Water resources in the UAE can be classified into two main categories: conventional, such as surface water (including aflaj water systems, springs and dams) and groundwater (shallow and deep aquifers), and non-conventional, such as desalinated water, treated wastewater and cloud seeding.

The length of the river is open to discussion. Depending on the source consulted, this ranges from 248km to 556km. Rainfall in the basin is about 644mm annually. The average temperature is around 16°C. The climate is semi-arid to arid in Lebanon, with annual rainfall of about 400mm

The foundation stone of the dam was laid on 6 February 2011. On completion, the dam is expected to be 22.50 m high, with a capacity of 110MCM. Of that, 40MCM will be used for flood prevention and the rest for energy production, and irrigation (around 9,000 hectares of agricultural land).

In the year to date, the total agricultural, municipal and industrial water withdrawal has been about 100BCM, of which 41BCM from surface water, 58.8BCM from groundwater (qanats and wells) and 0.2BCM from desalinated water

Internal renewable water resources are estimated at 92BCM, with another 13CM coming in from transboundary resources. Surface run-off represents a total of 97.3km3/year, of which 5.4 km3/year come from draining the aquifers.

Presently, Iraq is contending with two types of water quality issues. One is salinity, the other is the concentration of pollutants in the water related to municipal, industrial and agricultural activities that introduce return flows into freshwater sources.

Water supply and food security will pose a major challenge in the coming years, which many government officials refer to as a human security issue. Both the country’s natural climatic situation and the government policies in managing its limited water resources over the past few decades have exacerbated this challenge.

The two dominant rivers in Iraq are the Tigris and Euphrates. The watersheds, including their tributaries, account for 100% of the country’s surface water.

According to the Falkenmark Index, which classifies countries in terms of their amount of water potential per capita, Turkey is a country with “water stress,” since it has 1,000-1,500 cubic meters of water potential per capita.

The political climate in the Middle East makes it impossible to discuss water without addressing the political contexts that have shaped its availability.