How Vulnerable Is the Persian Gulf’s Water Supply?

In 2016, the CIA prepared a report on the vulnerability of Persian Gulf Desalination Systems, and the implications were clear. The authors wrote:

The failure of the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf to prepare for the possible loss of desalination plants is, in our judgment, a significant strategic oversight. Although the consequences will vary with the extent of each country’s dependence on desalinated water and the level of damage inflicted in an attack, the absence of security and emergency planning increases the likelihood that the worst possible outcome will occur. Moreover, as Arab reliance on desalination increases, the consequences of successful assaults on these water supplies will only become more severe.

The report suggests that after an attack, Persian Gulf nations will rely on American and Japanese companies to help rebuild desalination plants, but that those efforts could take up to two years. The CIA writes:

This could require as much as two years per plant to complete and involve major Western equipment purchases and the full range of design and construction services. In the continuing absence of improved desalination plant security and the creation of effective emergency water management plans, the vulnerability of the Persian Gulf desalination plants–and the political and financial costs of disruption–will grow as the region becomes increasingly dependent on desalination to provide potable water to its growing populace and industry.

Your Survival Guy has spent a lot of time on water security, and I have investigated desalination technology in the face of vast seawater supplies around my home base in Newport, RI. It isn’t cheap, but it can be a valuable part of your planning for resilience.

Action Line: Read the entire report from the CIA below, and click here to download my free special report: Emergency Water Storage: How Much, Containers, Purification & More.