Many families are forced to do without clean and bottled drinking water owing to unaffordability, and have replaced it with water from house wells supplied by rainwater harvesting and melted snow water. It is a method used by the ancestors to store water over winter, and accordingly the water would be collected in a well dug under or near the house and withdrawn in different ways, including tying a container to a rope, lowering it into the well and lifting it full of water. Science has tremendously developed between the time of our ancestors and our time now, and consequently advanced methods for water withdrawal have been devised. But families remain fearful of bacterial contamination of the water, so some boil it before drinking it, thinking that by doing so, it will be safe to drink and free from impurities. This method has not used for quite some time as the high price of propane-gas bottle prevents them from boiling the water; consequently, people are indeed drinking unboiled water. Given the frequent power cuts, others revived their ancestors’ traditions by withdrawing water with a container and a rope.
In a report issued in early 2022, UNICEF warned that Lebanon’s water supply systems are on the verge of collapse, as the water sector is negatively affected by the low tariffs in Lebanese pounds and the high maintenance cost in US dollars, while the suspension of services is looming due to the rising fuel costs. In view of the above, water institutions are unable to perform scheduled maintenance, hence an increase in infrastructure malfunctions and growing concern about a deep crisis that may hit this sector. Hussein Fakih, a UNICEF WASH specialist, believes that Lebanon is better than other countries in the Middle East regarding water resources, but with the population increase, he sees that Lebanon is near the normal rate, and the main problem lies in water wastage and the absence of a rationalization policy, in addition to the fact that a high proportion of its water, especially river water, is polluted.
However, with the exacerbating economic crisis, the cost of producing drinking water has risen for many manufacturers, so they have looked for alternative solutions at a time when many pumps stopped working, and the aggravating electricity crisis has impacted production.
Fakih pointed out that the failure to exploit the rainfall is problematic in Lebanon, as rainfall for the year 2022 is higher than normal and the land is heavily irrigated, but a large proportion of the water will be wasted to the sea. In light of many problems such as climate change, the absence of a spring monitoring system and rationalization, and the level of pollution in groundwater reaching 92%, we may have drought in 2040, because Lebanon is located in the most vulnerable region with extermely high levels of water stress. By 2040, Lebanon is expected to be ranked among the 11 most water-stressed countries in the world.
Despite the seriousness of the issue, it is possible to avoid the disaster by making effective use of rainfall, abstaining from wasting river water or encroaching on water bodies, and decreasing the level of groundwater contamination, as well as restoring the poorly functioning water supply networks.
Impacts of climate change on water scarcity in Lebanon
As a result of changes in precipitation and snowmelt, Lebanon is expected to witness a large variation in spring flow rates, with severe phenomena and more obvious drought periods. In collaboration with leading research institutions in Lebanon, such as the American University of Beirut and Saint Joseph University, UNICEF is monitoring springs and water flow to support decision makers with data so they would inform water institutions. This includes mapping water flows for a better understanding of groundwater systems. Obtaining this information will allow for better predictability and planning with respect to existing and future resources.
Climate change, water scarcity and environmental degradation can contribute to inter-communal tensions, violence and exploitation, among some of the impacts of climate change that place children at risk. In Lebanon, we have seen examples of conflicts that arise between communities when water resources are scarce. Consequently, UNICEF, in collanoration with the American University of Beirut and other UN agencies, is researching and investigating how water and sanitation projects can be used as a tool to reduce inter-communal tensions in Lebanon.
In turn, Dr. Samir Zaatiti, a researcher in groundwater science, considered that the figures reflecting the quantities of groundwater in Lebanon released by the Ministry of Energy and Water in recent years contain a number of inaccuracies. For him, Lebanon stores about 3 out of about 10 billion m3 of water annually, while the ministry reports that it is less than one billion, with the objective of building dams for personal benefit. He noted that from 1975 until now no official scientific research has been conducted on water resources, while the expenditure for sanitation and water networks is estimated to be $26 billion, at a time when there is no wastewater treatment to date, as it is wasted to rivers or the sea.
Zaatiti explained the reality of Lebanon at the heart of the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea south of the North Temperate Zone, by saying that it has two parallel mountain ranges, Mount Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon, which play two major and twin roles:
· Serving as a barrier to clouds saturated with sea smoke and causing significant amounts of rain on the coasts and western slopes, in addition to snow
· Causing climate variation, from Mediterranean/moderate on the coast, to mountain climate on the western slopes, inland Mediterranean in the Bekaa Valley, and semi-desert in the northeast and the Syrian inland
Aquifer storage
Carbonate rocks with permeable cracks, fractures and thawing holes which form on about 65-70% of the area of Lebanon and constitute the mountains, include the following:
- The groundwater, which is renewed annually, flows naturally into the rocks from the highest areas down to the sea and neighboring countries, unless we utilize it to meet our needs by digging wells.
