Reuse of Municipal Wastewater in Saudi Arabia: Treatment Systems, Reuse Activities and Criteria PDF

Keywords

wastewater, Saudi Arabia, treatment systems

Abstract

This paper introduces major use applications of reclaimed municipal wastewater and their benefits, important elements of water reclamation and reuse criteria, and key factors in the establishment of these criteria. The paper also evaluates reuse practices in Saudi Arabia with emphasis on treatment systems, quantities of reclaimed water, and criteria established in the new governmental code Reclaimed Wastewater and Reuse. Comparisons with some international criteria and standards are also presented. The principal reuse application in the Kingdom has been for landscape and agricultural irrigation. Reclaimed water amounts to about 23% of the treated wastewater, which constitutes only 7% of the total amount of wastewater generated from cities. There is an obvious need to develop and expand wastewater infrastructures in the Kingdom in order to increase utilization of reclaimed water for different possible use applications. Evaluation of current practices in the Kingdom reveals that different plants adopt different treatment systems, and some of them suffer several operational problems. The need for a strategy delineating the objectives of wastewater treatment in view of potential reuses for the Kingdom, appears obvious. There is also a necessity for establishing an agency equipped with adequate expertise and resources to implement the strategy, monitor and advise treatment plants and reuse projects.