Page 40 - Life & Land Use on the Bahrain Islands (Curtis E Larsen)

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Obviously, traditional solutions are not being followed; these problems are
being approached with the aid of modern technological methods. For example,
desalinization of seawater has been made more economical by the presence of
abundant natural gas for distillation. Conservative irrigation systems are also
under development, as is the reclamation of the best-suited agricultural land. In
addition, feasibility studies have examined the use of processed sanitary wastes as
a source of irrigation water.
A Detailed Look at the Water Problem
A more detailed look at Bahrain’s water problem is warranted. For example, when
one asks local farmers and villagers about the drop in spring levels and abandoned
date gardens the reply is quick in coming. ’’Springs began to drop after the oil
wells were drilled.’’ TTiis is obviously an oversimplified interpretation. It is better
to examine documented sources.

The drilled water well was introduced into Bahrain in the early 1920s as a
method for exploring the subsurface geology (Belgrave 1975). It was readily
discovered that three water-bearing formations were present relatively near the
surface. These have since become known as the Alat, Khobar, and Umm er-
Radhuma aquifers. Each produces artesian water in varying quantities and
qualities for human and agricultural use. By the 1930s, Manama was deriving water
for public consumption from similar wells. By the 1950s and early 1960s, hundreds
of wells had been drilled. Tlie drilled artesian well made it possible to locate
gardens without the need for elaborate gravity-flow irrigation channels leading
from natural artesian springs. At the same time, each new well provided a source
of two types of scientific data—geological and hydrological. From these it has
been possible to study the artesian system itself and construct more detailed
interpretations of the conditions limiting artesian flow.
Both the Bapco and the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco) have
maintained continued interest in these water resources since the early 1940s. The
mid 1950s marked an increase in unpublished reports by Bapco aimed at a
systematic assessment of the hydrology of the islands. The same period was one of
increased concern for falling spring levels and is expressed in correspondence