The Council of Ministers has enacted a law concerning the re-use of treated sewage water. The law was issued to apply a resolution passed by the Higher Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council at the end of April.

Under the law, owners of big complexes are required to construct their own processing plants in accordance with the standards set by the relevant government agencies.

The law requires owners to make use of public sewage networks to connect a sewage pipe to the building and add another sub-pipe to connect to the public sewage network.

The law obliges private and government bodies, as well as commercial and industrial establishments, to treat sewage water that does not meet the criteria, at their own expense before connecting to the public sewage network.

The law aims to place measures and specifications that will guarantee acceptable standards to reuse processed sewage water and achieve safe standards to harness this water for agriculture, public gardens and promotional areas, as well as for industrial purposes.

The law warns against the use of substances that harm the sanitation treatment process.

The system gives qualified supervisors at the Water and Sanitation Authority or other municipalities the right to enter public or private facilities for inspection in order to take samples of sewage water and carry out tests related to its legal use.