water in the rivers has been increased from 300 cubic meters per second to 500 cubic meters per second (Astronomy, 2010).

Figure 4. Turkish water levels per person (Tonge, 2010).

According to Figure 4, Turkish water levels per person have gone down drastically. In 1960, there was a surplus of water for all Turkish residents. Around the end of the 1970's there was a sudden jolt in the population in Turkey causing water levels to fall below 1,652 m³  per person. Although in 2008 there was still a drop in water levels per person, it was not as drastic as the 40 year drop from the 4000 m³  per person. Projected values in 2030 show even less water for the citizens of Turkey in  per person (Tonge, 2010). The main reason why there was such a rapid decline in the rate of water that was available per person is a massive increase in population. Turkey's population quadrupled since 1945. Also, long-term data suggests climate change as a result of less water, Figure 5. Turkey's climate has changed from the 1990's to the 2000's by an increase of 1.5°C. The higher temperature results in less rainfall and a higher evaporation rate for Turkish water systems (Tonge, 2010).

 
 
  Figure 5. Turkey's rise in temperature °C  (Smith, 2010).

Arabian Peninsula
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The Arabian Peninsula is one of the world's most arid regions. The peninsula has very low rainfall, high evaporation rates, and limited renewable water resources. Since there is very little precipitation in the peninsula, agriculture without irrigation is near impossible. There are some sources of water in the Arabian Peninsula that come from the surface, but most of the region's water comes from stored ground water. Another important source of the regions water comes in the form of desalination and recycled water. (APRP, 2006). Recycled water is a gaining favor as a way to treat waste water. Saudi Arabia is the world's leading manufacturer of desalinated water (Warming, 2009).

The Arabian Peninsula's main source of water comes from shallow alluvial aquifers. Groundwater in this region makes up the only renewable water source for the Arabian countries (Uitto, 1997). The depth of these aquifers range from 20 meters to 200 meters with widths from 200 meters to 200 kilometers. Arabian Peninsula shallow aquifer quality is generally good. There are also deep-ground aquifers that store a considerable amount of water. These deep aquifers are called fossil groundwater and are non-renewable which can be thousands of years old. Primary aquifers in the Arabian Peninsula are the Saq, Tabuk, Wajid, Minjur-Druma, Wasia-Biyadh, Dammam, Um er-Radhuma, and Neogene (Uitto, 1997). The Neogene and Um er-Radhuma aquifers are carbonate aquifers while the other six main aquifers are sandstone. These aquifers extend into Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq. The aquifers also cover two-thirds of Saudi Arabia (Uitto, 1997). Figure 6 shows average water resource use, recharge, reserves, and desalination since 1986.   

Figure 6. Average water uses, reserves, and precipitation in the Arabian Peninsula (Uitto, 1997).

Domestic water requirements represent only a small fraction of total water requirements. Since there will be increased demand and limited supply in the future, desalination plants will be taking on huge responsibilities in order to keep up with the demand for domestic water supplies.  Water resources from renewable groundwater, desalination, and reclaimed waste water are already insufficient to meet expected demand.  In the future, it is expected that in order to offset the imbalance between supply and demand, mining of groundwater, especially from the deep aquifers, may be required to meet agricultural and other demands.  Unless strict water management policies are followed, the countries of the Arabian Peninsula need to develop more waste water treatment and desalination plants that can create potable water for their people.  Also, good quality water must only be used for drinking and cooking purposes, with the lesser quality waters going toward industrial and agricultural means.   

If current trends in consumption continue in the Arabian Peninsula, most countries will be forced to mine their underground water resources to the point of exhaustion.  In order for the problem to be stemmed from this, there are three main objectives that need to be met. 

1) Increase in the number of desalination plants in the Middle East.
2) Construction of a large number of waste water recycling plants.
3) A massive investment in order for 1 and 2 to become possible.

