8 November 2009
Dr Farouk El Baz, an Egyptian-American scientist known for using satellite imagery to identify subterranean rivers, especially in the region’s deserts, said a lack of researchers was holding the UAE back in uncovering more ground water resources.
El Baz, who was given the International Desalination Association World Water Masters Award by Shaikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for his work, earlier helped discover new sites to drill for water in the UAE.
His work, focusing on the Northern Emirates, especially Sharjah, was successful in discovering many sources which were drilled and wells that are currently producing “many thousands of gallons” of water.
The scientist said there are expansive tracts of land in the country that have not been examined for ground water resources. While investigating the possibility was not costly, a lack of researchers and investigations had hindered furthering it, he added.
“Researchers are important,” said El Baz, currently research professor and director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University. “Unless surveys are done nobody can know the quantity or the quality.”
El Baz said the Excellence Centre for Integrated Water Management, launched by the conference organisers, Techno Park, on Saturday, would help encourage research.
He said Techno Park, for which he is a senior advisor, had also envisioned generating science in the field by basing desalination companies around a research and development lab.
The scientist said desalination would remain crucial to the country even if a greater percentage of ground water contributed to water supplies. Desalination would be needed to treat underground reserves that were too salty because of rocks and sediments around them.
El Baz was optimistic about the state of ground water resources in the UAE despite concerns of government environment agencies that wells have been substantially depleted and what little water there is, is brackish and of poor quality.
“It’s not drastic yet, but attention is needed,” he said.
The Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi in October called for UAE farmers to return to using the traditional falaj, or water channel system, to irrigate their plants as it was more sustainable.
The agency says more than three billion cubic metres of water is abstracted from more than 120,000 ground water wells per year, irrigating more than 30,000 farms and other areas. A law has been issued to regulate ground water resources.
