JEDDAH: The city’s Al-Arbaeen Lake should be drained as a last resort to ensure that it can be cleaned of all pollutants, with part of it used to build a natural history museum.
This is the proposal of Ali Adnan Ashqi, former professor of environment at King Abdulaziz University, who said the cleaning should be done by closing all outlets along the coast and then setting up pumps to ensure there is flow to the open sea. However, this could prove costly and may not produce the desired results, a media report quoted him as saying on Tuesday.
He said another possible solution could be for the municipality to treat the water in the lake using natural means, such as exploiting the unique symbiotic relationship between algae, bacteria and sunlight, as is the case in many countries around the world.
Ashqi said Al-Arbaeen Lake was one of the most symbolic and important natural areas in the region, but has been polluted with sewage water, resulting in it ending up as a major environmental eyesore.
He said the color of the water shows that it has been polluted with untreated sewage, with the foul odor caused by hydrogen sulfide gas, which is particularly bad during the summer.
He said the foul odors cannot be controlled without managing the pH level of the wastewater at 7.5, with anything below leading to a greater emission of hydrogen sulfide gas.
This is the proposal of Ali Adnan Ashqi, former professor of environment at King Abdulaziz University, who said the cleaning should be done by closing all outlets along the coast and then setting up pumps to ensure there is flow to the open sea. However, this could prove costly and may not produce the desired results, a media report quoted him as saying on Tuesday.
He said another possible solution could be for the municipality to treat the water in the lake using natural means, such as exploiting the unique symbiotic relationship between algae, bacteria and sunlight, as is the case in many countries around the world.
Ashqi said Al-Arbaeen Lake was one of the most symbolic and important natural areas in the region, but has been polluted with sewage water, resulting in it ending up as a major environmental eyesore.
He said the color of the water shows that it has been polluted with untreated sewage, with the foul odor caused by hydrogen sulfide gas, which is particularly bad during the summer.
He said the foul odors cannot be controlled without managing the pH level of the wastewater at 7.5, with anything below leading to a greater emission of hydrogen sulfide gas.
