RIYADH, 23 August 2005 — The Ministry of Water and Electricity has launched the third stage of a nationwide campaign aimed at encouraging Saudis and expatriates to rationalize water consumption.
As part of the campaign, the ministry distributes accessories and equipment to conserve water in households, public and private sector buildings, schools and mosques.
The third stage, which is being carried out on an experimental basis, covers furnished apartments, compounds, hospitals, hotels, commercial establishments, government and private schools.
During the first stage, the ministry distributed 2.7 million accessories and equipment to Saudi households; the second phase supplied 1.3 million tool kits to government buildings, schools and mosques. “The decision is in your hands” is the theme of the campaign which began early this year.
Arrangements have been made at special sales outlets for private establishments to purchase the equipment at modest rates.
A spokesman from the ministry pointed out that the government buildings reduced their water usage by 60 percent when these accessories were fitted.
The Saudi German Hospitals in Madinah and Asir have reduced their water consumption by 44 and 25 percent respectively under this new program. It was reported that Movenpick Hotel in Madinah reduced its monthly water consumption by 42 percent.
Furnished apartments and hotels in Jeddah alone consume a total of 220,476 cubic meters of water monthly.
“Water is the Kingdom’s most valuable resource, and its management and conservation is of paramount importance,” said Minister of Water and Electricity Abdullah Al-Hussayen. He said his ministry was currently studying the possibility of increasing tariffs to control the excessive use of water. “Such an increase will not affect the vast majority people but it will have an impact on the extravagant users,” he added.
Al-Hussayen said large amounts of water are wasted in the Kingdom. Plans are under way, he said, to curtail the use of water in car wash stations.
Kingdom will need a capital investment averaging nearly $2 billion per year for the next 20 years in order to meet projected water demand. “The campaign is significant as the government spends billions of riyals on supplying potable water to citizens and residents,” the minister said.
