Qatar is a nation of nearly two million people people in the Middle East; a peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia.

 

Its major environmental issues include limited natural freshwater resources which give rise to an increasing dependence on large-scale desalination facilities.

 

Haze, dust storms, and sandstorms are common.

 

There is practically no permanent surface water - annual surface runoff has been estimated at 1.35 million cubic meters (m3). Direct and indirect recharge of groundwater from rainwater forms the main natural internal water resources. Two-thirds of the land surface is made up of some 850 contiguous depressions of interior drainage with catchments varying from 0.25 km2 to 45 km2 and with a total aggregate area of 6,942 km2. While direct recharge from rainfall might take place during very rare heavy storms, the major recharge mechanism is an indirect one through runoff from surrounding catchments and the ponding of water in the depression floor. Surface runoff typically represents between 16 and 20% of rainfall. Of the amount reaching the depressions, 70% infiltrates and 30% evaporates. 

 

There are two separate and distinct groundwater regions: the northern half, where groundwater occurs as a freshwater 'floating lens' on brackish and saline water and the southern half where no such lens exists and where water quality is generally brackish with only a thin veneer of freshwater at the top of the water table. Annual groundwater recharge has been estimated at 50.43 million m3. 

 

The two main aquifers underlying Qatar are recharged in Saudi Arabia. Over most of Qatar the Damman formation does not contain water because of its altitude. It dips lower in southwest Qatar where it contains water, but is also overlain by impervious layers. The artesian aquifer which results from this structure is called the Alat unit of the Damman. Below this aquifer is the Umm er Radhuma, which is similarly artesian. In 1981, the Master Water Resources and Agricultural Development Plan (MWRADP) estimated that in the southern part of Qatar the safe yield of the Alat aquifer is 2 million m3/year and that of the Umm er Radhuma 10 million m3/year, based on an estimate of annual flow from Saudi Arabia. However, these safe yields would be substantially reduced if the aquifer were exploited more extensively on the Saudi Arabian side of the border. In the northern and central part the Rus aquifer overlies the Umm el Radhuma aquifer, which is partly an unconfined aquifer, recharged by percolating rainfall and return flows from irrigation but losing some water to the sea and some through abstractions. The safe yield of the aquifer system in the northern and central part of Qatar is estimated at 13 million m3/year from the upper layer and 20 million m3/year from the lower layer (the latter leading to a depletion in 50 years). In total, the estimated safe yield for the whole of Qatar is 45 million m3/year. 

 

Another potential source of groundwater is beneath the capital Doha itself. According to the MWRADP, considerable volumes of water leak from pipelines and other sources throughout much of Doha. This leakage, estimated at about 15 million m3/year, has caused the water table to rise locally, flooding basements as well as shallow excavations. 

 

Non-conventional Water Sources

 

In 1995, total desalination capacity was 98.6 million m3/year. There are two desalination plants in Qatar. The desalination plant in Ras Abu Aboud has a capacity of 52,000 m3/day or 19.0 million m3/year. The plant in Ras Abu Fontas has a capacity of 218,000 m3/day or 79.6 million m3/year. The addition of two new desalination units in Ras Abu Fontas is expected to raise the total desalination capacity of the country in 1996 to 318,000 m3/day or 116.1 million m3/year. In 1987, treated and reused municipal wastewater was almost 70,000 m3/day, or 25.2 million m3/year. 

 

The World Bank reports that at least 80 countries have water shortages and 2 billion people lack access to clean water. More disturbingly, the World Health Organization has reported that 1 billion people lack enough water to simply meet their basic needs, unfortunately in many countries water is scarce or contaminated.

Pure Aqua provides wide range of cost-effective solutions and water purifiers based on Qatar's water issues.

Qatar's main water resources are:

• Surface water is water from river, lake or fresh water wetland, which can be treated using different methods, such as Ultrafiltration Systems, Brackish Water RO.
• Desalination can be used for water from ocean, or sea source, which can be treated using Seawater Reverse Osmosis Systems; Desalination Systems.
• Ground Water or brackish water is from water located in the pore space of soil and rock “Borehole well”, which can be treated using Reverse Osmosis Systems, Chemical Dosing, UV Water Sterilizers.
• Government water supply, which could have high level of hardness or high level of chlorine, can be treated with Water Softener Systems, Media Water Filters.

Pure Aqua Water Treatment Solutions in Qatar
Pure Aqua provides a comprehensive range of water and wastewater treatment systems that are manufactured for industrial, commercial, and domestic applications where large-scale and consistent maintenance and performance are required, including quality and reliability as essentials.

Pure Aqua manufactures water filter purifiers to Qatar that meet the World Health Organization requirements.