1.1.2.WATER USE The total abstraction of 4,200 million m3/year is about eight times the annual renewable groundwater resources and therefore Libya depends heavily on fossil groundwater. The coastal aquifers are the only ones that are being recharged by rainfall, but uncontrolled groundwater development from these aquifers exceeds the annual replenishment. This has caused a severe water level decline and seawater encroachment, which makes the coastal groundwater resources almost unusable because of their high salinity. This situation has accelerated the process of water transfer through the implementation of the Great Manmade River Project (GMRP), which was launched in the early 1980s and is designed to eventually transport 2,300 million m3 of fossil water from the Libyan south, where a huge amount of fossil groundwater has been stored since the late Quaternary, to the north, where the water is urgently needed. The project is ongoing and consists of five phases, of which Phase I and II are currently being implemented. For Phase I, two well fields in the As Sarir - Al Kufrah basin have been designed to convey 730 million m3/year to the coastal areas extending from Binghazi to Sirt. The first well field is located in the Sarir area and currently produces 94 million m3 of water, which is 25-30 per cent of its capacity. The second well field is located near the village of Tazirbu, some 200km south of the Sarir well field, and is under construction. Phase II consists of several well fields in the Jabal Hasawna area, designed to transport some 910 million m3/year to the Jifarah plain around Tripoli. The first wells are now in operation and produce about 140 million m3/year. The GMRP is designed mainly to serve irrigated agriculture, but until now the water has been used almost exclusively for municipal and industrial purposes in the major cities of the country. Of the total water withdrawal of 4,268 million m3, about 83 per cent is used for agricultural purposes, 14 per cent for municipal use and 3 per cent for industrial use. More than 30 per cent of the present municipal water demand is supplied by the GMRP. Most of the industrial water is used for the oil industry (injection, processing and some municipal use). According to the assumptions made about water productivity in agriculture, the total water requirement to support basic food self-sufficiency and to meet the municipal water demand of the Country Overview - Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 12 million Libyans in the year 2025 is estimated to range between 10.5 and 16.4km3/year, compared to 4.3km3/year at present. When the GMRP is fully operational, the total amount of water available for all uses - assuming that the present groundwater production equipment will be maintained until 2025 - will be in the order of 6.5km3/year and will thus barely cover 50 per cent of the total water requirement.

1.2.WATER QUALITY, ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN HEALTH In the last decade, private agriculture developed rapidly. Along the coast this led to uncontrolled development of the coastal aquifers, exceeding the annual replenishment. This caused a severe water level decline and seawater encroachment, making the coastal groundwater resources almost unusable because of their high salinity. Currently, groundwater abstraction from private farms corresponds to 47 per cent of the total abstraction and is the main sector of water use, but it almost completely lacks a water resources monitoring system. An inadequate sanitation system in the urban agglomerations (mostly in Jabal Akhdar but also around most of the cities of the south) leads to severe pollution of the shallow aquifers around the cities. Important water abstraction, either for local agricultural projects or for water transport to the coast, will cause a significant water level decline in the aquifer, due to the non-renewable character of the water sources. This will slowly induce the disappearance of natural vegetation which is still important in the Wadi ash Shati or Ghadamis oases. Improper irrigation and drainage practices have resulted in substantial degradation of soil in the southwestern part of Libya. The planned use of transport water for irrigation along the coast of Sirt where brackish aquifers exist at a shallow depth may also result in waterlogging and salinity problems if appropriate irrigation and drainage techniques are not applied.

(Water Risk Filter)