Latest news with #waterresources
Zawya
21 hours ago
- Climate
- Zawya
Oman: $5mln spent on maintenance work of aflaj across North Sharqiyah
Ibra – Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources (MAFWR) has completed maintenance work of 162 aflaj in North Sharqiyah as part of efforts to sustain traditional water systems vital to agriculture and rural communities. The work, covering 90% of a total target of 179 aflaj across several wilayats, cost more than RO2mn. The effort is part of the ministry's broader plan to rehabilitate aflaj damaged by extreme weather events, including the Al Mutayr depression that affected the governorate last year. Hamad bin Rashid al Sawai from the Directorate General of Agriculture and Water Resources in North Sharqiyah said assessments were carried out by local agriculture and water departments in coordination with the Water Resources Department. These teams assessed the extent of damage, developed technical plans, issued tenders and monitored project execution on site. Of the total 179 targeted, 78 aflaj are in Dima wa al Taiyyin, 30 in Wadi Bani Khalid, 21 in Ibra, 19 in Al Qabil, 17 in Al Mudhaibi, ten in Bidiyah and four in Sinaw. North Sharqiyah has a total of 571 registered aflaj, many of which are the key source of water for farming and domestic use across the governorate's diverse terrain. These traditional irrigation channels, recognised as a Unesco heritage system in Oman, continue to play a critical role in managing water resources, especially in remote and agriculture dependent villages. © Apex Press and Publishing Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Times of Oman
3 days ago
- Climate
- Times of Oman
North Al Sharqiyah Governorate completes 90% of aflaj restoration project worth more than OMR2mn
Ibra: The Directorate General of Agriculture and Water Resources in North A'Sharqiyah Governorate is conducting comprehensive restoration of 179 aflaj (man-made water supply channels) to the tune of more than OMR2 million. The project seeks to maintain the sustainability of water resources in the governorate's Wilayats. Eng. Hamad Rashid Al Sawai, from the General Directorate of Agriculture and Water Resources in North Al Sharqiyah Governorate, said that the project was prompted by the damage suffered by the aflaj following low-pressure systems that prevailed in the area and a tropical depression that hit the governorate last year. A total of 162 aflaj (about 90% of the total target number) were restored to normal working conditions, as follows: 21 in the Wilayat of Ibra, 19 in the Wilayat of Al Qabil, 17 in the Wilayat of Al Mudhaibi, 78 in the Wilayat of Dima W'Attayeen, 10 in the Wilayat of Bidiyah, 4 in the Wilayat of Sinaw and 30 in the Wilayat of Wadi Bani Khalid. As many as 571 aflaj exist across the North Al Sharqiyah Governorate. The active aflaj undertake a major role in providing water for irrigation and other purposes.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Mining companies are pumping seawater into the driest place on Earth. But has the damage been done?