- The investment in chalk aquifers in southern Lebanon has proven successful in meeting the needs of a large number of villages and towns since 1985. Investing in the groundwater of Sidon, Tyre, Nabatiyeh, Marjayoun, Jezzine and Khiam, has proven to be a practical alternative that can be used in other areas, rather than building environmentally damaging dams.
Water policy mistakes made since 2010:
1. The provisions of the so-called the National Water Sector Strategy (NWSS) revealing ignorance of our water resources and its underground storage;
2. Developing plans for water resources without being informed on the geology of Lebanon and the nature of its rocks;
3. Relying solely on the storage of shallow water in very costly dams;
4. Utilizing 1/4 of the water resources vulnerable to contamination and underutilizing 3/4 of the transboundary groundwater reserves;
5. The failure of six ill-conceived dams built on karst lands, namely the Brisa Dam, the Mseilha Dam, the Balaa Dam in Batroun, the Jannah Dam on the Nahr Ibrahim River, the Bekaata Dam in Matn, and the Qaysmani Dam to collect water.
This runs counter the recommendations made by the French geological mission, engineer Ibrahim Abdel-Al, the UN Human Development Report, and many hydrogeologists, both foreign and Arab.
The absence of sewage networks and wastewater treatment and the failure to stop industrial waste disposal cause surface contamination in springs and rivers, the Litani River - Qaraoun Dam being a blatant example.
For his part, Dr. Nasser Farhat, Instructor of Environmental Engineering at the Islamic University and reseacher at the Lebanese Center for Water and Environment (LCWE) said that the annual amount of precipitation has remained unchanged for more than 70 years, with a very slight rate of change until 2020. According to the National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS), the annual precipitation volume in Lebanon is estimated at 8.6 billion m3, which is a good rate compared to other countries in the region, but the problem lies in two factors, the first natural and the second human. However, the distribution of rainfall is uneven. For instance, the rainfall amount is 200 mm in Baalbek-Hermel, while it is 1,300 mm in mountainous areas, whereby the terrain is the main factor behind the different rates in Mount Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon.
Farhat considered that about 35% of the rainfall infiltrates to become groundwater and 40% of it evaporates, while the remaining percentage constitutes surface water, and points out that a large proportion of the water flows through non-Lebanese territory.
As for the human factor, it is a demographic one exemplified by the increased proportion of the population and the change in customs and traditions, which causes higher water consumption and increased pollution of surface and ground water, as the renewable and available freshwater per capita has decreased to 835 m3 per year, based on data from the World Bank.
According to a study conducted by the LCWE, 67% of the population of Lebanon relied on the public water network in 2017, compared to 88.6% in 2007, which prompted a significant proportion of the Lebanese people to rely on the private rather than the public network. Farhat cited a research sample on the 1142 km² Nabatiyeh Governorate and provided its breakdown as follows: the rainfall is 969 million m3, the rate of evaporation is 414 million m3, and the percentage of groundwater stored is 374 million m3, while the consumption rate is 50 million m3 distributed among 19 million m3 for agriculture, 35 million m3 for domestic consumption, and 3 million m3 for industry. According to the sample, 338 million m3 of water flows into three rivers and 115 million m3 flows across the border.
Farhat indicated that the Lebanese have reduced water consumption as they pay directly for it, with the total amount estimated at about 125 million dollars annually. The daily consumption per capita is 200 liters, whereas it is 500 liters in the Gulf and it ranges between 180 and 300 liters in Europe.
The second problem has to do with the political factors, both domestic and foreign, which hinders the development of large-scale environmental projects owing to political bickering and the implementation of important projects in many areas. Geopolitical factors also account for the pecucliarity of the southern governorates, whereby according to Farhat, the donors refuse to fund any water project in the area south of the Litani River in case Israel is affected, especially in Mount Hermon (Jabal al-Sheikh), where abandoned agricultural land that can be utilized in the event of project development makes up 70% of the total area.
He considered that the solution consists of pursuing a realistic approach and limiting the scope of projects to municipalities or unions of municipalities in order to hinder domestic and foreign political interventions, particularly in the municipalities.
Regarding climate change, Farhat believes that temperature has risen in Lebanon since 1990 by about 1.5 degrees Celsius, and this rise has increased evaporation rates and people’s use of water in agriculture and industry.