Water Infrastructure in KSA

In order to overcome the water scarcity and the increasing demand, investments have been undertaken in the water infrastructure in KSA.

Water and sanitary networks

KSA’s main water pipelines extend more than 8,000 km, the majority of which are owned and operated by the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC).[1] The total length of the water network in 2019 was 121,356 km, and the number of domestic water connections was 2.26 million. At the same time, the length of the wastewater collection network was 43,729 km, and the number of domestic connections was 1.46 million.[2]

Dams

There are 522 dams around the country (Map 1), with a total capacity of 2.30 BCM to facilitate storage and surface runoff and groundwater recharge. The total amount of the utilized water from dams is about 1.6 BCM/yr. Some 73% of the total utilized water from dams is in the regions of Asir, Mecca and Jazan. These areas contain abundant renewable groundwater and surface water due to their rocky, non-porous terrain at the level of the Arab Shield.[3]

Table 1 shows the regional distribution, capacities and purposes of the dams, while the details of the major dams are shown in Table 2.

Table 1: Regional distribution, capacities and purposes of the dams in KSA.[4]

Table 2: Major dams in KSA.[5] [6] [7]

Water treatment plants

There are 353 water treatment plants built on dams and groundwater wells, with an overall production capacity of 2.07 MCM/d. Table 3 provides an overview.

Table 3: Regional distribution and capacities of water treatment plants on dams and wells in KSA.[8]

Desalination plants

Between 1980 and 2011, 30 desalination plants were built along the coasts of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, producing the largest quantity of desalinated water of any country. By 2020, there were 33 desalination plants in KSA.[9] The locations of these desalination plants are shown in Map 2.[10] The main techniques used are multi-effect desalination (MED), multi-stage flash (MSF) and reverse osmosis (RO). Daily production in 2017 was around 4 MCM using different desalination technologies. Of the total desalinated water currently produced, 77.5% is produced by MSF, 20.5% by RO and 2% by MED plants.

KSA produced 7.65 MCM of desalinated water in 1980.[11] This amount increased to approximately 1,070 MCM in 2004 and 1,048 MCM in 2009. The plant-specific production of desalinated water, desalination approaches, commission dates and years of service are presented in Table 4.[12]

The SWCC is considered to be the largest producer of desalinated water and owns the majority of desalination plants in KSA, accounting for 73% of the total production capacity.[13] To meet the potable water demand, which is expected to be 8.5 MCM/d by 2025, SWCC is aiming to increase its installed water production capacity to around 8.8 MCM/d by 2030.

Desalinated water is mainly used for domestic purposes in the major cities. Of these cities, Riyadh, Mecca, Medina and Dammam consume approximately 90% of the desalinated water. [14]

Table 4: Summary of the major desalination plants in KSA.[15]

Wastewater treatment plants

There are 99 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in KSA. The location of the major WWTPs is presented in Map 3. Riyadh, Mecca and the Eastern Province account for about 79% of the country’s total capacity. Table 5 describes the main features of the major WWTPs.

Table 5: Major WWTPs in KSA.