JEDDAH, 20 July 2003 — Leaking pipes, dripping tankers and rising temperatures all contribute to the increasing strain on Jeddah’s water supply. Residents in Baghdadia are accustomed to storing as much water as they can in their apartments using a variety of plastic containers.
“We only get water a couple of times a week from Baladia,” resident Faisal Al-Shams told Arab News. “Sundays and Tuesdays generally. We are told that the desalination plant experiences problems. I am not sure what to believe.”
In a nearby building, the apartment block owner installed extra storage tanks on the roof in an attempt to ensure constant water supply to tenants.
Installation of extra roof tanks is becoming more common. Amjad Hussein, who lives in the Faisaliah district, pointed out six extra tanks on his apartment building. “The owner lives in the building. He experienced the same problems we did, and it prompted him to do something about it.” The tanks are filled overnight, when industrial use is at a minimum.
Water is in short supply and conservation projects recently initiated — for example in Taif — point to the government’s recognition of a potential problem.
Production and storage however is only part of the total picture.
Studies have concluded that between 40 and 50 percent of water is lost from the Kingdom’s water system during transmission from producer to end-user. Some leaks from tankers but most is lost from mains pipes that have fractured.
That is about the world average for urban loss. Potentially more worrying is the 60 percent average loss from agricultural use, generally the result of inefficient application systems — flooding or spraying, the latter widely used in Saudi Arabia.
About 90 percent of the water used in the Kingdom is for agriculture, and almost 100 percent of that is from the aquifers and groundwater under the desert. These filled with water millennia ago and, because of the low rainfall in the Kingdom, are not being replenished.
Only about five percent is used for domestic purposes. Half of this comes from the 27 or so desalination plants in the Kingdom, many of which are approaching the end of their designed working life and need updating.
Government departments are reviewing strategies to encourage the more efficient use of water in Saudi Arabia. Among the options, a pricing policy based on volume of water used seems a likely candidate for legislation.
Some industrial users are already producing their own water supplies and have adopted a recycling policy ahead of prospective legislation. Tetra Pak, an international drinks packaging company, recently installed a marine desalination plant that produces potable water for their factory and returns pure water to the underlying aquifer.
