Agricultural Water Demand Management in Gaza Strip


Abstract
Gaza Strip is suffering from water problems from both quantitative and qualitative aspects and there are serious difficulties of allocating water among competing sectors within the country. Furthermore the abstraction of the existing Israeli settlements in Palestine is unfair and unjust matter. The entire population depends totally upon groundwater .The total abstraction of groundwater in Gaza Governorates is estimated to be 150 Mm3/year. The agriculture consumes around two thirds of groundwater pumped through more than 4000 wells located overall Gaza Strip. The reminder is used for industrial and domestic water supplies. The aquifer is being over-exploited. The gap between water demand and water supply increases with time as a result of rapid population growth in this small area. The water balance record reveals a deficit of about 50 Mcm/year. Reconciliation relies in the strategy of ensuring additional water supply and wastewater reuse schemes. The reuse of treated wastewater effluents represents a national interest and it is considered an important component of the overall maximization of water resources. Managing water as an economic commodity is an important way of achieving efficient use, encouraging conservation and protecting water resources. Procedures for assessment of the performance of irrigation at all levels, must be improved with better management systems for water conveyance, allocation and distribution. This management can save about 30 to 50% of the water on the farm and together with better agronomic and cultural practices, can at the same time optimistically double yields per unit of water.
The existence of agriculture depends on the ability to save water and makes water use efficiency as high as possible. In Palestine, agriculture is currently the largest water consumer, accounting for 60-70 % of total current available water supplies. Furthermore, agriculture has traditionally been the major productive sector in the Palestinian economy, accounting for about 30% of GDP during 1968-1992 and about 13% during 1992 –1998. Feeding a growing population requires the optimum utilization of available natural resources including water, land and labor. However, the instability of the political situation in the Palestinian lands forces us to adopt different strategies towards achieving the required water demand management.