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Environmental Issues - Saudi Arabia Combatting Waste

Tuesday, 08 June 2010 16:01

Following a recent series of floods in Jeddah, Riyadh and numerous smaller cities in the Kingdom, public discussion about environmental issues has increased significantly throughout Saudi Arabia.

Jeddah, the Kingdom's second-largest city lies on the Red Sea coast. The city has grown quickly, from an estimated 1.4m residents in 1986 to around 3.6m today, and infrastructure development has understandably struggled to keep pace. "In development, there is always a battle between infrastructure and sprawl. Sprawl has historically won this battle in Jeddah," Nizar Kammourie, the chief executive of Suido Kiko Middle East (SKME), a Saudi-Japanese joint venture specialising in desalination and wastewater treatment, told OBG. "Today, the most important environmental issue facing Jeddah is sewage."

Fadil Fouad Basyyoni, the president of Saudi ASMA Environmental Solutions (SAES), agrees. "Sewage is the most important environmental issue in Jeddah. The pipe network is just simply not there. The thinking over the last 25 years has been influenced by myths about septic tanks and the proximity of the city to the sea."

The estimates on the area of the city that is currently connected to the sewer pipes vary from 8-14%, with around 80% of houses using septic tanks. The use of percolating pits - septic tanks without a concrete bottom that allow sewage to "drain" into the ground - has led to soil and underground water contamination as well as a rise in the water table.

According to Kammourie, "The lack of a proper sewer system has created an ecological disaster in Jeddah."

In recent years, the waste from the city's septic tanks has been dumped in the Briman Sewage Lake, better known as Musk Lake, which lies about 40 km away from the city centre. However, environmental and health concerns following last year's floods, coupled with a royal decree ordering the emptying of the lake, have prompted city officials to find alternate solutions.

One such solution has been the construction of the Hamra treatment plant undertaken by SKME after winning a tender issued by the Jeddah Development and Urban Regeneration Company. The plant, located 800 metres from Musk Lake, will have a capacity to treat 60,000 cu metres of waste per day once it is fully operational. It is currently in phase one and draining approximately 20,000 cu metres per day of the estimated 10m cu metres in the lake. The entire process of draining the lake is estimated to take around 300 days (it started in mid-May), at which time the plant's entire capacity will be used to treat waste brought in from the city by tankers.

"The Hamra plant will be sufficient to treat municipal wastewater for some time," says Basyyoni, "but the issue of industrial wastewater still needs to be addressed. There is only one small industrial wastewater treatment plant and it doesn't have nearly enough capacity to serve all the industry of this city."

SAES has proposed a solution that would see industrial liquid waste and municipal solid waste combined and converted to energy using advanced plasma technology. The proposal is currently in the final stages of negotiations with Jeddah Municipality and, if approved, could see a plant capable of treating 2000-3000 tonnes of waste per day up and running within two years.

Concerned citizens have been one the biggest drivers of the changing attitudes towards infrastructure and the environment."Waste treatment and landfills are big issues. The awareness is high and people are demanding change, but it will take time. Ultimately, we need to start looking at the environment from a different point of view, especially in Jeddah. Infrastructure must come before buildings and I hope that the infrastructure-first approach will be implemented," said Basyyoni.

While Jeddah remains underserviced for now when it comes to its sewage network, it appears that officials have the plans, and the will, to address this long-standing issue. This fact, combined with the concern and awareness of the city's inhabitants, and an innovative private sector dedicated to solving the issue, increases the probability that sustainable long-term solutions will be implemented.

Global Arab Network

This article is published in partnership with Oxford Business Group

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Last Updated on Sunday, 08 August 2010 19:15

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