California Gov. Jerry Brown has announced the state's first mandatory water restrictions. An executive order issued Wednesday requires cities and towns to reduce water consumption by 25 percent. Parallel to this, a rebate program to encourage consumers to replace water-hogging washing machines and other appliances has also been announced. There is something here for the Middle East to take note of. Ours is a region known as much for its water scarcity as its overuse or misuse of the precious commodity. The region accounts for five percent of the world's more than seven billion people, and 10 percent of its area, but accounts for less than one percent of global water resources. There have been enough warnings from experts that without effective policies, change in water-usage behavior and international cooperation, a catastrophic water scarcity will hit the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region within the next ten years. The Middle East and Arabian Gulf are expected to fall under the “physical water scarcity” category by 2025. A grim scenario of water shortages, desertification and extreme soil salinity has been forecast for the Gulf, possibly within the next 12 years. But what we see in the six member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is the highest usage of water and the lowest amount of renewable water in the world. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has the world's highest per capita consumption of water. Analysts say per capita water use in the UAE overall is roughly four times that of Europe. Qatar's residents use an average of 500 liters of water every day, making the country one of the world's biggest consumers of water – four times as much as many European countries, and 10 times more than many others. On a per capita basis, here in Saudi Arabia we are among the world's highest users of power and water. Per capita water consumption in the Kingdom is 91 percent higher than the international average, according to the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC). But people in Saudi Arabia, locals as well as expats, pay one of the world's lowest prices for both power and water. Water supplied to public is almost free. An average Saudi family pays less than $2 per month for water. If water supplies continue to be depleted in GCC countries at among the quickest rates in the world, the reasons are not far to seek. As there aren't any rivers, and the groundwater is, for the most part, not renewable, the region is forced to focus on unconventional ways to meets its requirements of water. This explains why 70 percent of the world's desalination plants are located in the Gulf. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest producer of desalinated water, accounting for at least 17 percent of the total world output. California is taking some drastic action after a devastating four-year drought. It resorted to mandatory regulations after voluntary conservation programs proved a failure. Countries facing drought-like situations on a permanent basis or those with unrelentingly dry climate have to think of even more drastic measures. They should do everything possible to conserve water, but avoiding massive shortages of clean water will take concerted action at all levels of society. To begin with, there should be a campaign to make people aware of the need to preserve water. What is given free or at nominal rates is never considered worth preserving. This means that current water pricing system in Gulf countries should go through an intensive review if people are to avoid wasting water produced at a huge cost. Californians won't be able to water their lawns more than twice a week under the new regulations. Local water suppliers can expect fines of $10,000 per day for failing to meet 25 percent reduction. Fines can be passed to individual violators who could pay penalties of $500. All this must has come as a rude shock to those in California who thought they had enough water to fill swimming pools, water gardens and yards and support a fertile agricultural industry. It is time Gulf governments prepared their people to face a situation in which authorities are unable or unwilling to use oil wealth to subsidize extravagant water use. In this respect, Qatar seems to be moving in the right direction. A new draft law making wasting water and electricity punishable by fines of up to 20,000 Qatari riyals has reportedly been ratified by the Cabinet. This is an initiative worth emulating by other GCC countries.
