Water Diary

My Water Intake: 

Countries Water Intake: USA vs Gulf Countries in MENA

Analysis:

Comparing my results with the United States Average; my water intake everyday is 1,371 gallon/day while the average person (per capita) in the United States intake is 2060.542 gallon/day. My water intake is less than the average person in the United States but there is many variables that were not include: living in college, I do not have to cook my own food (eliminates dishes) or worry about transportation (eliminates car usage). But if I was living at home, these variables would have been counted for and would match the United States average water intake daily (per capita).

Relating this to our course work, I am focusing on the gulf region countries in Middle East and North Africa. I decided to compare the United States water intake with two countries in the gulf region, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The selection of these two particular countries stems from Saudi Arabia’s global reputation as the third-largest oil producer and exporter. However, despite its abundant oil resources, the nation faces significant challenges in water scarcity due to its geographical location, climate conditions, and limited water sources. Kuwait is also known for its oil reserves and being significant actor in the oil production, but also continues to struggle with water issue and meeting human security as many civilians lack clean water.

Looking at the table above; United States water intake is 820, 000 million m3/year, Kuwait water intake is 4,700 million m3/year, Saudi Arabia water intake is 39,000 million m3/year. This information shows that United States have higher water intake than both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia combined.

Why? United States have higher population with 289 million civilians while Kuwait population is 2.25 million and Saudi Arabia is 21.1 million. This shows that population in the nation plays a significant variable in the water consumption.

Geographical location is another significant variable when looking at nation’s water consumption. The United States is in a geographical area where climate is divided into two; the East Coast tend to have various climate ranging from cold to hot while the West Coast is typically warm but have frequent rain. In addition, the United States is surrounded by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans which results to the United States’s water source. Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait climate ranges from warm to extreme temp (especially in the summer) and this disrupts water source because it lacks rain. In addition, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait geographical location lacks water sources such as oceans. The only water source that both countries have is the Persian Gulf that is also shared by other countries in that specific area such as Iran, Qatar, and etc. Sharing the only water source amongst many other nations leads to water crisis as water becomes the scarce objective for these nations.

In terms of the water crisis in the gulf region, it is not only an environmental issue but also an economic and social issue. The gulf regions heavily rely on desalination and ground water extraction for their water source. This reliance can lead to tensions over shared water sources such as rivers with neighboring countries causing conflict, as discussed previously with the Persian Gulf. In terms of social, nations that lack water is a human security issue because it does not meet human basic needs and it falls under the 17 SDG’S. In terms of economic, lack of water can cause issue such as no agriculture, not only does it not feed the civilians but also impact trade. If the gulf nations do not create initiatives then there will a significant decrease in the economy, as these nations economy relies heavily on trade.

image citation: https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/h2o.htm