The 10 edition of Saudi Water & Power Forum (SWPF) will be held from Jan. 12 to 14 at Al-Faisaliah Hotel in Riyadh.
Adil Bushnak, president of Saudi Water Power Forum, said the event will attract government officials, industrial leaders and international delegations.
The number of companies involved in the show has increased sharply for this edition, which
promises to ensure more growth for Saudi Arabia’s water and power sectors.
The event takes place amid concern among industry experts over Saudi Arabia’s growing reliance on central desalination plants to provide drinking water.
Adil Bushnak, an expert in the water sector, suggests an alternative option. He proposes decentralized solutions, highlighting the need to achieve financial sustainability and reliance on renewable energy sources to provide drinking water.
Bushnak points out that the Saudi water sector continues to build larger central plants which are based on imports.
“It is illogical to pump water for hundreds of kilometers. This requires costly and large amounts of energy consumed by mega desalination plants. Yet they are continually exposed to risks or crashes. This situation may lead to a shortage of water, says Bushnak.
Bushnak believes that it is better to build small plants with lower costs within cities and closer to residential areas.
It also helps empower young Saudis to own and manage these plants.
In addition to dealing with the private sector to buy local fresh water, which costs the state less to produce and pump water.
Bushnak has stressed the importance of adopting and implementing comprehensive, integrated and
strategic plans for the sustainability of water, food and energy to move forward.
The government’s priorities should be to manage demand and ensure local financial and operational sustainability involving diverse segments of society, through non-traditional solutions.
He called for strategic plans to boost water security.
Bushnak praised the National Water Company’s efforts to set up several plants near Riyadh for groundwater desalination.
He has emphasized the need to use non-renewable groundwater as a source of drinking water. This may be sufficient for hundreds of years. Also, water resources need to be preserved for traditional agriculture.
He called for efficient drinking water storage underground, sufficient for six months, closer to all cities.
These issues are set to be discussed by experts from the Ministry of Water and Electricity, Aqualia and Schneider Electric during Session 6 at the Saudi Water & Power Forum.
Bushnak has urged the ministry to use valleys as storage facilities to replace traditional surface dams
with groundwater dams. This will help reduce rainwater evaporation and increase rain harvesting.
To achieve food security, Bushnak also supported the idea of promoting greenhouse and vertical agricultural homes within cities.
This will train and empower Saudi youth to use renewable water source.
Bushnak has also recommended reviving water endowments in cities and provinces to achieve financial and administrative sustainability.
He expects active participation of the secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council in the Saudi Water Power Forum to review achievements in electricity networks.