Iranian strike damages a Kuwait desalination plant, exposing water vulnerability in dry Mideast
An Iranian attack on Friday hit an electricity and water desalination plant in Kuwait, damaging one of the most important sources of drinking water in the small desert country.
It is the latest attack on basic infrastructure in the Middle East, one of the world’s driest regions that relies almost entirely on technology to produce fresh water that sustains cities, hotels, industry and some agriculture.
Kuwaiti officials said the attacks damaged several power generation units and caused fires. They added that the fire was under control and they had activated emergency plans.
Approximately 90% of drinking water in Kuwait, approximately 86% in Oman, and approximately 70% in Saudi Arabia comes from desalination. The process removes salt from seawater; It is mostly done by pushing salt through ultra-thin membranes, a process known as transactivation. reverse osmosis.
Hundreds of desalination plants dot the Persian Gulf coast, putting systems that supply water to millions of people within range of Iranian missile or drone strikes. Without them, major cities would not be able to sustain their current populations.
The main concern of the Iran war for people living outside the Middle East is impact on energy prices. Conflict in the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on ships turned world markets upside down and pushed oil prices to record levels.
But the infrastructure supplying drinking water to Gulf cities is equally vulnerable.
Over the past few months, Iran has launched close attacks on several desalination plants in the Gulf. Kuwait had previously reported damage to its Doha West desalination plant early in the war, caused by debris from captured drones or attacks on the nearby port.
Iran accuses US of hitting desalination plants in Iran Qeshm Island on March 8 Although Washington did not accept the strike, the water supply to 30 villages was cut off.
Houthi rebels in Yemen Saudi targets desalination plants Amid past regional tensions.
Many Gulf desalination plants are physically integrated with power plants as cogeneration facilitiesThis means that attacks on electricity infrastructure can also disrupt water production. Desalination plants It has multiple stages, such as intake systems, treatment plants, energy sources, and damage to any part of this chain can disrupt production.
Gulf governments and U.S. officials have long been aware of the risks these systems pose to regional stability: If large desalination plants are disabled, some cities could lose most of their drinking water within days.
A 2010 CIA analysis warned that attacks on desalination plants could trigger national crises in many Gulf states, and long-term outages could last for months if critical equipment was destroyed.
More than 90% of desalinated water in the Gulf is supplied by just 56 facilities, and “each of these critical facilities is extremely vulnerable to sabotage or military action,” the report said.
Desalination plants are also vulnerable to climate change, including storm surges and extreme rainfall that can strain infrastructure; because warming oceans increase the likelihood and intensity of cyclones in the Arabian Sea. __
Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman contributed from Tel Aviv, Israel.