Vast pipelines cross the endless dunes of northern Chile, pumping seawater up to an altitude of more than 3,000 metres in the Andes mountains to the Escondida mine, the world's largest copper producer. The mine's owners say sourcing water directly from the sea, instead of relying on local reservoirs, could help preserve regional water resources. Yet, this is not the perception of Sergio Cubillos, leader of the Indigenous community Lickanantay de Peine. Cubillos and his fellow activists believe that the mining industry is helping to degrade the region's meagre water resources, as Chile continues to be ravaged by a mega-drought that has plagued the country for 15 years. They also fear that the use of desalinated seawater cannot make up for the devastation of the northern Atacama region's sensitive water ecosystem and local livelihoods. Water extraction has caused water table levels to drop, endangering springs, wetlands and surface water sources that support biodiversity and are vital for local crops and livestock. 'Several wetlands have dried up completely, and the vegetation has diminished considerably,' says Cubillos. The community of Peine lies within a salt flat, where a delicate ecological balance makes the region highly vulnerable to any changes in climate. Cubillos says mining has exacerbated the effects of the climate crisis, severely depleting the community's groundwater reserves. 'The mining activity has made the area unsuitable for cattle grazing.' The mega-drought is considered the most prolonged and widespread in a century, and the local population and mining companies are fighting for the right to water in the Atacama desert, the driest place on Earth, where the world's largest copper and lithium deposits are located. The lack of rainfall has had profound effects on Chile's water resources, agriculture and ecosystems and is severely depleting its freshwater reserves in the Atacama region. Even mining operations have occasionally been forced to stop due to water shortages. In December, Escondida's majority owner, the Australian mining firm BHP, the US-based Albemarle and Chilean firm Zaldívar were ordered to pay an unprecedented $47m fine (£34.5m) for depleting the Monturaqui-Negrillar-Tilopozo aquifer and damaging surrounding vegetation. The environmental court of Antofagasta ruled that the damage caused by the three companies 'negatively affects the Indigenous community of Peine, altering their systems of life and traditions'. It ruled that the companies had exceeded the legally permitted limits on groundwater extraction, resulting in a decline of the water table by more than 25cm – an unsustainable amount for the salt flat ecosystem, according to the court. Chile's water authority had already raised concerns in 2018 over Escondida's water extraction. In 2022 Escondida appealed an $8.4m fine for non-compliance over this issue, but it was rejected. The environmental court's decision came after a negotiated agreement between the Indigenous community, the Chilean government and the companies involved. The fines are earmarked for environmental remediation, which in some cases includes investment in desalination. The mining sector is increasingly turning to the sea. About 30% of the water used by Chile's mines now comes from seawater – desalinated or untreated – according to the national mining association. BHP says it has invested $4bn (£2.94bn) in desalination infrastructure in recent years. As a result, the company says, it ceased extracting water from the Peine wetland in 2019. Its desalination plant in the coastal city of Coloso, about 170km (105 miles) from the mine, is the largest in Chile by capacity. 'The company's first desalination plant opened in 2006, underscoring our pioneering role in the mining sector,' BHP says. Albemarle has also told the Guardian that it no longer uses groundwater from the reserve in its operations. 'While our company has never been a major water user in the area, this step is part of our long-term sustainability efforts on the Atacama salt flat,' the company's communications manager says. Albemarle has further clarified that the use of seawater to remediate environmental damage is not included in the formal agreement by the court, though its website highlights ongoing investments in desalination. Zaldívar has declined to comment. Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion Cubillos, who took part in the negotiations, acknowledges the shift. 'It's positive that companies have stopped exploiting groundwater reserves,' he says. 'However, the desalinated water does not reach our lands.' The three companies that the court found responsible for depleting Peine's groundwater produce roughly half of Chile's copper and a third of its lithium. Mining accounts for about a fifth of Chile's gross domestic product, and minerals – particularly copper and lithium, which are essential for the global green transition – are the country's main exports. Chile supplies about 13% of the copper and 80% of the lithium carbonate and refined lithium imported into the EU. Lithium is critical for electric vehicle batteries, while copper underpins most renewable energy technologies and infrastructure. The global green transition is projected to substantially increase demand for copper and lithium. For Chile, this implies escalating water requirements for mining operations. Despite advances in desalination, mining remains a major consumer of fresh water, accounting for about 50% of regional reserves in the north. Chile's ministry of mining projects that total consumption of water will go up by about 20% by 2034. Desalination and transporting seawater inland also come with environmental costs. These are energy-intensive processes, and studies forecast that CO2 emissions from Chile's desalination plants could reach up to about 700,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually by 2030 – about the same as Antigua and Barbuda. Only a small share of these plants operate on renewable energy, according to Sebastián Herrera-León, an assistant professor at the University of O'Higgins. 'Currently, desalination plants in Chile are powered by the national grid, which draws from both fossil fuels and renewables,' he says. He identifies two ways forward: either desalination plants must integrate dedicated renewable energy sources, or the national energy grid must complete its transition to renewables. Desalination may also transfer environmental risks from the desert to the ocean. In Antofagasta, a coastal town in northern Chile near where Escondida's desalination plant and port are located, local fishers have already noticed changes. 'Fish populations are dying. Escondida's port has long polluted the sea, and the desalination plant makes things worse,' says fisher Nelson Fornerod Gutiérrez, 82. Marine biologist Elizabeth Soto of the NGO Terram says that brine discharge from desalination poses a threat to aquatic biodiversity. 'Improved spatial planning is essential for desalination plant siting. Constructing facilities along the entire coastline without accounting for environmental impacts is unsustainable,' she says. Mining companies own 17 of Chile's 24 operational desalination plants, with more planned along the Pacific coast. About 75% of the country's desalination capacity serves the mining sector. While desalinated seawater has eased pressure on dwindling inland sources, the Indigenous community of Peine remains wary. The damage may already be irreversible, they fear, damaging the salt flats and their waters, which are as vital as they are sacred to the Lickanantay people. 'We continue to resist mining companies,' says Cubillos, 'to assert that our Indigenous culture and worldview remain alive.'
