Plummeting Groundwater Tables in Saudi Arabia; And No Replacement (Robert Glennon, Huffington Post)

Jan.15, 2009 in Drought, Public Works, Water Conservation, Water Crisis, Water Industry, Water Management, Water Rights, Water Technology

(Jan. 14, 2009, Robert Glennon, Huffington Post)

I recently returned from Saudi Arabia, a country that faces self-inflicted water challenges. I’m part of a team charged with drafting a water code for the Kingdom. In the 1980s, Saudi Arabia decided it wanted food security, so it encouraged farmers to grow wheat by drilling an unknown number of groundwater wells and pumping water deposited thousands of years ago. In short order, the water tables began to plummet and government ministries began to wonder how they’d be able to supply water for a fast-growing population.

In Saudi Arabia, government ministers told me that they are having a public relations nightmare in trying to persuade citizens that the Kingdom shouldn’t mine water, as it does oil. At first blush, it seems as though the case for mining water is even stronger, given the hydrologic cycle. After all, humans use water but we don’t destroy it. In the case of oil, we will eventually run out. Period.

But this analogy breaks down for two reasons. First, if we run out of oil, we can turn to natural gas, coal, or renewables, such as wind or solar. There is no replacement for water…

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