Rain seems to elude the Kingdom, although traditionally the wet season will have started quite some time ago.

Unless the weather changes, the country could be facing a worrisome development: acute lack of water, not only for agricultural but also for domestic use, a fear that never really leaves countries poor in this precious commodity.

Yet knowing that we are not blessed with many bodies of water or rainfall, we should be more actively involved in long-term plans to address the problem. Besides praying for rain, we should all start thinking long and hard what to do until our prayers are answered.

For one, we can all ration whatever water we have. It has to be done at commercial and agricultural scale, but also privately, by consumers who normally think it is not their problem, but the government’s to deal with.

Conserving water and cutting down drastically on its consumption is a collective duty. Until it rains – and the global warming phenomenon seems to push this prospect farther and farther away – citizens and state alike have to be aware of the size of the problem and act accordingly.

This space was often used to talk about hose washing cars, pipe leakages, careless garden irrigation. We all know what we should do yet don’t. Now, however, until rain starts falling to fill up the depleted dams and aquifers, the biggest water consumers – the industrial giants and certain agricultural sectors that are heavily dependent on irrigation – as well as the citizens need to behave responsibly.

Of course, the construction of the Red-Dead canal could be accelerated and the idea of building a desalination plant in Aqaba could be considered in earnest.

Alternatives and contingency plans should always be envisaged. And then, when prayers are answered, we will be doubly blessed.

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