The Guardian
6 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Mining companies are pumping seawater into the driest place on Earth. But has the damage been done?
Vast pipelines cross the endless dunes of northern Chile, pumping seawater up to an altitude of more than 3,000 metres in the Andes mountains to the Escondida mine, the world's largest copper producer. The mine's owners say sourcing water directly from the sea, instead of relying on local reservoirs, could help preserve regional water resources. Yet, this is not the perception of Sergio Cubillos, leader of the Indigenous community Lickanantay de Peine. Cubillos and his fellow activists believe that the mining industry is helping to degrade the region's meagre water resources, as Chile continues to be ravaged by a mega-drought that has plagued the country for 15 years. They also fear that the use of desalinated seawater cannot make up for the devastation of the northern Atacama region's sensitive water ecosystem and local livelihoods. Water extraction has caused water table levels to drop, endangering springs, wetlands and surface water sources that support biodiversity and are vital for local crops and livestock. 'Several wetlands have dried up completely, and the vegetation has diminished considerably,' says Cubillos. The community of Peine lies within a salt flat, where a delicate ecological balance makes the region highly vulnerable to any changes in climate. Cubillos says mining has exacerbated the effects of the climate crisis, severely depleting the community's groundwater reserves. 'The mining activity has made the area unsuitable for cattle grazing.' The mega-drought is considered the most prolonged and widespread in a century, and the local population and mining companies are fighting for the right to water in the Atacama desert, the driest place on Earth, where the world's largest copper and lithium deposits are located. The lack of rainfall has had profound effects on Chile's water resources, agriculture and ecosystems and is severely depleting its freshwater reserves in the Atacama region. Even mining operations have occasionally been forced to stop due to water shortages. In December, Escondida's majority owner, the Australian mining firm BHP, the US-based Albemarle and Chilean firm Zaldívar were ordered to pay an unprecedented $47m fine (£34.5m) for depleting the Monturaqui-Negrillar-Tilopozo aquifer and damaging surrounding vegetation. The environmental court of Antofagasta ruled that the damage caused by the three companies 'negatively affects the Indigenous community of Peine, altering their systems of life and traditions'. It ruled that the companies had exceeded the legally permitted limits on groundwater extraction, resulting in a decline of the water table by more than 25cm – an unsustainable amount for the salt flat ecosystem, according to the court. Chile's water authority had already raised concerns in 2018 over Escondida's water extraction. In 2022 Escondida appealed an $8.4m fine for non-compliance over this issue, but it was rejected. The environmental court's decision came after a negotiated agreement between the Indigenous community, the Chilean government and the companies involved. The fines are earmarked for environmental remediation, which in some cases includes investment in desalination. The mining sector is increasingly turning to the sea. About 30% of the water used by Chile's mines now comes from seawater – desalinated or untreated – according to the national mining association. BHP says it has invested $4bn (£2.94bn) in desalination infrastructure in recent years. As a result, the company says, it ceased extracting water from the Peine wetland in 2019. Its desalination plant in the coastal city of Coloso, about 170km (105 miles) from the mine, is the largest in Chile by capacity. 'The company's first desalination plant opened in 2006, underscoring our pioneering role in the mining sector,' BHP says. Albemarle has also told the Guardian that it no longer uses groundwater from the reserve in its operations. 'While our company has never been a major water user in the area, this step is part of our long-term sustainability efforts on the Atacama salt flat,' the company's communications manager says. Albemarle has further clarified that the use of seawater to remediate environmental damage is not included in the formal agreement by the court, though its website highlights ongoing investments in desalination. Zaldívar has declined to comment. Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion Cubillos, who took part in the negotiations, acknowledges the shift. 'It's positive that companies have stopped exploiting groundwater reserves,' he says. 'However, the desalinated water does not reach our lands.' The three companies that the court found responsible for depleting Peine's groundwater produce roughly half of Chile's copper and a third of its lithium. Mining accounts for about a fifth of Chile's gross domestic product, and minerals – particularly copper and lithium, which are essential for the global green transition – are the country's main exports. Chile supplies about 13% of the copper and 80% of the lithium carbonate and refined lithium imported into the EU. Lithium is critical for electric vehicle batteries, while copper underpins most renewable energy technologies and infrastructure. The global green transition is projected to substantially increase demand for copper and lithium. For Chile, this implies escalating water requirements for mining operations. Despite advances in desalination, mining remains a major consumer of fresh water, accounting for about 50% of regional reserves in the north. Chile's ministry of mining projects that total consumption of water will go up by about 20% by 2034. Desalination and transporting seawater inland also come with environmental costs. These are energy-intensive processes, and studies forecast that CO2 emissions from Chile's desalination plants could reach up to about 700,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually by 2030 – about the same as Antigua and Barbuda. Only a small share of these plants operate on renewable energy, according to Sebastián Herrera-León, an assistant professor at the University of O'Higgins. 'Currently, desalination plants in Chile are powered by the national grid, which draws from both fossil fuels and renewables,' he says. He identifies two ways forward: either desalination plants must integrate dedicated renewable energy sources, or the national energy grid must complete its transition to renewables. Desalination may also transfer environmental risks from the desert to the ocean. In Antofagasta, a coastal town in northern Chile near where Escondida's desalination plant and port are located, local fishers have already noticed changes. 'Fish populations are dying. Escondida's port has long polluted the sea, and the desalination plant makes things worse,' says fisher Nelson Fornedod Gutiérrez, 82. Marine biologist Elizabeth Soto of the NGO Terram says that brine discharge from desalination poses a threat to aquatic biodiversity. 'Improved spatial planning is essential for desalination plant siting. Constructing facilities along the entire coastline without accounting for environmental impacts is unsustainable,' she says. Mining companies own 17 of Chile's 24 operational desalination plants, with more planned along the Pacific coast. About 75% of the country's desalination capacity serves the mining sector. While desalinated seawater has eased pressure on dwindling inland sources, the Indigenous community of Peine remains wary. The damage may already be irreversible, they fear, damaging the salt flats and their waters, which are as vital as they are sacred to the Lickanantay people. 'We continue to resist mining companies,' says Cubillos, 'to assert that our Indigenous culture and worldview remain alive.'
Sky News
15-07-2025
- Climate
- Sky News
Drought declared in the Midlands - as people are urged to 'use water wisely'
Drought has been declared in the West and East Midlands, with dry weather continuing to "impact water resources across England". The Environment Agency said the National Drought Group (NDG) had stepped up its operational response and "asks people to play their part in managing the drought and use water wisely". Helen Wakeham, the Environment Agency's director for water and NDG chair, said: "This has been the driest start to the year since 1976, and we need to make sure our water supplies can sustain us through the summer. "Today I have asked all the partners who make up the national drought group to step up their operational response to manage the drought and use water wisely. Environment Agency teams are out on the ground actively monitoring river levels and working to ensure there is enough water for the people and the environment." Please refresh the page for the latest version.
