The problem of water in Libya at the present Time and in the future

Water scarcity a fundamental problem in Libya and most parts of the world Water shortage are often due to problems of uneven distribution and the management of existing Water supplies in Libya could be improved, Like most countries in the Middle East and North Africa, Libya is mostly arid and semi-arid covers a total of 1,759,540 square Kilometres (GAI,2008), The cultivable area of the Libyan state is estimated to be about 2.2 million hectares(1.2% of the total area) (NASID,2006) Groundwater is the main source of fresh Water in the country, more than 80%of agricultural production achieves from irrigated agriculture, also under conditions of the rapid growth in the population Water demand exceed 83% of the total annual consumption ( LGWA,2006), Rapidly increasing population in many parts of the World place growing demands on Water for agricultural, domestic, and industry use Responses to these increased demand include not only steps such as well drilling, and dam construction, but also improved management of available fresh water .So the continue increase of population will increase human need for water, demand for fresh water escalated so the ground water resources were gradually exploited . The Great Man-Mad River project was carried out to transport Fresh water from underground reservoirs in south Libya to more fertile and cultivable land where most people live, through a network of pipes that are buried at a depth of 7 meters under the ground, The pipe is 1.600 km long and its inner diameter is 4 meters, After the termination of all its network the pipes will be approximately 4.000 km long which make it the largest artificial irrigation network in the world The growth of Water demand has a marked impact on the water resources of Libya which suffered serious depletions and quality deterioration ( Lawgali -2006),