Abstract
This chapter discusses the problems facing conventional water resources, including surface water and groundwater. The surface-water sources are seasonal floods, permanent springs and aflaj systems, while the groundwater resources are stored in various aquifers all over the country. The chapter also deals with the problems facing non-conventional water resources, including desalinated water (coastal and inland desalination processes) and treated wastewater.
The problems facing surface water are pollution from surface sources, inadequate quality for domestic uses, shortage and scarcity of recharge. The groundwater resources receive limited recharge from rain in the northern and eastern parts of the country and are generally suffering from scarcity, depletion and declining groundwater levels, water logging, increasing salinity, salt-water intrusion, hardness, unsuitability for irrigation and pollution.
The thermal desalination plants suffer from scale formation and precipitation, while the plants applying reverse osmosis face fouling and corrosion. These problems decrease the efficiency and production of plants. Water desalination has been criticized based on economic, environmental and security grounds. Disposal of reject brine is the main problem facing desalination industry. Discharge of reject brines in coastal areas leads to negative physical, chemical and biological impacts on the marine environment. In case of inland desalination plants, uncontrolled disposal of reject brines leads to serious pollution of groundwater problems. On the other hand, oil pollution of feedwater, algal growth, thermal pollution, salinity problems and heavy metals threaten desalination plants.
The problems facing reuse of treated wastewater are mainly psychological, such as fear of infectious diseases, unrest and belief that this water is unsafe, irrespective of the level of treatment. Also, there is a direct relationship between certain diseases and the use of treated wastewater for irrigation. Conventional wastewater-treatment methods do not completely remove harmful pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Finally, the use of treated wastewater leads to accumulations of heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn). Reclamation of soils having heavy-metal concentrations exceeding the maximum permissible limits is difficult.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abdel-Jawad M, Al-Tabtabaei M (1999) Impact of current power generation and water desalination activities on Kuwaiti Marine Environment. Proceedings of IDA World Congress on Desalination and Water Reuse, San Diego 3: 231–240
Abdul Azis PK, Al Tisan I, Al Daili M, Green TN, Dalvi AI, Javeed MA (2000) Effects of environment on source water for desalination plants on the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia. Desalination 132:29–40
Ahmed M, Shayyab WH, Hoey D, Al-Handaly J (2001) Brine disposal from reverse osmosis desalination plants in Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Desalination 133:135–147
Al Amari KA (1997) Assessment of environmental impact of re-injecting oil-field water in the miocene clastic sediments on the shallow aquifer at Bu Hasa oil field, United Arab Emirates. Unpublished M. Sc. Thesis, UAE University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
Al Asam MS, Wagner W (1997) Investigation for development of ground water management strategies in the eastern coastal plain of the UAE: Proceeding of the third Gulf Water Conference. Towards Efficient Utilization of Water Resources in the Gulf, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, pp 329–339
Al Barwani HH, Purnama A (2008) Evaluating the effect of producing desalinated seawater on hypersaline Arabian Gulf. Eur J Sci Res 22(2):279–285
Al Hammadi M K (2003) Assessment of Groundwater resources using remote sensing and GIS: UAE University – Faculty of graduate studies, water resources program. Unpublished Master Thesis, p 108
Al Malek SA, Mohamed AMO (2005) Environmental impact assessment of off shore oil spill on desalination plant. Desalination 185:9–30
Al Wahedi AA (1997) Application of hydrogeochemistry and groundwater modeling techniques for water-resources management of Wadi Al Bih Drainage Basin, United Arab Emirates. Unpublished M. Sc. Thesis, UAE University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
Al-Farraj A (2012) Groundwater over-pumping and recent earthquakes in the northern United Arab Emirates. A natural hazard accentuated by human activity. J Water Resour Prot 2012(4):800–806
