Quality concerns

ENAR

There’s something missing from the debate about Lebanon’s water woes, several experts on the topic argue. “Engineers, the government, they care about quantity,” says Samira Korfali, an associate professor of chemistry at the Lebanese American University whose water research focuses on metal content in water. “I care about quality.” Indeed, the government’s response to this year’s more severe than average water shortage has been to drill more wells and encourage people to conserve their usage. The National Water Sector Strategy, approved by the government in 2012, stresses the need to monitor and maintain the quality of groundwater, and the National Center for Scientific Research (NCRS) is working on a monitoring program, but whether it is laying the groundwork for a long term monitoring and action plan or will become yet another study conducted and then ignored remains an open question. [pullquote]“The pace of improvement is not enough for ensuring [a]