Go Deep

Lebanon

Water Facts

  • In the Bekaa Valley region, 1 in 4 people do not feel comfortable using governmentally maintained water sources due to waterborne parasites, pollution and bad taste. Around the rest of Lebanon, this number increases to 2 in 3 people.
  • The Qaraoun Lake is the only water storage site in Lebanon, and is used mostly to maintain agriculture throughout the Bekaa Valley
  • Institution and Infrastructure maintenance failure account for 75% of natural water resources lying untapped, increased from a 43% loss in 2010.
  • Lebanon is currently hosting an additional 25% of its population in refugees, stretching water resources alarmingly thin.

Water Challenges

01.

Natural water capture and access

02.

Water sanitation and cleanliness

03.

Storage concerns

04.

Infrastructure and Institution costs

Spotlight

A must-read report on climate change in Lebanon:

The National Water Sector Strategy is the principal roadmap for analysis and reconstruction of water infrastructure.

  • Focusing on proper use of funding; repairing existing water transportation methods to stop leakage and prioritizing water capture methods should provide immediate relief to some water concerns.
  • Ceasing pollution dumping into the Litani River will increase water quality and provide a reduction of blue-green algae in Lake Qaraoun.

http://www.databank.com.lb/docs/National%20Water%20Sector%20Strategy%202010-2020.pdf 

Expansion of Lake Qaraoun is a project to be started in the near future, increasing water security during the Lebanon dry season.

  • The secondary storage site will be of a higher altitude in the central mountain range, providing water at low energy cost once filled.

https://www.riob.org/en/file/256521/download?token=aD6P6Abe 

The Lebanon Crisis Response Plan has been expanded to cover extra costs incurred during safe harbor of Syrian refugees for the last decade.

  • Global Relief Efforts are working with the government of Lebanon to provide additional funding for housing, clean water, food and future prospects for refugees, most of which are based in the Bekaa Valley.
  • Relief of resource stretching will give time and funding to solve critical issues otherwise affecting the people of Lebanon, as well as expert consultation on crisis management from the United Nations.

https://reliefweb.int/report/lebanon/launch-2022-lebanon-crisis-response-plan-lcrp-government-un-and-partners-appeal-us-32-billion-enar#:~:text=The%20Emergency%20Response%20Plan%20

Lebanon Situation Report

The Situation Report provides a state-of-the-moment overview and analysis of Lebanon’s water conditions, challenges, and emerging issues.

Researcher Profile

  • Rabi H. Mohtar

    Texas A&M University.

    Rabi H. Mohtar is a professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Texas A&M University. Mohtar’s research focuses on global resource challenges and the development of a Water-Energy-Food Nexus framework for linking science and policy; on characterizing the soil-water medium using thermodynamic modeling and the efficacy of non-traditional water, and on applications for sustainable integrated water management such as implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Research Facilities

AREC – Advancing Research Enabling Communities Center

AREC is a multi-functional and interdisciplinary center devoted to teaching, research, training and outreach activities as part of the American University of Beirut. AREC offers a unique real-life model for disseminating knowledge and innovation and for experimenting and applying research at a real-scale model.

Lebanese Water Actors (LEWAP)

The LEbanese Water Actors (LEWAP) platform has a shared online database developed by pS-Eau that groups all actors, organizations and projects in the water and sanitation sector.

LEWAP aims at sharing information and experiences among actors working in the WaSH sector; for any information regarding the latest publications, legal and institutional framework as well as contacts of people and organizations intervening in the sector you can consult our database on https://www.pseau.org/outils/organismes/index.php?l=fr. Moreover, a map of projects is available on this database grouping all municipal projects conducted with the support of French decentralized cooperation that you can access here.

Authors

The content of this Go Deep page was written by:

Alara Cohen

University of the Fraser Valley

Robert Newell

Royal Roads University & Food and Agriculture Institute, University of the Fraser Valley