A poisoned chalice

In the midst of the incessant torrent of winter rains this year, it is hard to imagine that the country’s water resources are a serious cause for concern; but they are. A history of decaying infrastructure, poor management, rising demand and fetid politics has taken its toll. Lebanon is now blighted by seasonal rationing on domestic supply, farmers irrigating with raw sewage and roughly half of all the water entering the water network being lost in transmission and distribution. What is more, the cost of inaction in the water sector is estimated at $433 million every year.  In an average year demand outstrips supply by around 100 million cubic meters (MCM) and that rises to around 300MCM in a dry year; approximately enough water to fill New York’s Empire State Building three times over. These are big quantities that demand big solutions. As the aquifers, rivers, lakes and reservoirs are