Water Provision Methods (Saudi Arabia) - Research Paper Example

? Water provision methods for arid region of choice (Saudi Arabia) Saudi Arabia is the largest arid country in the Middle East. Rainfall is scanty and there are no lakes, rivers or streams. The Kingdom has a fast growing population with an average age of about 21 years, almost two thirds of the population is under the age of 25 years. Water plays a crucial role in the quality of life of the inhabitants, but it is also an important requirement for economic prosperity, for example in a growing industry and in the agricultural sector. Together, both variables will cause a further increase in water demand in Saudi Arabia, which cannot be covered completely through ground water resources as well as the inexistent river systems or lakes (Al-Zahrani & Baig, 2011.p.604). Given the pressing industrial and domestic requirements Saudi Arabia must come up with a reliable and sustainable means of supplying water to its growing population. One of the notable undertakings is the Kingdom’s efforts to sea water desalination. Desalination plants are installed at the coast and water is carried by huge pipeline systems to the major consumption centers in the up-country (Jeffreys, 2011.p.299). The country cannot rely on surface water due to low precipitation and high evaporation rates, this makes surface water scarce. The other option is ground water which comes from the water table statistics indicate that the country draws 45% of its water supply from the water table. This makes Saudi Arabia number one in the world in terms of groundwater withdrawals. Much of this is taken from fossil aquifers, which are not replenished by rainfall or underground water flows (Jeffreys, 2011.p.299). As the aquifers draw down, they grow saltier, threatening the availability of the resource for future generations. To say the least, reliance on ground water is not sustainable. The last means of providing clean water is wastewater management. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has made great strides in recycling its wastewater as a new source of clean water. Looking at these options the most dependable means of water provision is wastewater management and water desalination. Depending on groundwater would be unsustainable in the long run due to limited supply. There are few chances of expanding production and in real terms, in arid environments the recharge is not significant (Jeffreys, 2011.p.299). Although the cost of well head water is low, the main costs lie in the transfer costs, as in pipelines and pumping stations (Al-Zahrani & Baig, 2011.p.605). The principal aquifers are known, as are some of the areal changes, which affect the porosity, permeability, and transmissivity of the aquifer. Few areas remain which could significantly supplement the aquifer supply (Alsharhan, 2001.p. 138). Water importing might be a sound alternative but is laden with numerous uncertainties and the flow and supply is not solely dependent on Saudi’s decisions and factors. Desalination Desalination of sea water and brackish groundwater is the main alternative adopted in the Kingdom and one that is likely to serve the Kingdom well into the future. At the moment, there are about 32 plants in the Kingdom and plans remain underway to construct additional plants to supplement the growing demand of clean water. At the moment, the Kingdom is constructing a megaproject, Ras Al-Khair, which will be the largest desalination plant in the world and is expected to produce 1,037,000m3 of water daily (Al-Zahrani & Baig, 2011.p.604). The biggest challenge in the desalination process is the constant input of energy which the Kingdom has in abundance, but something the Saudi government is also increasingly conscious of using wisely. Desalination already accounts for more than half of the kingdom’s domestic oil consumption, and the demand for water and electricity co-production is growing by 8 percent every year (Ibp USA, International Business Publications, USA 2009.p.126). This is a challenge as oil will always be a precious commodity, and diverting more oil to desalination could make it harder for the government to plan its economic future (Alsharhan, 2001.p.140). With the need for economic diversification clearer than ever, the need to use oil revenues wisely is likewise very clear. The other challenge is the kingdom’s geographic realities. Transporting desalinated water is expensive, and one of the Saudi markets for it, Riyadh, is nearly 400 kilometers from the Gulf Coast. Going forward, and realizing the primal role of desalination in water provision it would be important for the kingdom to look at ways and means of making the process sustainable. One way of helping overcome the geographic and economic challenges is use of solar power instead of petroleum (Alsharhan, 2001.p.144). As the government carries out plans to invest more than $50 billion in new upgraded desalination plants over the next 10 years, use of solar power will be of enormous benefit to the government’s efforts to save energy and maintain finances. Wastewater management Looking at the current projections, it is expected that the kingdom demand will exceed 11 million cubic meters per day. It is postulated that even with the increased investment in desalination plants which are expected to add 3 million cubic meters a day there will still be a shortage of water (Harper, Subanthore & Gritzner, 2007.p.45). These realities point to an immediate need to invest in alternative means of water provision. One of the most potent methods is wastewater management. At the moment, the kingdom treats around two million cubic meter of waste water to secondary and tertiary level (Alsharhan, 2001.p.145). There is an immediate need to increase this amount to about five million of tertiary level treatment to meet beckoning demand, at least in the next 5-10 years. Closely related to wastewater management is sewage coverage, to enable optimal water recycling or waste water management the kingdom must look at ways of reaching the entire or at least 90% of the population (Ibp USA, International Business Publications, USA 2009.p.128). Sewage systems are the least available utilities in Saudi Arabia, as these exist in only 22 of the 106 municipal areas of the Kingdom. Treated sewage effluent is an important source of irrigation water and water for industrial use. Most of the kingdom’s water and sewerage treatment plants were built in the late 1970s and are nearing the need of their useful working life. In addition, the growing population is making the capacity of these plants insufficient to meet future demand. The cost implications for these two methods both at present and in the next ten years are presented below. Saudi Arabia’s unsympathetic climate suggests that the epoch of providing ostensibly infinite water maybe at risk. Fortunately, the kingdom has several options which can be exploited to adapt to this beckoning reality. Ultimately, these options will have to operate jointly. The kingdom will have to examine and sift through to attain the most feasible approach to guaranteeing water supply. The government has recognized that massive investment is needed to upgrade or replace the existing water desalination plants, water treatment plants and sewage treatment plants and to build new ones to meet the spiraling demand for drinking water and sewage treatment. One thing that the government must look at even with the growth in investment is water utilization and shared costs. At the moment, the kingdom supplies water almost for free despite the huge cost incurred in desalination, water treatment and supply. This might appear sound and mindful given the country’s resource but it does not make economic sense and is likely to affect the kingdom’s growth in the long run. Oil is a depleting resource; therefore, it would be important for the kingdom to institute a cost sharing approach. This will help reduce the astronomical economic burden borne by the government in provision of water. Such an approach would go a long way to ensuring a sustainable and economically sound means of water provision for the growing Saudi population. Bibliography Alsharhan, A. S. (2001). Hydrogeology of an arid region the Arabian Gulf and adjoining areas. Amsterdam, Elsevier. Al-Zahrani, K.H. & Baig, M.B. (2011). Water in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Sustainable management options. The Journal of Animal & Plan Sciences 21 (3), 601-604. Harper, R. A., Subanthore, A., & Gritzner, C. F. (2007). Saudi Arabia. New York, Chelsea House. Jeffreys, A. (2011). The report. Saudi Arabia. 2010. London, Oxford Business Group. Library of Congress. (2004). Saudi Arabia: a country study. Whitefish, M.T, Kessinger Publishing. IPB USA, International Business Publications, USA. (2009). Saudi Arabia Investment and Business Guide. Int'l Business Publications. Mallakh, R. W. E. (1982). Saudi Arabia: rush to development: profile of an energy economy and investment. London [u.a.], Croom Helm. Read More