By Jim Whitt Contributing Editor
If I asked you to name the most powerful weapon in the world, what would be your answer? Easy question, right? A nuclear weapon. That would have been my answer until I read an article by Emma Bussey on Fox News Digital that quoted Kaveh Madani, director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. Madani said Iran’s worsening “water bankruptcy” would impact the country’s ability to function and weaken its position on the global stage.
Although U.S. airstrikes decimated their nuclear facilities, the water bankruptcy may be Iran’s ultimate undoing. “If water and electricity shortages persist, any nuclear program would also be impacted,” according to Madani. “Lack of rain means less hydropower generation, leading to both water and power outages. We are discussing Day Zero, when the taps would run dry in Tehran and other cities once immune to shortages.”
Ironically Iran’s salvation could come from the country it has sworn to wipe from the face of the earth. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made this offer should Iranians overthrow the current regime: “The moment your country is free, Israel’s top water experts will flood into every Iranian city, bringing cutting-edge technology and know-how. We will help Iran recycle water; we’ll help Iran desalinate water.”
Those of us in the United States should pay close attention to what’s happening in Iran and other water-deficit countries around the world. Water is the most critical input for crop and livestock production. The Ogallala Aquifer is the largest freshwater aquifer in the United States and the second largest in the world. It underlies parts of eight states – Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. It supplies water for municipalities, irrigating crops, and livestock production. More than 30 percent of U.S. crops and livestock are produced in this region, significantly impacting domestic and international food supplies. The problem is that it could be pumped dry in fewer than 50 years.
Those of us in the United States should pay close attention to what’s happening in Iran and other water–deficit countries around the world.
Fortunately, there are initiatives such as the National Science Foundation’s Research Infrastructure Improvement-Focused Engineering Collaboration program. This is a broad, multidisciplinary approach that involves Kansas State University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Oklahoma State University and Seward County Community College in Kansas, along with an advisory board with input from industry and communities. The project builds on Kansas State Associate Professor Prathap Parameswaran’s work with anaerobic membrane reactors, which process waste from livestock operations to produce renewable energy and recycled water while extracting useful chemicals.
Several years ago, my friend Monty Teeter developed a product called Dragon-Line. It transforms center pivot irrigation using drip technology to deliver precise water application to crops. Producers who invest in a Dragon-Line system experience a 20 to 50 percent reduction in water use while maintaining yields. While Dragon-Line is headquartered in the heart of the Ogallala footprint, approximately 50 percent of its sales comes from Europe, the Mideast, Africa and Australia. Why? Because those areas are in the same boat as Iran. They are running out of water.
The largest byproduct of oil and gas production is produced water, which is unusable waste water. According to the Oklahoma Water Resources Center (OWRC), for every barrel of oil produced, up to 10 barrels of produced water are generated, making it the largest liquid waste stream in the United States. OWRC is collaborating on research with Oklahoma State University and other agencies to develop new technologies to treat produced water for irrigation and industrial uses.
There was a popular saying in the old west, “Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting.” Without water, nothing else matters. Every industry and every community depend on water. Water is a national security issue. The most powerful weapon in the world is water. It makes no difference how many weapons of mass destruction a country may possess, without water it will die of thirst. The greatest threat to any country is water bankruptcy. And if we fail to solve it, we will face our own Day Zero.
