If I could travel back in time and advise a country in the Middle East on their water management I would choose Syria. Constant water problems have plagued this country since the first documented water war that occurred at the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers over 4,000 years ago. An argument could also be made that the civil war occurring in Syria can be attributed to water problems in the country. Syria has faced some type of water instability over the past decade and has caused major conflict within the country. Syria is heavily dependent on agriculture and is a way of life for many of its people. Since early 2000, water shortages and severe droughts have triggered rising tensions and a demand for consistent water flows. Water scarcity is a severe problem for agriculture and conflicts with other countries over water control of the Euphrates River, which supplies the vast majority of water to Syria. The Euphrates river flows have reduced by forty percent and is continuing to dwindle. Without water, farmers have no way to water their crops and with the inability to produce crops many are forced off their farms. This has resulted in a migration to Syria’s city centers and has caused rapid urbanization in Syria’s populated cities.

My advice to Syria would first be to stop depleting its freshwater aquifers. Groundwater is a renewable resource, but takes time to recharge. Constantly relying on groundwater to overcome droughts and hard times will only make it more difficult in the future to manage water resources.

My next advice to Syria would be to create a system of recycling wastewater. Rather than relying on aquifers, the people of Syria should focus on recycling their wasted water to lessen the burden on their surrounding watershed and groundwater. Syria relies heavily on water coming from the Euphrates River and its tributaries; with increasing urbanization and high population growth the pressure has greatly increased the burden on water resources. This increasing pressure on groundwater has  resulted in over-pumping of groundwater that has led to pollution in many aquifers in the country. Syria has focused on more efficient irrigation systems and wastewater treatment plants, but has placed these as a higher priority than supply management. Focusing on effective ways to recycle water and limiting the use of water altogether is short-term thinking. Water levels in the surrounding watershed of the Euphrates River will still decrease, because the focus is more on limiting use rather than resupplying their source of freshwater.

One way to create more water is desalinization. Syria’s climate does not allow the country to rely on a wet season to help replenish its water sources, but purifying salt water gives Syrians a chance to combat the loss of freshwater. The U.S. has many states that have created committees dedicated to monitoring the water level of aquifers and constantly checking the quality of water to ensure over-pumping is limited. These committees monitor water levels in aquifers and measure the amount of water needed each year to supply their communities. They also monitor drought weather and the amount of water needed for fire season. A committee such as this would benefit greatly for Syria. This committee would allow Syria to focus on the amount of water needed for the year and could allow them to rebuild their freshwater supply.

Currently, Syria is in a civil war and some have attributed this war to the water scarcity through out the country. After reading through many articles it seems that these major uprisings are directly related to water instability through out the country. The people of Syria value their way of life, they take pride in what they do and a majority of these people depend on farming. Water shortages have forced farmers off of their land and created a large group of angry men and women who just want their livelihood back. The government should focus on creating unity with their people and push towards water stability, which may in turn bring peace to Syria. This advice would greatly benefit the country’s water supply and I believe the leaders of Syria would use these tips.

To better understand the problem facing Syria and creating a positive solution would require more information. I would focus on finding policies Syria implemented over the years in regards to water management. I would also look into Syria’s conflicts that are attributed to water scarcity and see what is sparking these uprisings. Another piece of crucial information would be analyzing the technologies that Syria has used to combat groundwater depletion and water scarcity. I believe I could find a majority of this information through Boise State’s Library’s online database, and if further searching were needed I would use U.S. government websites to find primary sources.