Most are also probably aware that by order of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah the lake of raw sewage was closed to receiving further dumping so that it could eventually be drained.

What many probably don’t know is that since then a second lake located in the southern part of Al-Samer district just a few kilometers from the Musk Lake has cropped up and from there waste water is being dumped into the Red Sea.

According to Jeddah Municipal Council member Bassam Akhdar the second dumping grounds isn't a “new lake” but rather a drainage pond created to help carry out the order to drain the Musk Lake. “The current situation concerning draining the Musk Lake is good and we expect that the lake should be fully dry within a month,” Akhdar told Arab News. He pointed out that a new dam and drainage pools were created in December that have helped to lower the depth of the Musk Lake from 12 meters to five meters.

Akhdar also said that a new sewage treatment plant is being used to convert raw sewage into waste water that can be used for agricultural purposes.

The water coming out of the sewage treatment plant is being deposited at a two-million-square-meter site a few kilometers from the Musk Lake, known as the Eastern Forest. This area has been stocked with trees known for their insect-repelling and aromatic qualities.

Akhdar said that 10,000 cubic meters of treated waste water is being deposited in the Eastern Forest while another 6,000 cubic meters is being dumped nearby. But with an estimated 60,000 cubic meters of sewage coming in every day, this still leaves 44,000 cubic meters.

An Arab News investigation has found that the new drainage pond in Al-Samer district is being drained itself into a ravine that runs across Jeddah and into the Red Sea. When asked why this waste was being pumped into the Red Sea, Akhdar replied, “We have no choice (but to divert waste water into the Red Sea) as we must drain the lake and the extra waste water must go somewhere,” he said.

In December when new projects were being constructed to manage the Musk Lake situation, Arab News reported a source from within the local Meteorological and Environmental Protection Agency (MEPA) saying that no waste from the Musk Lake would be allowed to reach the Red Sea untreated.

Arab News unsuccessfully tried to contact MEPA for further comment regarding the drainage from Al-Samer. As the MEPA source told Arab news in December: the subject is ”a very hot potato.”