Options for managing water resources in Kuwait

Kuwait depends on desalination plants for the bulk of its freshwater needs. Brackish groundwater (salinity < 5000 ppm) is used for irrigation. The current rates of water consumption are very high (473 l/c/d and 150 l/c/d for fresh and brackish water, respectively). The demands for both types of water are increasing at rapid rates. If these trends continue unchecked, by the year 2025, the demand of fresh and brackish water may reach 3036 Mm(3)/y and 280 Mm(3)/y, respectively. In such an eventuality, a large investment will be necessary in the near future to augment the desalination capacity of the country. The aquifers yielding the brackish water are already under great stress and will be stressed further if the withdrawal rates are further increased. Scaling down of the rising demands is, therefore, an urgent necessity. Various steps to achieve this objective in the near future have been proposed and discussed in this article.