South Africa and Iran have partnered to develop desalination plants along their respective countries’ extensive coastlines.^[1]  Both nations are in the midst of intensive drought. 

South Africa is dealing with its most severe water shortages in 30 years.  While the South African Weather Services identifies the source of the drought as El Nino, climate change is also a contributing factor in the lack of rain.  Farmers are losing business, food prices are increasing, and the government has declared 5 of its 9 provinces as “drought disaster areas” for agriculture.  The United Nations reports that 11 million children are at risk from “hunger, disease, and water shortages” in eastern and southern Africa.^[2]

Meanwhile, in Iran, the reservoirs are only 40 percent full and 9 cities, including the capital of Tehran, are contending with intensive water restrictions.  Fifteen years ago, Lake Hamoun was the seventh largest wetland in the world (4,000 square kilometres in size); now, the lake is “nothing but sand-baked earth,” and a site of departure for thousands of Iranian families whose livelihoods depended on fishing.  Lake Urmia, a 48-kilometre wide salt lake near Iran’s northwest border with Turkey is almost empty, as is the “once mighty river,” the Zayanderud, the River of Life, which runs through the ancient city of Isfahan.^[4]  As reported in the New York Times, “some experts predict that the south will become uninhabitable if the drought persists.”^[5]

Next month, the binational commission between Iran and South Africa will hold an investment meeting that will presumably discuss financing and projected costs of the desalination plants (this follows President Jacob Zuma’s visit to Iran last month).  South Africa’s water minister, Nomvula Mokonyane, has said that the country has been over reliant on surface water; and that the government will now focus on developing desalination plants along the shores of three different provinces, including the Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal.

^{Iran’s Lake Urmia in August 2010  Alessandro Marongiu/Demotix}

The largest modern seawater desalination plant in the world—located in Israel—is now approaching its full capacity.  The plant, known as Sorek, already provides 20 percent of the water consumed by all Israeli households; and it will soon produce 627,000 cubic metres of water each day.^[6]  The plant was finished in 2013 at a cost of $500 million, and sells water to the Israeli Water Authority at the low price of $0.58 cents per cubic metre.  Currently, 40 percent of Israel’s water supply derives from desalinated water.  Towards the end of this year, when more desalination plants are operational, this percentage will rise to 50 percent.

In Qatar, the Electricity and Water Company (QWEC) and the Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI) aim to join the ranks of neighbouring countries that aim to reduce the energy expenditure of desalination plants.^[7]  QWEC and QEERI have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to install pilot tests for reverse osmosis and multi-effect distillation processes.  For the reverse osmosis pilot test, the objective is “to develop and optimise pre-treatment processes to ensure ‘reliable operation in desalination facilities, even during algal blooms, and the exceeding of the boron concentration in the RO permeates.’”^[8]  The pilot tests will be located at QEWC’s site along the Dukhan coast, and will hopefully contribute to Qatari officials’ intent to decrease the energy expenditure and associated costs of current desalination methods.^[9]