Libya, like its neighbor Egypt, is entering a substantially different era in the wake of the Arab Spring and the death of Muammar Gaddafi. One of the most ambitious projects of the former dictator was the Great Man-Made River Project (GMMR), which has supplied the country with potable water for decades. In order to understand the future of clean accessible water in Libya, I'll briefly examine what many Libyans refer to as the "Eighth wonder of the world," and I'll explore how it fits into a budding Libyan democracy.
The GMMR broke ground in 1984 and since its opening in 1991 has been the primary source of potable water to more than 100,000 hectares of agricultural land and more than 5 million Libyans. This modern wonder taps into the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer in southeast Libya via thousands of kilometers of pipeline, transporting clean water across a country roughly the size of Alaska.
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| -Courtesy of BBC News |
The GMMR broke ground in 1984 and since its opening in 1991 has been the primary source of potable water to more than 100,000 hectares of agricultural land and more than 5 million Libyans. This modern wonder taps into the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer in southeast Libya via thousands of kilometers of pipeline, transporting clean water across a country roughly the size of Alaska.
The Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System, the GMMR's water source, is a monster of an aquifer. It is the largest fossil aquifer in the world and is estimated to contain 375 000 cu km of freshwater.
It is important to stress that the NSA is a "fossil" aquifer. In other words, it consists of water that was sealed underground tens of thousands of years ago. Unlike the Denver Basin Aquifer, which lies beneath us here on the front range, the NSA will not recharge though percolating precipitation and surface water. It is by definition a finite resource and will not come back once it has been exhausted.
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| -Courtesy of Abdou Abouelmagd |
The eventual depletion of the NSA is only one of the ways in which complete dependence on the GMMR might harm future Libyans. The other danger to putting all your water eggs in one basket is that the GMMR is a sizeable and predictable target in an unstable political context. Only months into last year's civil war, multiple parties claimed it would be a catastrophe if this precious infrastructure were harmed.
And sadly, these concerns are not unjustified. On July 22, 2011, NATO jets bombed a pipe supplier of the GMMR. NATO officials later claimed that they struck the site because it was being used for military purposes. In addition, a Peter Gleick and the Pacific Institute have clearly demonstrated that it is not beyond imagination that water infrastructure and terrorism go hand in hand.
The Libyan government has a few options. One idea that has been thrown around is the construction of desalinization plants on the Mediterannean coast. While this may not be immune to terrorism, it diversifies the country's water supply and aside from its oil-dependent funding, is renewable in theory. The problem however is just that. To be a viable solution, desalinization will have to be paid for and run on non-renewable petroleum.
So for the time being, it's fossil water or fossil fuel, and neither are sustainable. The continued use of the GMMR as the primary source of water will likely prove difficult, given Libya's currently fragile state. Considering the potential for solar energy production and it's coupling with desalinization, my hope is that such alternative energy policies will help dig Libya out of difficult situation.
So for the time being, it's fossil water or fossil fuel, and neither are sustainable. The continued use of the GMMR as the primary source of water will likely prove difficult, given Libya's currently fragile state. Considering the potential for solar energy production and it's coupling with desalinization, my hope is that such alternative energy policies will help dig Libya out of difficult situation.
It seems like Libya is in a tight spot. They are hooked on two non-renewable sources of water and there doesn't seem to be much hope of change anytime soon. Especially because the new government has so many things to worry about at this stage of the game. Are there are other natural sources of water in the area? Or agreements they could work out with other countries for water delivery? In the post below, you wrote about some innovative mechanisms for water delivery that have started up in Eastern Africa, and it seems like the northern Africa nations could have something to learn from their neighbors. As climate change becomes more of a factor in our water supply as time passes, it seems like we all must make more of an effort to work with our neighbors to ensure that everyone has the water they need. Do you think that is a possibility in Libya given the environmental and political conditions?
ReplyDeleteInteresting article Ian. I agree with Sarah that it seems like Libya is in a tight spot. They need to deliver water to their citizens, however they are depending on one major water source which will run out of water eventually. There is no easy solution but I hope the government explores all the alternative options.
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me how the human population diverts water long distances and to great expenses. This story reminded me of the lengths California goes to deliver water to Los Angeles. While I understand that the governments mean well, it just makes me wonder if in the long run it would have been better to allow the limited water resources to limit population growth. Once water is sourced from other places this puts the water sector in a tough spot to keep delivering water to a growing population.
I think this is a great example of the common misconception that water is always a renewable resource. In places with finite amounts of freshwater and municipal infrastructure, it seems like the only real options are transport, or if living along coastal regions, desalination. However both are extremely energy intensive and would require a great deal of collaboration and funding. Although solar is dropping in price and foreign investors continue to talk about creating a solar market, most of the energy generated by large solar farms would be exported out of the country to Europe not used for domestic purposes. Like Amy, the situation reminds me of Southern California, where they have recently completed construction of a seawater desalination plant in Carlsbad and have several desalters inland that deal with local groundwater and water from the Colorado River that transports too many salts from upstream landscapes to be considered freshwater anymore. The Carlsbad plant does incorporate solar into its design and is proposed to be a LEED certified building, however the solar generation still cannot cover the entire energy budget for the operation of the plant. Although examples of desalination plants from other parts of the world do offer some insight and possible solutions to Libya's water-energy nexus issues, it's worth noting that even such cutting edge plants like Carlsbad will not translate perfectly to Libya's situation. The Carlsbad plant is located on the Pacific Ocean, where there is a greater buffering capacity in terms of removing large quantities of water compared to the Mediterranean.
ReplyDeleteIan, thanks for the very interesting thread. Government institution in each country affect the adoption of environmental policies there. Usually, totalitarian regimes are not concerned about environmental degradation. They try to save their legitimacy at any expense.
ReplyDeleteIn a similar action, the Iranian government has a plan to connect the Caspian Sea in the north to the central deserts and eventually Persian Gulf in the south through a waterway (about 500 miles). This plan aims to provide water for agricultural purposes in the central deserts. Aside from the cost of the project that has been estimated around $10 billion, It is predicted that the project changes the unique ecosystems of the Caspian Sea regions and the central deserts. Although many environmental activists have shown their concerns about the case, but in a top-down system your voice is hardly heard.
Sad but very true, Sarah. Thanks for the additional context. Though Iranians are not Arab, they have been incorporated in much of the Arab Spring media coverage. Maybe I'll write one of my last posts on this Caspian infrastructure :)
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