A precious drop of water...
Published: 04:04 PM,Apr 07,2025 | EDITED : 08:04 PM,Apr 07,2025
A drop of water is the symbol of the Oman Water Society, an organisation that has been spreading awareness on the conservation of water over the years.
A drop of water is often taken for granted; the loss of this resource could be caused by a leaking tap or a broken pipe. In many countries, water is derived from the ground, but in Oman, it is the desalinated water that reaches the households. Transforming seawater into potable water is not an easy process because it is expensive and it uses energy. A cup of water we collect from the tap has gone through so many processes, so much that we should think many times before we even waste a drop.
The world is today looking at ways of making potable water. Over the years, we have been looking at harvesting rainwater to support the underground water. We have looked at clouds, dew, and fog. This week we came across humidity as a resource to make water.
Oman Water Week is being held currently at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, and this is where experts are discussing pressing topics on this essential resource.
No matter which era, civilisations always needed water, which is one of the reasons settlements were made near rivers and water bodies, and science and technology today support us to use of seawater.
Technology will continue to explore, and this is something that visitors at the exhibition of Oman Water Week will come across - H2Oman: water from air, a pure drinking water source from the air we breathe. It is a machine that is called an Atmospheric Water Generator, and so water is created from humidity. The AWG is a humidity-temperature-driven self-contained unit that produces water that has a pH of 7.1 to 7.8, making it alkaline with no chemicals, no benzene leaching, no microplastics, and no pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, or black mould.
Reusing water is another method that has been looked into for years now, and treated water has been nourishing gardens and landscapes in Oman.
In whatever form, water is a precious commodity, and there are societies in the world struggling to secure water. In such a situation, it is each one of our responsibility to conserve water even if there would be new forms of methods to produce water.
It is not just about conserving water; the emphasis also should be on maintaining the water level and ensuring it is pollution-free. Polluting the seawater, whether it is marine or industrial waste, is as damaging as not having the means to harness the water.
We thought of storing drinking water in plastic bottles, and according to leading studies, microplastics have become a concern because plastic waste has polluted every known water source over the past decades. As we know, plastic waste breaks down at a very slow rate, and the result has been that microplastics are now present in bottled drinking water and tap water, regardless of whether it is ground, surface, or desalinated water.
Oman, a land of the falaj system, is known for its historical water management, depending on the sun and its shadow as a dial to clock the duration of watering each farmland. The source of water was everything. The water flowed naturally, and the farmers just guided its path. Then modern technology brought in the pumps to extract underground water directly to the farms, sometimes damaging the delicate balance and igniting the encroachment of seawater that damaged the crops and led to the downfalls of some of the farms.
This is why the Oman Water Society is thinking of educating the farmers and the workers on the farms on the right usage of agricultural water.
Mankind might be the major producer of waste on earth. It seems the waste we produce, we do not seem to know how to cope with. Our instinct has been to dump it - on the land or in the sea - not realising we have been damaging our own resources.
We have been trying to study and apply sustainability, but we need to ensure the young ones learn it faster.
Zaher al Sulaimani, Chairman of the Oman Water Society, said that the young ones will take the information to their families at home.
Water needs to be preserved and conserved, as each drop is precious.
A drop of water is often taken for granted; the loss of this resource could be caused by a leaking tap or a broken pipe. In many countries, water is derived from the ground, but in Oman, it is the desalinated water that reaches the households. Transforming seawater into potable water is not an easy process because it is expensive and it uses energy. A cup of water we collect from the tap has gone through so many processes, so much that we should think many times before we even waste a drop.
The world is today looking at ways of making potable water. Over the years, we have been looking at harvesting rainwater to support the underground water. We have looked at clouds, dew, and fog. This week we came across humidity as a resource to make water.
Oman Water Week is being held currently at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, and this is where experts are discussing pressing topics on this essential resource.
No matter which era, civilisations always needed water, which is one of the reasons settlements were made near rivers and water bodies, and science and technology today support us to use of seawater.
Technology will continue to explore, and this is something that visitors at the exhibition of Oman Water Week will come across - H2Oman: water from air, a pure drinking water source from the air we breathe. It is a machine that is called an Atmospheric Water Generator, and so water is created from humidity. The AWG is a humidity-temperature-driven self-contained unit that produces water that has a pH of 7.1 to 7.8, making it alkaline with no chemicals, no benzene leaching, no microplastics, and no pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, or black mould.
Reusing water is another method that has been looked into for years now, and treated water has been nourishing gardens and landscapes in Oman.
In whatever form, water is a precious commodity, and there are societies in the world struggling to secure water. In such a situation, it is each one of our responsibility to conserve water even if there would be new forms of methods to produce water.
It is not just about conserving water; the emphasis also should be on maintaining the water level and ensuring it is pollution-free. Polluting the seawater, whether it is marine or industrial waste, is as damaging as not having the means to harness the water.
We thought of storing drinking water in plastic bottles, and according to leading studies, microplastics have become a concern because plastic waste has polluted every known water source over the past decades. As we know, plastic waste breaks down at a very slow rate, and the result has been that microplastics are now present in bottled drinking water and tap water, regardless of whether it is ground, surface, or desalinated water.
Oman, a land of the falaj system, is known for its historical water management, depending on the sun and its shadow as a dial to clock the duration of watering each farmland. The source of water was everything. The water flowed naturally, and the farmers just guided its path. Then modern technology brought in the pumps to extract underground water directly to the farms, sometimes damaging the delicate balance and igniting the encroachment of seawater that damaged the crops and led to the downfalls of some of the farms.
This is why the Oman Water Society is thinking of educating the farmers and the workers on the farms on the right usage of agricultural water.
Mankind might be the major producer of waste on earth. It seems the waste we produce, we do not seem to know how to cope with. Our instinct has been to dump it - on the land or in the sea - not realising we have been damaging our own resources.
We have been trying to study and apply sustainability, but we need to ensure the young ones learn it faster.
Zaher al Sulaimani, Chairman of the Oman Water Society, said that the young ones will take the information to their families at home.
Water needs to be preserved and conserved, as each drop is precious.