Analysis of Saudi Arabian Water Resources - Research Paper Example

Analysis of Saudi Arabian Water Resources Table of Contents Introduction 3 Review of water resources 3 Surface Water 4 Ground Water 4 Desalinated seawater 4 Reclaimed wastewater 5 Dams 5 Quality of Services 5 Increase in the Water Demand 6 Effect of Climate change on water resources 7 Water demand management techniques adopted by the kingdom 7 Conclusions and Recommendations 8 References 9 Introduction The kingdom of Saudi Arabia with an area of 21.5 square KM. is a parched and water deficit country. The country has limited sources of fresh water supply. The country lies in the continental zone, where the temperatures are extremely high during the summer and quite low during the winter, mainly due to the desert like nature of the nation. There is also lack of rivers or any permanent bodies of water; the amount of annual rainfall in the country is also quite low. Here it needs to be said that water is a renewable natural resources ; but still the low availability of natural and permanent sources of water coupled with industrialization, increase in population and climate changes are putting on the existing limited water resources. The present study looks to analyze the existing water resources of Saudi Arabia, the increasing demand of water; and also look to analyze the government policies and regulations when it comes to water resource management1. Review of water resources The Kingdom mainly hauls out water from the following resources: Surface Water The availability of surface water is about 2045 million cubic meters per year. The surface water is mainly available in the south-west and western area of the nation. According to FAO in the last year the total renewable surface water resources in the kingdom was about 2.2 cubic kilometer per year. Ground Water Ground water is mainly found in the basement rocks of the country. Thickness of these rocks is round about 500 meters. In the mid 80’s the ground water contributed more than eighty percent of the total supply of the Kingdom. According FAO the total reserves in the groundwater in the least year was estimated to be almost 500 cubic kilometers. Out of this 500 cubic kilometers 340 cubic kilometers was extracted at an extremely high cost by the kingdom. The estimated level of ground water resources seems to have been quite encouraging as it seems that the water supplies would be as per the need of the population2. Desalinated seawater This is the source of water resources as emerged as the world leader today. The technology of desalination also helps in the production of electricity. According to study by SIWI in the last year, the plant used in desalination provides more that 65 percent of the needed drinking water. Reports by FAO show that the desalinated water meets 48 percent of the needs of the municipality area. Reclaimed wastewater Waste water is mainly gathered by treating the agricultural waste water. This is estimated to be approximately 32 MCM each day. This kind of waste water is still in the early stage of the development, but it has a lot of potential scope of expansion. Add to this recycling of pure sewage water for the industrial and agricultural use is also considered. The first project, with respect to this project was established in Riyadh. Dams Dams are used to collect flood and rain water. To use the water collected by dams for useful usage dams are being built at various regions. Before the 1970s there were only sixteen dams. The number of dams increased to 190 by the end of the 199. By the end of 2004, the figure reached to 223. According to FAO the water storage capacity of these dams at the end of the last year was almost 837 MCM. Today there are more than 237 dams in the kingdom. These dams store rain and flood water and increase the availability of drinkable water. Add to this these dams also provide protection to the plantation and vegetation from flash floods3. Quality of Services Quality of water services in the country continues to be a real course of concern. To be a bit more specific discontinuation of services is a major problem. Very few cities actually enjoy continued services. According a survey conducted by FAO in Riyadh, in the last year water was available only once in every two and a half days. In Jeddah the water availability figure is once in every nine days. However, there has been slight improvement as in 2008n the concerned figure in Jeddah was and Riyadh was respectively 23 and 5 days. Increase in the Water Demand The availability of ground water and surface water resources are limited and the rate of annual rainfalls is also quite low where as the rate of evaporation is quite high. Here it is to be said that average rainfall in the country is less than 150 mm. All these factors coupled with the increase in the population and industrialization has increased the level of usage and annual water demand in the Kingdom. In the present day the annual demand for water in the kingdom has increased and touched 30000 MCM. Along with the demand the municipality water usage in the country has been estimated to be more than 2 cubic kilometers. Over the years the demand for water has been growing at the rate of 4.3% annually. The reuse of water in the country has been growing both at the level of cities and buildings. In this case the ablution water in buildings like mosques is mainly being reused for flushing in the toilets. Effect of Climate change on water resources According to a very recent survey conducted by team of scientists from Cairo suggested that by the end of 2050 the country would get hotter and the level of precipitation would go down. According to a journal of Arabian and Science Engineering the level of temperature in the country would increase by four degree Celsius and the demand of water would rise by up to fifteen percent to maintain the present levels of productivity. The research showed that reductions in the deep aquifer of rain, increase in temperature and run off of surface may lead to dry out of some the valley basins of the country. Water demand management techniques adopted by the kingdom The rising demand has ensured that water demand management to become one of the major components of the overall government policies of the country. Managing the demand for water has shown various economic benefits leading the increase in the efficiency and also reduced environmental damage. Here it needs to be said that the management of the demand of water can be defined from various perspectives such as technical, economic, financial and even social. Some of the water conservation measures taken by the Kingdom are being discussed in this section. In the year 1994 there was introduction of tariffs to increase the awareness about the value of water among the people. There have been measures undertaken to reduce the losses occurring from water leakages. Also there have been programs on the waste water recycling. The Kingdom has also taken initiative to reuse the waste water for the purpose of irrigation. Also various landscape plants, grass, trees in the municipality parks get irrigation through the reuse of waste waters. The kingdom is also planning to install water meters on the pumps used in farms to reduce over pumping to reduce water losses. Add to that the government is also planning to reduce water demand in the industrial sectors, increase waste water recycling and to protect environment, the government is planning to establish industrial cities in various parts of the kingdom. Each city would contain large number of factories and such factories would produce large number of gallons of waste water. The waste water would be collected, treated and then would be recycled within the city at particular plants4. Conclusions and Recommendations To conclude things it can be said that it is quite likely that demand and supply of water in various sector would be a major issue for a country like Saudi Arabia considering fact that it is desert country. The course of concern would be leading to a whole new level due to the changes in climate leading to rise in temperature, low amount of precipitation, increase in population and industrialization. Also consistency in the level of water supply is something that needs to be taken care of. Although there are a lot of room for improvement, but still the government initiatives in the domain of water demand management has to be appreciated. The plan undertaken by the government for the development of the industrial city would go a long way in the overall control of water demand and supply. Based on the above analysis some recommendations have been provided. The government needs to have strict when it comes the use of water and other conservation measures. There is a need to increase awareness among the rural and urban users for the adoption of conservation measures. Agricultural sector happens to be the largest consumer of water and hence to keep the water usage to minimum improved irrigation methods are to be introduced. Just like in the industrial sector the initiatives for reuse and recycling in the agricultural sector has to be encouraged. References Cech, T. 2009. Principles of Water Resources: History, Development, Management, and Policy. UK: John Wiley & Sons. Cowan, A. 2005. Risk Analysis and Evaluation. UK: Global Professional Publishing. Elhadj, E. 2006. 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