A water shortage crisis in Lebanon is looming on the horizon, a recent study said, warning that the country might face water shortages by 2035, Lebanon's An-Nahar reported on Wednesday (March 7th).
According to a recent study by Fransabank, Lebanon is facing a water deficit of up to 610 million cubic meters by the year 2035 as growing demand and a stagnant supply come into play.
Although Lebanon currently enjoys 2.7 billion cubic meters of water, distributed between underground (0.5 billion) and surface (2.2 billion) reserves, a mere 1.6 billion cubic meters is being extracted at the moment.
The total amount of available water stands at 4.7 billion cubic meters, yet one billion cubic meters cross the Lebanese borders and 0.4 billion enter the sea, which highlights the need for further dam constructions in order to increase retention.
The study indicates that demand for water is expected to rise to 1.8 billion by 2035, up from 1.5 billion in 2015, thus spawning the 610 million cubic meter deficit.
Freshwater withdrawals are expected to exceed precipitation, which coupled with the fact that around 65% of all natural resources are affected by bacterial contamination, gives ample reason for concern.