Al-Hogaraty EA, Rizk ZS, Garamoon HK (2008) Groundwater pollution of the quaternary aquifer in northern United Arab Emirates. Water Air Soil Pollut 190:323–341
Alsharhan AS, Rizk ZS, Nairn AEM, Bakhit DW, Alhajari SA (2001) Hydrogeology of an arid region. The Arabian gulf and adjoining areas. Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, p 331
Al-Yamani FY, Bishop JM, Al-Rifaie K, Ismail W (2007) The effect of the river diversion, Mesopotamian marsh drainage and restoration and river damming on the marine environment of the North-West Arabian Gulf. Aquat Ecosyst Health Manag 10(3):277–289
AMBAG (2006) Desalination feasibility study in the Monterey Bay Region, prepared for the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG), http://ambag.org/
Brown R (1986) The content and nature of Arabian Gulf seawater. Bulletin 29, retrieved from www.enhg.org/bulletin/b29/29 05.htm
Dawoud MA, Al Mulla MM (2012) Environmental impacts of seawater desalination: Arabian Gulf case study. Int J Environ Sustain 1(3):22–37
Domenico PA, Schwartz FW (1990) Physical and chemical hydrogeology. Wiley, New York, p 824
Dore MHI (2005) Forecasting the economic costs of desalination technology. Desalination 172:207–214
Elshorbagy W, Elhakeem AB (2008) Risk assessment maps of oil spill for major desalination plants in United Arab Emirates. Desalination 228:200–216
EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency), 2004 (2004) Edition of the drinking water standards and health advisories. Office of Water, EPA 822-R-04-005, Washington, DC, p 12
ESCWA (2001) The Role of desalinated water in augmentation of the water supply in selected ESCWA member countries, E/ESCWA/ENR/2001/19. UN, New York
FAO (2006) In: Beltrán JM, Koo-Oshima S (eds) Water desalination for agriculture applications: Proceedings of the FAO expert consultation on water desalination for agricultural applications. Water Resources, Development and Management Service, Land and Water Development Division, Rome, p 50
Fetter CW (1988) Applied hydrogeology, 2nd edn. Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, p 592
Freeze RA, Cherry JA (1979) Groundwater. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, p 604
Garamoon HK (1996) Hydrogeological and geomorphological studies on the Abu Dhabi – Al Ain – Dubai rectangle, United Arab Emirates. Ph. D. Thesis, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt, p 277
Glibert PM (2007) Eutrophication and harmful algal blooms: a complex global issue, examples from the Arabian Seas including Kuwait Bay, and an introduction to the global ecology and oceanography of harmful algal blooms (GEOHAB) program. Int J Oceans Oceanogr:157–169
Hashim A, Hajjaj M (2005) Impact of desalination plants fluid effluents on the integrity of seawater, with the Arabian Gulf in perspective. Desalination 182:373–393
Hem JD (1985) Study and interpretation of chemical characteristics of natural water. U. S. Geological Survey Water Supply Paper no. 1473. U. S. Geological Survey, Reston, p 363
Hoepner T (1999) A procedure for environmental impact assessments (EIA) for seawater desalination plants. Desalination 172:207–214
Hoepner T, Lattemann S (2002) Chemical impacts from seawater desalination plants. A case study of the northern Red Sea. Desalination 152:133–140
Hounslow AW (1995) Water quality data analysis and interpretation. CRC Press Inc., Lewis Publishers, New York, p 397
Humaid RK (2012) Hydrogeology and hydrogeochemistry of aquifer systems in the Um Al Quwain Emirate, UAE. Unpublished M.Sc. Thesis, Institute of Environment, water and Energy, Ajman University of science and Technology, Ajman, UAE, p 149
Imes JL, Hutchinson CB, Signor DC, Tamayo JM, Mohamed FA, Hadley (1994) Ground-water resources of the Liwa crescent area, Abu Dhabi Emirate: U.S. Geological Survey Adminstrative Report 94-001: U. S. Geological Survey-Abu Dhabi National Drilling Company, 138 p
Khalifa AA (1995) Surface water and groundwater resources in UAE. Culture and Science Society, Meeting on Water Balance inn UAE, Dubai, p 12
Khordagui H (2002) Environmental impacts of power-desalination on the gulf marine ecosystem. In: Khan et al (eds) The gulf ecosystem. Health and sustainability. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden
Lattemann S, Hopner T (2003) Seawater desalination: impacts of brine and chemical discharges on the marine environment. Balaban Desalination Publications, L’Aquila
Lattemann S, Hoepner T (2008) Environmental impact and impact assessment of seawater desalination. Desalination 220:1–15
