Water Management in ArRiyadh

Abstract

ArRiyadh is a good example of rapid transformation of a small city, with an area of less than 100 km2 and a population of less than 400 000 in 1970, to a big city with an area of about 1600 km2 with a population of 4.26 million in 2004. The population of ArRiyadh is expected to be more than 10 million by 2020. The rapid development of the city has lead to a major rise in demands on water and sanitation services. During the late 1970s until the mid-1990s, supply management practices were used to satisfy the rapid growth in water demands. With the financial support of about US$20 billion from the government, the growing domestic demands of more than 500 million m3/year have been satisfied. About 47% of the water supplied is groundwater pumped from local aquifers, and the remaining 43% comes from costly desalinated sea water from the Jubail plant on the Arabian Gulf coast, 466 km from the city. Sanitation services cover no more than about 35% of the city due to the rapid expansion of its area and the related high costs of infrastructure construction. The leakage from water networks, excess irrigation water from landscaping and seepage from septic tanks have contributed to a rise in the groundwater table, resulting in several negative impacts. A more effective water management approach has been experienced in the city since the establishment of the new Ministry of Water and Electricity in 2001 whose focus has shifted to water demand management and conservation. The results of such new approaches have been positive and promising in meeting the water challenges and in achieving sustainable developments under severe arid conditions.