Nile Basin
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The Nile River is the main source of water for nine countries that lay in the Nile River basin. Currently, there are several nations around the Nile which are experiencing water stress. The nine countries (Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Egypt) all have a stake in the Nile river and all need a specific amount of water annually to be productive, see Figure 7. Conflict in the region and fear of water shortages have been present since ancient times. Several times throughout history, Egypt has tried to conquer Sudan in hopes to obtain their water rights. The Sudan was invaded during the reign of Queen Sheba, during the Roman rule of Nero, and countless other times. Egyptians invaded Sudan because they believed that the Nile was so unpredictable with floods and droughts, someone had to be altering the flow. Even in modern times the Nile is in continuous conflict with other countries over the water. During the 20th century, English settlers realized the importance of the Nile for their colonies. In 1929, Great Britain drafted the Nile Water Agreement, which regulated the flow of the Nile and allocated its use (Bab, 2000).

The Nile is formed by three tributaries, the Blue Nile, the White Nile, and the Atbara. The White Nile rises from its source in Burundi, Near the capital city of Khartoum, the White Nile meets up with the Blue Nile which has its source in the Ethiopian highlands, near Lake Tana. More than half of the Nile's waters come from the Blue Nile. The two flow together to just north of Khartoum, where they are joined by the waters of the Atbara, whose source is also located in the Ethiopian highlands (Bab, 2000).

The river then flows north through Lake Nasser, the second largest man-made lake in the world, and the Aswan Dam before splitting into two major rivers just north of Cairo. The two rivers are the Rosetta branch to the west and the Darneita to the east. In ancient times, the number of rivers were much greater, but slow water flow, human interference, and the accumulation of silt led to the disappearance of all the other smaller rivers. This has led to the desertification of large areas of Egyptian land (Bab, 2000).

Figure 7. The Nile River basin (Abrams, 2001)

Currently, the Nile is under two large projects.  The Shared Vision Program, which is a riparian doctrine that shares water with all surrounding countries.  The Subsidiary Action Programs are more on a smaller scale of water sharing only including countries that border each other (Abrams, 2001). 

Desalination
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Desalination is the process of converting seawater, brackish water, or waste water into fresh potable drinking water. World wide, there are 12,500 desalination plants, sixty-percent of which are located in the Middle East (Warming, 2009). Also, worldwide, these 12,500 desalination plants produce about eight billion gallons daily. The world's largest plant is located in Saudi Arabia producing over 128 million gallons per day (Warming, 2009). Since desalinated water is very expensive to create, the water is primarily used for domestic, municipal, and industrial needs (APRP, 2006).

There are several procedures that are used to desalinate water. One method is called reverse osmosis where water is pumped at high pressure through permeable membranes, which separate the salts through the water. The water is then treated to remove particles that clog the membranes. This process can be repeated to further clean the water. Another process is distillation. In distillation, the water is heated and then evaporated to separate out all dissolved materials. Distillation methods include multiple effect distillation , multistage flash , and vapor compression (Warming, 2009).

The Gulf States began experimenting with desalination around 1938.  Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were among the earliest to build plants (Uitto, 1997).  During the last 20 years, the countries of the Arabian Peninsula became increasingly dependent on desalination to meet their water resource requirements. Since groundwater supplies are very small, the Gulf states have no other option than to rely on desalination as a source of water. From the availability of revenues from oil resources, desalination has been looked on as a viable method in the Arabian Peninsula. Future projections indicate that more investments in desalination technology will be required to offset overexploitation of water resources and increased public demand, see Figure 8 (Uitto, 1997).

Figure 8. One of Saudi Arabia's 27 desalination plants (Picow, 2010).

For more information link to the Middle East Desalination Research Center for up to date information and technology about desalination in the Middle East. 

