The Potential Allocation of Water Resources in the Gaza Governorate

Abstract

Gaza Governorate is considered the center of the Gaza Strip and its most populous area. Gaza governorate has limited water resources and mainly depends on the aquifers whose water is considered, by international reports, not valid for use in 2020. In contrast, the water consumption of the population and agriculture continues to grow. The relevant authorities are planning to implement a range of projects to provide unconventional water resources to decrease withdrawals from the aquifers. This study aims at identifying and reallocating resources of water and types of water demand in Gaza in order to study the impact of new water resources projects on the aquifers and the amount of domestic water demand balance in the period from 2014 to 2030. In this study, WEAP Model (2015) was used to examine the impact of the four scenarios on the aquifers (Zero Action, Desalination Scenario, Recharge of Treatment Waste Water Scenario, and Combination of Scenarios 2 and 3) through the modeling of existing and projected water resources and water demand for each scenario during the period of the study. The total water consumption demand in 2014 was 27 MCM covering 606,749 capita and is expected to increase gradually to reach 46 MCM to serve 1,050,000 capita in 2030 according to normal population growth (3.5% annually). The total agricultural area is 34,508 donum and it is divided to 4 main crops: field crops, vegetables, fruits and citrus, which consume around 18.5 MCM every year. The best-case scenario is the fourth scenario, which combines water desalination and wastewater reuse as a non-conventional water resource. This scenario will reduce the abstract from the aquifer and will provide the quantity of water needed for domestic consumption. According to the Fourth Scenario, which is a combination of Scenarios 2 and 3, ground water decreased from 22.4 MCM to 10.5 MCM in 2014, and the net balance will reach its best in 2022 when there are not any deficits at all and will reach 4.6 MCM. Then, it will decrease again to reach -6.4 MCM in 2030. The amount of domestic water demand balance in scenario 4 will reach 16 MCM in 2022 which means that there will be a surplus of amounts in domestic water, but it will decrease in 2030 without deficits to reach 12 MCM.