Water is one of the most precious resources in Lebanon. Available water includes rivers (16 perennial rivers and 23 seasonal rivers) and springs (some 2,000 springs), storage dams (the Qaroun dam on the Litani River, and Chabrouh dam), and groundwater (estimated at 2,000-2,700 million m³per year). However, Lebanon’s water resources are under stress due to several factors: unsustainable water management practices, increasing water demand from all sectors, water pollution, and ineffective water governance.
 
The driving forces affecting the quality and quantity of water resources in Lebanon are population growth and age structure, urbanization (88% of the population living in urban areas), economic growth and, more recently, climate change. Other factors affecting water availability are the inter-annual variability in rainfall in the drier inland regions of Lebanon and decline in snow coverage and density.