Hi

An interesting article from a Georgetown Professor re Yemen: http://www.futuredirections.org.au/publications/associate-papers/485-water-food-energy-qat-and-conflict-yemen.html

Did we have a desalination plant at the refinery? I can't remember being short of water but I can remember rushing out to the wadi between little and big Aden to see the water rushing past once in my 8 years there. Sand storms rather than rain seemed to be the norm!

John

Email: john.shute@dsd.wa.gov.au

Hi John

To satisfy your curiosity we never had any water shortages because the water we had was artesian and was pumped up in a station near to Hiswa (the Cable & Wireless enclave). I remember we had a school trip there and all was explained. If you remember the water was pure enough to drink straight from the tap. I vividly remember everyone keeping water in the fridge to cool and recall upsetting a guest of my parents, when I was seen to swig straight from a gin bottle used to store water at the tender age of seven!

Email: joannapaylor@hotmail.co.uk

I believe the water shortages are due to the unlicensed drilling of wells, to provide water for the abundance of qat bushes, which seem to be a big part of the Yemen economy. There is a desalination plant at the refinery. The water (steam) is used to run the power station.

I was recently referred to another article by the Carnegie Institute which paints a better economical picture for Yemen. The article can be read at this link.


http://carnegie-mec.org/publications/?fa=47708&lang=en

Email: n606jp@comcast.net

We lived in Aden from 1969 onwards till 1972. We never faced any water issues at all. It was always there straight from the tap and in the fridge in emptied orange squash bottles for cooling.

There was something about Aden water though, I always felt hungry and my mom often got tired of cooking all the time.

Good old Aden !!

Email: mmathur9@hotmail.com