Water is a geographically limited resource, fundamental to both the societal and economic development of a state. Representing 45% of the world’s population suffers from serious water shortages. In the initial stages of socioeconomic development, water is considered a free gift and access to shared water is uncomplicated. As population pressures increase, the socio-economic development of the state necessitates more active water exploitation, where the development of dams and Inter-Basin transfers are necessary for development in drier regions. Although population densities are not particularly high by world standards, density per hectare of agricultural land is another story. When all the available water has been mobilized, the costs of further development and management of resources increase rapidly. This constant pressure to secure new sources of water can result in high competition at both the intra-state and inter-state level. The present water crisis facing the Middle East will become even more severe over the next twenty years, unless dealt with energetically and in good time. This situation requires urgent action by the countries of the region, the international community and civil society generally. Each country in the Middle East has a unique system of rules and regulations to protect the quality of their water resources and to regulate wastewater use and application. Each country system has some similarities to its neighbors’ system but also some differences. To improve and coordinate the clean water policies of each country it is essential to understand the similarities and differences in water regulatory systems and wastewater use and application. The first conclusion is that there has almost always been a water crisis in the Middle East. Population growth always expanded to the limits of the scarcest available resource, which was usually water. This paper explores how this critical water shortage came about, the political tensions that are intertwined with the scarcity of water, and what the nations of the parched and volatile Middle East can do to help alleviate both the water crisis and the attending political pressures. Keywords: water shortages, Middle East, water distribution, water scarcity indicators

Water is a geographically limited resource, fundamental to both the societal and economic development of a state. Representing 45% of the world’s population suffers from serious water shortages. In the initial stages of socioeconomic development, water is considered a free gift and access to shared ...