Where does water come from in Saudi Arabia?

 

Saudi Arabia says oil talks continue, but now water talks are more important for Saudi. Of course, Saudi Arabia is rich because of its oil production. But it does not quench the thirst for water here. On the contrary, it seems to be growing.

This story is from 2011. Mohammed Hani, a deputy head of a mining company, said there was gold but no water. And like gold, water is expensive here.

The 16th century poet Rahim's Doha is a perfect match for Saudi Arabia. Rahiman keep water, sleep without water.

Saudi is making huge money by selling oil. But much of this is spent on seawater. There is no river, no lake. There are wells, but that's oil. The water wells never dried up.

In 2011, Saudi Arabia's then-Minister of Water and Power said, "The demand for water in Saudi Arabia is growing at 7% per year.

Saudi Arabia Water Conversion Corp (SWCC) produces 30.36 lakh cubic meters of seawater every day.

Of course this number is from 2009, which may have increased now. Its daily cost is 80.6 lakh riyals. At that time the cost of separating salt from one cubic meter of water was 2.57 riyals. Besides, the cost of transporting was 1.12 riyals per cubic meter.

How much water does it take?

Saudi Arabia raised taxes on commercial use of water in 2015. The tax hike is designed to curb the rampant use of water.

According to some researchers, Saudi Arabia's groundwater will be completely depleted in the next 11 years. The Saudi Arabian newspaper Al Watan reports that the Gulf countries have the highest per capita water consumption in the world. Saudi Arabia consumes 265 liters of water per capita, which is twice as much as EU countries.

Where does the water come from in the dry desert?

There are no rivers or lakes in Saudi Arabia. For thousands of years the Saudis relied on wells for water. However, due to the growing population, water consumption increased. However, due to lack of rain, the soil could not store enough water. Gradually the depth of the wells increased, and there came a time when all the wells dried up.

How much rain falls in Saudi Arabia? So look .. Talmeez Ahmed was the Saudi ambassador to India for four years. "Every year in Saudi Arabia, it rains heavily in December and January, but only for a day or two," he said.

This means that it rains one or the other day of the year. Of course it all happens in the form of a winter storm. And he doesn't care about the groundwater. Talmeez says that this rain does more damage. They say that if it rains in Jordan or Syria, people in Saudi Arabia are happy. Because if they have good rain, it has a good effect on the ground water in Saudi.

How much money does Saudi spend on water?

Freshwater is a major problem in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia was the first to use groundwater. But that is not enough. There is water scarcity not only in Saudi Arabia but in the entire Middle East. Due to water shortages, Saudi Arabia had to stop producing wheat.

The Saudis are terrified of their future. In 2010, WikiLeaks released a confidential US report to the world. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia had asked Saudi food companies to buy land abroad. That means water can be brought from there. According to WikiLeaks, the Saudis have resorted to such measures to protect themselves from political instability.

Where does water come from in Saudi Arabia when the weather is dry?

According to a World Bank report, Saudi Arabia still spends two percent of its GDP on water subsidies. According to the same report, by 2050, Middle Eastern and North African countries will have to spend 14 percent of their GDP on water.

The Middle East and North Africa are home to 6 percent of the world's population. But there is less than two per cent water, which can be reused. This region is one of the worst droughts in the world.

The arid desert is Saudi identity.

They are Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. These countries have an average of 1200 cubic meters of water. Which is six times less than the world.

Most countries in the Middle East and North Africa do not consider themselves capable of meeting their water needs. According to the World Bank, per capita water availability in these countries will halve by 2050.

Saudi used 943% of purified water.

According to a World Bank study, Saudi Arabia has depleted the Dead Sea's supply of fresh water. This is a record. After the Gulf Co-operation Council countries use water, the gap between its compensation and demand is widening.

The deserts of Saudi Arabia

Bahrain uses 220 percent more water than its purified water reserves. Saudi Arabia uses 943% more water and Kuwait uses 2465% more water. The water table in the UAE has dropped by one meter per year in the last 30 years. The World Bank estimates that all freshwater resources in the UAE will be depleted in the next 50 years.

In Middle Eastern and North African countries, 83 percent of the water is used for agriculture. Saudi Arabia has used two-thirds of its groundwater for agriculture since the 1980s. In Saudi Arabia, groundwater is the only source, as there is no river in the whole country.

The Middle East and North America have only 1% of the world's freshwater. According to a World Bank report, these countries are using more water than they can handle. Saudi Arabia is one of them.

Saudi Arabia is using a lot of groundwater, but there is no other way to re-accumulate water in the soil due to lack of rain.

What is the alternative if water runs out?

One solution is to separate salt from seawater. This process is called desalination. This remedy is famous all over the world. According to the World Bank, the process of desalination in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa is half that of the rest of the world. It is used in 150 countries around the world to separate salt from seawater.

The International Desalination Association (IDA) estimates that 300 million people worldwide use desalinated water for their daily use. Of course the process of desalination is very complicated. Electricity dependence also depends on this desalination plant.

How do you farm in Saudi Arabia when there is no water?

This causes carbon emissions. It also uses fossil fuels. Scientists claim that this is also affecting marine biodiversity.

According to Shannon McCarthy, IDA's general secretary, "in the Gulf countries, the desalination process delivers water to households. In some countries, the dependence is as high as 90 percent."

"These countries have no choice but to desalinate. This kind of unconventional water also costs a lot. Of course, poor countries can't afford it. That's why people in Yemen, Libya and the West Bank depend on groundwater," McCarthy said.

According to Talmeez Ahmed, Saudi Arabia is rich, but completely insecure about food and water.

"Saudi buys all the foodstuffs from abroad. There is nothing produced except dates. The groundwater will not be used by the Saudis because it is not left in the ground. "Desalination plants are being installed, and upgraded. And it's hugely expensive. It's beyond the reach of poor countries. Yemen is not able to afford that much.

In Saudi Arabia, tree felling is a crime

According to Reuters, Saudi Arabia is one of the countries with the highest subsidies for water.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia increased the tax on industrial use of water from 4 riyals per cubic meter to 9 riyals. According to the report, the government gives huge subsidy on domestic water, so people get water cheaper.

Talmeez Ahmed says the Saudis tried to produce wheat on their land, but it became too expensive. According to him, "The Saudis built a wheat field. It took so much water that salt spread on the ground. In a few years, all this land fell. The area became poisonous. The whole area is closed. There is a common fruit and crop. A date is a fruit that has everything. But if you eat more dates, your body is afraid of increasing sugar. It is a big crime to cut down a tree here. "

When the Saudis began farming in a modern way, the groundwater level dropped to 500 cubic kilometers. According to National Geographic, a lake fills the United States with this amount of water.

A view from Saudi

According to this report, 21 cubic kilometers of water is extracted from the ground for agriculture every year. Which is not compensated. The School of Oriental and African Studies in London has compiled a report on the extent of water abstraction from Saudi Arabia.

According to the report, Saudi Arabia has already used four to five quarters of its water so far. According to a NASA report, Saudi Arabia spent 6.1 gigatonnes of water each year between 2002 and 2016.

The worst effects of climate change have been on the Arab world. The Middle East and North Africa may be embarrassed to live without water. Once man can live without petrol, but without water he will not survive. Of course, Saudi Arabia knows all about it.