The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is globally recognized as the most water-stressed area on Earth. This extreme scarcity is driven by naturally arid conditions, low rainfall, and high evaporation rates. High population growth and the effects of climate change, such as prolonged drought, further amplify this imbalance. The limited supply of renewable freshwater necessitates a diverse and costly portfolio of water acquisition methods to sustain growing urban and agricultural demands. Securing water involves tapping into finite geological reserves, transforming seawater into potable supply, and developing complex infrastructure.
Reliance on Major Surface Water and Fossil Aquifers
A significant portion of the region’s natural freshwater supply comes from large transboundary river systems, which create pockets of dense settlement and agriculture. The Tigris-Euphrates River system, originating in Turkey and flowing through Syria and Iraq, is paramount, providing nearly all of Iraq’s fresh water. The allocation of water in these systems is subject to intense geopolitical stress, as upstream nations like Turkey hold considerable control over the flow reaching downstream countries.
The Nile River serves as the lifeblood for Egypt and Sudan, with its flow largely originating from the Ethiopian highlands. The Nile’s modest discharge relative to its users’ needs creates ongoing tension among riparian states over water rights and dam construction. Similarly, the Jordan River system, shared by Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, is severely over-allocated and has been a source of historical conflict.
For nations lacking access to these major rivers, deep underground reserves known as fossil aquifers represent a primary, though finite, water source. These deep aquifers, such as the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS) and the Mega Aquifer System (MAS) in Saudi Arabia, contain water accumulated over millennia. Since these reserves receive negligible modern recharge, their extraction is considered “groundwater mining,” drawing down a non-renewable resource.
Many countries have heavily relied on this ancient water for rapid agricultural expansion. For example, extensive over-extraction in Iran has caused groundwater levels to decline by an average of 49 centimeters per year. This unsustainable reliance on fossil water provides a temporary buffer against scarcity while simultaneously depleting a strategic reserve.
Large-Scale Desalination Technology
The scarcity of renewable surface and groundwater has made converting seawater into freshwater a foundational element of water security for coastal Arabian Peninsula states. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations collectively possess nearly 40% of the world’s desalination capacity. This technology is the main domestic source, providing approximately 90% of Kuwait’s, 86% of Oman’s, and 70% of Saudi Arabia’s drinking water.
The industry employs two primary technological approaches: thermal distillation and membrane filtration. Thermal desalination, historically Multi-Stage Flash (MSF) distillation, works by heating seawater to cause it to flash into steam across multiple stages. This technique requires a high input of thermal energy, often supplied by co-locating the plant with a power station to utilize waste heat (co-generation).
The second, and increasingly dominant, method is Reverse Osmosis (RO), a pressure-driven membrane process. This technique forces seawater through a semi-permeable membrane that blocks salt ions and impurities while allowing purified water to pass. RO is significantly more energy-efficient than thermal methods, requiring only electrical energy to power high-pressure pumps. Modern RO facilities have achieved energy consumption rates as low as 2.27 kilowatt-hours per cubic meter of water produced.
The superior efficiency of RO is driving a regional shift, now accounting for over 60% of new desalination projects. Saudi Arabia’s Ras Al Khair complex, one of the world’s largest, is a hybrid facility combining both MSF and RO to maximize production. Desalination is set for massive expansion, with Saudi Arabia planning to increase capacity to cover over 90% of its water consumption.
Infrastructure, Storage, and Water Reuse
The journey of water requires extensive and costly physical infrastructure designed to manage, transport, and conserve the limited supply. Large-scale water transmission networks move desalinated water from coastal plants and groundwater from remote aquifers to inland population centers. Saudi Arabia’s main water pipelines extend over 8,000 kilometers, including projects like the Jubail-Buraydah pipeline, which transports 650,000 cubic meters of desalinated water daily.
Water storage is managed through a system of large dams. These structures capture sporadic, intense rainfall from flash floods, storing it for domestic and agricultural use. Saudi Arabia alone has more than 520 dams used mainly for flood control and groundwater recharge.
Maximizing water use is achieved through advanced water reuse programs, primarily involving Treated Sewage Effluent (TSE). TSE is wastewater purified through advanced treatment processes suitable for non-potable uses, such as irrigation and industrial cooling. Utilization rates for agriculture remain low in some countries; for example, Saudi Arabia uses only about 12% of its TSE for farming, though it aims to achieve a 90% recovery rate by 2040.
Agricultural efficiency is enhanced by the widespread adoption of modern techniques to minimize evaporation and runoff losses. Precision drip irrigation systems deliver water directly to the plant root zones, reducing consumption by 25% to 35% compared to conventional methods. Nations like the UAE are also investing in controlled-environment agriculture, including vertical farms and hydroponics, which can slash water use by up to 95%.