Maas EV (1990) Crop salt tolerance. In: Tanji KK (ed) Agricultural salinity assessment and management. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York, pp 262–303
MEDRC (2002) Assessment of the composition of desalination plant disposal brines (Project NO. 98-AS-026), Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRC), Oman
MOEW (Ministry of Environment and Water) (2015) State of environment report. MOEW, UAE, p 36
Mohamed AMO, Maraq M, Al Handhaly J (2005) Impact of land disposal of reject brine from desalination plants on soil and groundwater. Desalination 182(2005):411–433
Murad A, Hussein S, Aldahan A (2014) Possible effects of changing groundwater level and chemistry on building foundation of Al Shuiaba residential district Al-Ain City UAE (Case study). Proceedings of the WSTA 11th Gulf Water Conference, Water in GCC. Towards efficient management, 20–22 October Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, pp 137–143
Rizk ZS (1998) Falajes of United Arab Emirates: Geological Settings and hydrogeological characteristics: The Arabian journal for Science and Engineering, King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 23(1C):3–25
Rizk ZS, Alsharhan AS (2003) Water resources in the United Arab Emirates, developments in water science (50). In: Alsharhan AS, Wood WW (eds) Water resources perspectives: evaluation, management and policy. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 245–264
Rizk ZS, Garamoon HK (2006) The influence of major lineaments on groundwater resources in the eastern region of the United Arab Emirates. Univ Sharjah J Pure Appl Sci 3(3):83–111. ISSN 1811 1645
Rizk ZS, Wood WW, Alsharhan AS (2007) Sources of dissolved solids and water in Wadi Al Bih aquifer, Northern United Arab Emirates. Hydrogeol J 15(7):1553–1563
Rizk ZS, Garamoon HK, Al Matari AS, Khalil MF, Ebraheem AM (2015) Application of earth resistivity, hydrogeochemistry and isotope hydrology methods for assessment of groundwater recharge in two drainage basins in northeastern United Arab Emirates. J Appl Geol Geophys 3(3):1–13
Rizk ZS, Garamoon HK, Abu Sara HS (2017a) Hydrogeochemistry and Microbiology of Wadi Al Bih Limestone Aquifer in Northern United Arab Emirates. J Res Environ Earth Sci 3(3):1–14
Rizk ZS, Garamoon HK, Humaid RK (2017b) Impact of a paleochannel on hydrogeochemistry of a quaternary aquifer. Case study from Umm Al Quwain area, United Arab Emirates. J Res Environ Earth Sci 3(3):35–46
Schiffler M (2004) Perspectives and challenges for desalination in the 21st century. Desalination 165:1–9
Shams El Din A, Arain R, Hammoud A (2000) On the chlorination of seawater. Desalination 129:53–62
Sherif M, Mohamed M, Kacimov A, Shetty A (2011) Assessment of groundwater quality in the northeastern coastal area of UAE as precursor for desalination. Desalination 273(2):436–446
Sherif M, Sefelnasr A, Ebraheem A, Javadi A (2014) Quantitative and qualitative assessment of seawater intrusion in Wadi Ham under different pumping scenarios. J Hydrol Eng 19:855–866
Todd DK (1980) Groundwater hydrology, 2nd edn. Wiley, New York, p 535
U.S. Salinity Laboratory Staff (1954) Diagenesis and improvement of saline and alkali soils. Agricultural Handbook no. 60. U.S. Department of Agriculture, pp 60–160
WHO (2007) Desalination for safe water supply, guidance for the health and environmental aspects applicable to desalination. World Health Organization, Geneva
WHO (World Health Organization) (1984) WHO guidelines for drinking water quality: volume 1, recommendations. WHO, Geneva, p 130
Wood WW, Rizk ZS, Alsharhan AS (2003) Timing of recharge, and the origin, evolution and distribution of solutes in a hyperarid aquifer system, developments in water science (50). In: Alsharhan AS, Wood WW (eds) Water resources perspectives. Evaluation, management and policy. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 245–264
World Bank (2005) Report on evaluation of water sector in the GCC countries, challenges facing water resources and water management and the way ahead: Arab Gulf Program for United Nations Development Organizations, p 113 (in Arabic)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Alsharhan, A.S., Rizk, Z.E. (2020). Challenges Facing Water Resources. In: Water Resources and Integrated Management of the United Arab Emirates. World Water Resources, vol 3. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31684-6_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31684-6_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-31683-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-31684-6
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)