SAUDI ARABIA

Theway Membranes manufactures water treatment systems that meet the World Health Organization requirements.

SAUDI ARABIA

Ultra Filtration & Water Treatment in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is a nation of about 34 million people in the Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen.

Saudi Arabia has an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. It possesses about 20% of the world's proven petroleum reserves and ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum.

Its major environmental issues include:

• Desertification

• Depletion of underground water resources

• The lack of perennial rivers or permanent water bodies has prompted the development of extensive seawater desalination facilities; and,

• Coastal pollution from oil spills

Saudi Arabia is susceptible to frequent sand and dust storms.

Water Resources

Total Renewable Water Resources: 2.4 cu km (1997)

Freshwater Withdrawal: 17.32 cu km/yr (10% domestic, 1% industrial, 89% agricultural)

Per Capita Freshwater Withdrawal: 705 cu m/yr (2000)

Heavy rainfall sometimes results in flash floods of short duration. River beds are dry for the rest of the time. Part of the surface runoff percolates through the sedimentary layers in the valleys and recharges the groundwater, some is lost by evaporation. The largest quantity of runoff occurs in the western region, which represents 60% of the total runoff although it covers only 10% of the total area of the country. The remaining 40% of the total runoff occurs in the far south of the western coast (Tahama) which covers only 2% of the total area of the country. Total surface water resources have been estimated at 2.2 cubic kilometers per year (km3/year), most of it infiltrating to recharge the aquifers. About 1 km3 recharges the usable aquifers. The total (including fossil) groundwater reserves have been estimated at about 500 km3, of which 340 km3 are probably abstractable at an acceptable cost in view of the economic conditions of the country.

Dams

In 1993, approximately 185 dams of various sizes had been constructed for flood control and groundwater recharge with a combined storage capacity of 475 million cubic meters (m3). About 45 new dams were planned to be built. A major dam, the Bisha dam in the south-west with a capacity of 325 million m3, was under construction in 1993.

Desalinated Water and Treated Wastewater

Saudi Arabia is the largest producer of desalinated water from the sea. In 1992, there were 18 desalination and power plants in the western coast, with a total capacity of over 0.7 million m3/day of water and 1,286 megawatts (MW) of electricity, and four plants on in the east coast, with a total capacity of over 1.1 million m3/day of water and 1,550 MW of electricity. Moreover three plants were under construction and two plants under bidding. In 1992, actual desalinated water production was about 675 million m3.

Some 265 million m3 were produced on the western coast, of which over 50% was exported to the city of Jeddah, while 410 million m3 were produced on the eastern coast, of which over 65% was exported to the city of Riyadh, which is located about 400 km from the sea. The total length of pipelines used for the transmission of desalinated water is about 3,722 km. The capacity of desalinated water reservoirs amounted to 1.85 million m3. In 1995, desalinated water production was 714 million m3.

In 1991, there were 22 sewage treatment plants in operation (10 of them being waste stabilization ponds) with a total wastewater treatment of 1.2 million m3/day or 454 million m3/year. Five new plants were being designed and the 22 existing were proposed for upgrading/extension in order to have a total flow of 1.8 million m3/day by the year 2000. In 1992, 217 million m3 of treated wastewater were reused.

The World Bank reports that at least 80 countries have water shortages and 2 billion people lack access to clean water. More disturbingly, the World Health Organization has reported that 1 billion people lack enough water to simply meet their basic needs, unfortunately in many countries water is scarce or contaminated.

Theway Membranes provides wide range of filtration and economical solutions based on the Saudi Arabia's

water resources.

Theway Membranes manufactures water treatment systems in Saudi Arabia that meet the World Health Organization requirements.

Theway Membranes has over 25 years of experience as a global provider of B2B water treatment solutions for a variety of applications and industries, we offer a large selection of all types of Ultra Filtration and water treatment systems to meet your industrial needs. Theway Membranes’s extensive global experience in engineering and manufacturing allows us to pre-engineer and customize water treatment and Ultra Filtration systems to meet a wide range of customer requirements and specifications.