Kuwait Building $56m Desalination Project

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Electricity and Water has rolled out a new $56 million desalinated water supply project in Wafra oil field. The project will reuse low-salinity water in Umm Kudair region to feed Al-Zour desalination plant, providing newly constructed residential areas with desalinated water, according to Electricity and Water Minister Abdel-Aziz Al-Ibrahim.

“The new project will improve water supply in the residential cities of Subah al Ahmad and Al Khiran,” he said. It involves drilling five wells, installing pumping stations, and laying a pipeline network to transport desalinated water to nearby reservoirs. Also this week, the ministry August signed a $5 million cooperation agreement with the Kuwait Scientific Research Institute to develop new desalination solutions. The institute will also look for ways to rationalize the water use and wastewater reuse.

“The ministry is pinning high hopes on the outcome of these studies in its quest for better desalination solutions and rationalizing methods,” Undersecretary Ahmed al Jassar of the electricity and water ministry said on Aug 7. “The studies will also aim at reaching the best methods to achieve water security and optimum water resources management.” The new desalination project is part of the government’s efforts to keep pace with growing demand for drinking water in the country. Total drinking water production in Kuwait is 453 million gallons per day.

The country’s population hit 3 million in 2010 and is expected to be 5.5 million in 2025. Per capita water consumption is 110 gallons per day, almost double the international rate. In addition, a recent official study showed that around 25 percent of the country’s drinking water production is being wasted