Desalination
Water scarcity is identified as one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. One in every six people worldwide, lack access to a safe water source. The drinking water supply in Palestine is rather insufficient and irregular due to "Israeli" constrains and limitations. Local people suffer of shortage of drinking water, especially during long months of summer. Many rely on groundwater (through dug wells or tube wells) as a source of drinking water. Others are dependent on private vendors, from whom the quality of the water cannot always be guaranteed. In addition, the high price of water is a heavy burden for many households.
Continued groundwater extraction not only results in a decline of the water levels, but may also result in a deterioration of the groundwater quality, through e.g. salt water intrusion or chemical interactions. In addition, untreated urban, agricultural, and industrial wastewater is increasingly contaminating aquifers with nitrates, heavy metals and bacteria and viruses. Most of the wells show a high concentration of chloride exceeding 250 mg/l, while showing relatively low nitrate concentrations, based on data from the Palestinian Water Authority (2012, 2013). In the Gaza strip, about 96.2% of the pumped groundwater does not meet the international standards. Besides, salinization is a major problem for agriculture as the majority of crops only have a small tolerance to increased salt concentrations. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find a way to provide the people in these locations with a means to access clean drinking water. Desalination of brackish and seawater is receiving a great attention, as a vital option to face water scarcity in Palestine.