MEDRC Link

President Obama's Policy
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Within Days of President Obama's election, he was on his way to strengthening ties with the Middle East people and leaders. Obama directed much of his attention to the Israeli and Palestinian issues. Obama broke past policies by giving the Middle East so much attention.  Obama initiated a solution called, Last Chance for a Two-State Israel-Palestine Agreement, which will offer a clear view of the situation and will propose a balanced and fair approach for both sides on resolving the conflict. Under the agreement, Jerusalem will be the capital for both Israel and Palestine (Gwilliam, 2009). The Old-City will be broken up into two parts as well, giving definite borders and sections for the two sides different holy places. Obama is on the right path by building a two-state agreement because previous 1967 borders are not satisfactory for containing violence and disputes. One area which Obama is directing his energy to is the Jordan Valley, where in 1967, there were 320,000 Palestinians living there (Gwilliam, 2009). To date, there are less than 56,000, most of which have been relocated through government military programs. Of the 56,000 Palestinians that live in the area now, 98% of their water supplies are controlled by the Israelis. The Palestinians that live there now are mostly farmers and need water for agriculture. Obama is trying to continue his efforts to get the Palestinians and Israilis alike an even, shared water supply (Gwilliam, 2009).

Take Action
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Take action now by writing to leaders in the Middle East in order to sway their opinions.

You have the option of writing to

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

or

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

References
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Abrams, Paula, 2001. The Water Page. Retrieved on 5/6/10 from http://www.africanwater.org/nile.htm.

Absolute Astronomy, 2010. Tigris-Euphrates River System.  Retrieved on 3/9/10 from http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Tigris-Euphrates_river_system.

Arabian Peninsula Regional Program (APRP), 2006. Water Resources and Irrigation. Retrieved on 3/31/10 from http://www.icarda.org/APRP/WRM.htm.

Bab, Al. 2000. Water in the Middle East. Retrieved on 3/16/10 from http://www.al-bab.com/arab/env/water.htm#ARABIAN.

Global Warming (Warming), 2009. Desalination Plants Worldwide. Retrieved on 2/11/10 from http://www.global-greenhouse-warming.com/water-resources.html.

Gwilliam, Michael, 2009. Europe Must Respond to Obama on the Middle East. Retrieved on 4/15/10 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/26/letters-europe-  obama-middle-east.

Houtman, Nick , 2007. Across the Divide, Parting the Waters. Retrieved on 1/25/10 from http://oregonstate.edu/terra/2007winter/images/features/water_stress.jpg.

Kor, Tevfik Emin, 1997. ICE Case Studies. Retrieved on 3/4/10 from http://www1.american.edu/TED/ice/tigris.htm.

Lee, Dr. James R., 1999. TED Case Studies. Retrieved on 2/09/10 from  http://www1.american.edu/TED/deadsea.htm.

Mekorot, 2010. Israel's Water Supply System.  Retrieved on 5/5/10 from http://www.mekorot.co.il/Eng/Mekorot/Pages/IsraelsWaterSupplySystem.aspx.

Palestine Facts.org (Pal), 2010. Is Israel using Palestinians water? Retrieved on 3/22/10 from http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1991to_now_water.php.

Picow, Maurice, 2010. Saudi Arabia opens worlds largest plant. Retrieved on 5/5/10 from http://www.greenprophet.com/2009/05/14/8981/saudi-arabia-desalination/. 

Rinat, Zafrir, 2008. Dead Sea is Drying Up. Retrieved on 2/11/10 from http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/991750.html.

Serious Games, 2002.  Surface Water in Palestine. Retrieved on 3/4/10 from learning.seriousgames.dk/maps.aspx.

Smith, E.M., 2010.Let's Talk Turkey.  Retrieved on 5/5/10 from http://chiefio.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/turkey_sh.png.

Steitieh, Nizar,2008. Dead Sea, Jordan. Retrieved on 2/15/09 from www.atlastours.net/jordan/dead_sea_sunset.jpg.

Tonge, David,2010. Water Levels. Retrieved on 3/24/10 from http://ibsresearch.com/content/taking-water-seriously.

 Uitto, Juha I., 1997. Freshwater Resources in Arid Lands.  Retrieved on 4/2/10 from http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu02fe/uu02fe00.htm.

Zaslavsky, Dan Emeritus, 2000. Definition of Israel's Water Problems. Retrieved on 3/23/10 from http://www.biu.ac.il/soc/besa/water/zaslavsky.html.

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