Comments on: Colonel Qaddafi and the Great Man-made River

By: Canadian Boreal: Protecting Today’s Water for Tomorrow – Water Matters - State of the Planet

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 14:42:09 +0000

[...] been a key issue at a time when many of the world’s arid and semi-arid societies eye their diminishing water supplies warily. The Canadian Boreal claims five of the world’s largest river systems, [...]

By: Water Matters - State of the Planet

Water Matters - State of the Planet — Mon, 23 May 2011 16:19:38 +0000

[...] development projects? This phenomenon can be seen all over the world, from Southern California to Libya, where water consumption outstrips local supply and bringing water in from other places has become [...]

By: The Middle East Dries Up—Another Case Study in the Water-Energy-Food Nexus – Water Matters - State of the Planet

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 14:08:12 +0000

[...] on the Mideast Water crisis, discussing the water troubles in the UAE, Qatar and Syria; and as Benjamin Preston reported, Libya is also dependent on fossil aquifers to irrigate its crops—and though the nation claims [...]

By: Lakis Polycarpou

Lakis Polycarpou — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 19:03:47 +0000

Interesting piece.

One thing to consider — when Lonergan says that the aquifer will be depleted in 60 years, my question is “at what cost?” If I understand aquifer depletion, every year the water table drops it will take more energy (and money) to bring up the same amount of water. Thus, if (as the Monitor article says) it is already unprofitable to pump this water without government subsidy, what happens in 10 or 15 years?

By this logic, while it might be theoretically possible to pump every last drop from the groundwater from the aquifer, there is no way from a financial or energy perspective that will happen. I wonder, then, if even 60 years is a far too optimistic projection for how long the aquifer will last?