Comparative evaluation of surface water availability, wastewater reuse and desalination In Saudi Arabia

There is a growing concern in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to exploit water resources of acceptable quality to meet demands in domestic, industrial, and agricultural sectors. The agricultural water need, which constitutes approximately 84% of the total demand, was estimated to be 7430 million cubic meters in 1985. The annual domestic and other demands amounted to 1400 million cubic meters for 1985. Various alternative supplies to meet these demands are surface water, renewable groundwater resources, reclaimed wastewater, desalinated water, and non-renewable groundwater. Due to excessive withdrawal of water from deep aquifers, considerable drawdown has recently been noticed. This paper reviews the existing and future trends in developing surface water resources, reclamation of waste-water from various towns and cities and its use, and the role of desalination plants in the coastal regions of the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea. These alternatives are evaluated and compared in economic terms. Cost-capacity relationships are developed for various alternatives which will be used in developing long-term plans for optimum allocation of available resources in different parts of the Kingdom.