Saudi Arabia will run out of groundwater in 13 years

Feb 20 2016 : The Times of India (Chennai)

Saudi Arabia will run out of groundwater in 13 years

Hazel Sheffield

THE INDEPENDENT





Saudi Arabia has started taxing water for residents to try and address the soaring cost of debt as oil revenues decline. The water tariff comes amid warnings that Saudi Arabia's groundwater will run out in the next 13 years. Mohammed Al-Ghamdi, a faculty member at King Faisal University , warned that groundwater was running out after the World Bank issued a report on global natural water scarcity.Groundwater in Gulf countries is running out because they have some of the highest levels of water consumption per capita in the world, Saudi newspaper Al-Watan Arabic daily reported. Daily water per person is reported to be 265 litres in Saudi Arabia, double the European Union average. “Official estimates have been disclosed showing an acute drop in water levels in agricultural areas, and that indicates the seriousness of the situation,“ Al-Ghamdi said.
Saudi relied on two sour ces of water: groundwater and water from desalination plants that remove salt from seawater. But the desalination process is extremely energy intensive. Groundwater accounts for 98% of water sources in Saudi Arabia, because the kingdom is devoid of rivers and lakes.
The New Arab, a news site, said that reservoirs in central Saudi Arabia have “turned into sand pits“.