JEDDAH, 16 March 2006 — While a large and very black patch of pollution traveled majestically southward parallel to the south Corniche in Jeddah, claims, counterclaims and justifications flowed from officials in Jeddah.
Its existence was confirmed by the Presidency of Metrology and Environmental Protection (MEPA). It was a combination of residue from the sewerage system and industrial waste from a number of different industrial areas, said MEPA.
Dr. Ahmad Ashur, MEPA’s deputy environmental affairs president, said that the Corniche, beginning at the Salman Gulf, is polluted to the south for many kilometers.
In 1982, Saudi Arabia signed up to the Regional Convention for the Conservation of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Environment.
The black patch was at first thought to be oil. Dr. Ashur, however, said that seawater analysis proved that the black spot was a combination of residue from the sewage system and industrial materials from different industrial areas which sea waves didn’t wash away.
He also added that MEPA was supervising and instructing other agencies to provide necessary treatments to eliminate this phenomenon.
The Kingdom is “conscious of the need to ensure that the processes of urban and rural development and resultant land use should be carried out in such a manner as to preserve, as far as possible, marine resources and coastal amenities, and that such development should not lead to deterioration of the marine environment.”
The Director General for Water in the Makkah Region, Muhammad Baghdadi, confirmed that residue from the sewage system in Al-Qumra, south Jeddah is recycled according to “appropriate criteria” and is then pumped into the Red Sea. “In the last couple of years, Al-Qumra station received about 200,000 cubic meters of sewage water daily and 100,000 cubic meters of that was recycled and pumped into the Red Sea.” Since last year, a new recycling station has come on line (Al-Qumra 3) so now the total energy power for all the Al-Qumra stations is estimated at 240,000 cubic meters daily.
The Kingdom is “convinced of the need to ensure that the processes of industrial development should not, in any way, cause damage to the marine environment, jeopardize its living resources or create hazards to human health. Therefore, all sewage water is recycled and what is being pumped into the Red Sea meets the criteria,” he said.
A seawater analysis by Dr. Ali Esqi, a teacher in the Marine Science Department at King Abdul Aziz University, showed that the pollution was a result of industrial pollution, not sewage. The contracting parties shall, individually or jointly, take all appropriate measures, in accordance with the present convention and those protocols in force to which they are party, for the conservation of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden environment including the prevention, abatement and combating of marine pollution.
This is not the first time slicks of various sorts have drifted along the Corniche. During extensive building works to the north of Obhur a few years ago and even this year, huge particulate slicks from dredging and building have extensively damaged the reefs. The future development of Obhur creek bodes ill for any marine life to the south as, although plans and agreements are in place and codes of practice in place, they are more often honored in the breach than in the observance.
Bodies exist in the Kingdom — and have done for years — to tackle the problems of pollution. The question is not so much what the slick consisted of or even who caused it. Given the treaties and agreements the Kingdom has adopted, the question is: “Why is it there in the first place?”
