SUR: “We have water, and it’s the most important thing in a house,” says Abdullah Al-Harthi from the port city of Sur in Oman, a country that relies on desalination plants.

But for Oman and the other Gulf countries dominated by vast and scorching deserts, obtaining fresh water from the sea comes at a high financial and environmental cost.

In Sur, south of the capital Muscat, water for residents and businesses comes from a large desalination plant that serves some 600,000 people. “Before, life was very difficult. We had wells, and water was delivered by trucks,” the 58-year-old said. “Since the 1990s, water has come through pipes and we’ve had no cuts.”

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