Water will cost more than oil -Saudi Gazette -

Abed Khazendar
Al-Riyadh

Water will be more expensive than oil in the near future. If in the past wars were started because of oil, today they will start because of water.

There are already many examples of that, the most recent being the rising tension between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Nile River. Israel is involved in this and helping Ethiopia to build a dam. This is what is happening outside our border.

Now let us look at what is happening inside our borders. Water in Saudi Arabia is very scarce yet we are among the top nations when it comes to consuming water.

According to a recent report in a Saudi local daily, Saudi Arabia for the first time ever consumed 8 million cubic meters of water in one day. This is equal to 800,000 water tanks of 10 tons load. The report stated that the individual consumption of water reached 265 liters, which is double the consumption of an individual living in the European Union.

If we are going to continue the way we are with the annual increase of population and do not use solar power to desalinate water, then we will not have any oil to export. We have to remember that 50 years ago, we had underground water reserves enough to last us for 250 years. Through mismanagement and misuse, we consumed it in growing wheat and other failed ventures. I hope that the future generation will not blame us for our misuse of this precious resource.