Drinking Water Quality in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The production and transmission system of the Saudi Water Authority (SWA) faces a number of challenges in maintaining the high quality of potable water. Produced desalinated water is transmitted for long distances and is mixed with ground and surface waters of varying quality. The SWA is also in the process of converting from thermal desalination to seawater reverse osmosis which typically gives higher total dissolved solids, requiring better control of species with possible impacts on system integrity or human health. The results of monitoring across the desalination plants and transmission systems of the SWA in 2020–2022 confirm an overall high quality of water, with levels of disinfection by-products and heavy metals low in comparison to public water supplies in high-income countries dependent on surface and groundwater rather than seawater desalination. The results also indicate that continued operational improvements are required with the transition from thermal desalination technologies to reverse osmosis in order to maintain chloride at a level to avoid corrosion in the distribution system and to maintain boron and bromate within acceptable regulatory limits. Significant improvement in bromate control was observed over the course of the study, and recent innovations in post-treatment suggest that this will improve further.