The new 'rivers' of Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Water Authority has created a vast network of desalination plants and distribution pipelines that ensure the kingdom has abundant supplies

This page was produced by The National in collaboration with Saudi Water Authority.

Providing enough fresh water for a country with a growing population and millions of visitors annually – but very little rainfall – is a challenge, yet it is something that the Saudi Water Authority has achieved through investments in state-of-the-art desalination facilities, pipelines and storage tanks.

Saudi Arabia, which does not have any permanent natural rivers, now has an artificial network of large-scale water channels to distribute, across the country, huge quantities of fresh water generated by desalination plants.

This distribution network has a daily capacity approximately four times greater than the average flow of the River Thames in London.

Having such a large-scale water desalination and distribution network has enabled Saudi Arabia, which has a population of more than 36 million, to pursue an ambitious development strategy while maintaining water security.

It also means that the country, which has become the world’s premier producer and supplier of desalinated water, is a vital source of expertise for the region through the transfer of knowledge, innovation and technology.

“Saudi Arabia’s water transport system is the largest in the world,” said Abdullah Al Abdulkarim, president of the Saudi Water Authority.

Abdullah Al Abdulkarim, president of the Saudi Water Authority. Photo: Sky News Arabia

“No rivers in the world flow from the sea to the mountains but there are rivers in Saudi Arabia that flow from the sea to the mountains to an altitude of more than 2,800m.”

These “rivers” are all part of a system unique in its scale, efficiency and in the way it limits its environmental impacts.

The giant pipelines that criss-cross the country to distribute the desalinated water have been recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest water distribution system – with a total length of more than 14,000km.

The locations of the Saudi Water Authority's desalination plants and their daily output. Fadah Jassem / The National

Indeed, so vast is the network that if all these giant pipelines were laid one after the other, they would roughly stretch from Saudi capital Riyadh, which lies in the centre of the country, to Guadalajara, in western Mexico.

The total distribution network is more than 130,000km long, while the collection network stretches to over 50,000km in length, said Mr Al Abdulkarim.

Such is the scale and density of the water supply system that even remote areas of the country have been able to develop in the knowledge that they have access to water supplies that are abundant and low in cost.

The daily production capacity of fresh water through desalination in Saudi Arabia is more than 11 million cubic metres. This includes 7.5 million cubic metres, produced by the Saudi Water Authority, with the remaining 3.6 million cubic metres contributed by the private sector.

How Saudi Arabia became the largest producer of desalinated water

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About 19 million cubic metres of water runs through the network each day.

“This system [maintains] the well-being of our citizens, improving quality of life, and of developments and megaprojects in Saudi Arabia,” Mr Al Abdulkarim said.

“All growth opportunities in the kingdom will be supported by construction and an abundance of water.”

Producing such vast amounts of desalinated water is not without environmental impact, with the water sector accounting for 17 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s carbon dioxide emissions.

However, the Saudi Water Authority – formerly the Saline Water Conversion Corporation – has been working to reduce its carbon footprint.

Central to these efforts is an ambitious programme to switch from thermal desalination to the less energy-intensive process of reverse osmosis.

Ras Al Khair power and desalination plant uses both multi-stage flash distillation and reverse osmosis to produce fresh water. Photo: Sky News Arabia

This is illustrated by the Ras Al Khair facility, which was recognised by Guinness World Records as the largest desalination plant on Earth. The plant, on the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia, has a production capacity of more than one million cubic metres of water each day, about 90 per cent of which is sent to Riyadh through pipelines that are about 600km in length.

In addition to reverse osmosis technology, the Ras Al Khair plant also employs multi-stage flash distillation technology, in which a portion of the water is turned into steam in a series of spaces or stages, each of which has a heat exchanger and a condensate collector.

“Reverse osmosis is considered [more] environmentally friendly because it does not require burning fuel like multi-stage flash distillation does, which burns fuel to create steam or water vapour,” said Mohammed Al Qahtani, general manager of the first phase of the production system at Ras Al Khair.

The plant does not just produce water; it also creates power through hydroelectric generators. The facility’s generation capacity is 2,650 megawatts, and just over half is provided to the Saudi Electricity Company and Ma’aden, the state-owned mining company.

For those who work at cutting-edge facility, its significance extends well beyond the statistics – impressive though they are.

Mr Al Qahtani described the plant as not only “one of the pioneering development projects in Saudi Arabia”, but also being “like my home”.

“I have been involved in the project since its inception,” he said. “I joined the station here approximately in 2012. I participated in the committee supervising the project in addition to working within the station and now I am director of the facility.

“The beauty of the Ras Al Khair production system is that it was established in an area where there was no water or electricity – unlike other stations.

“It was really a process of reviving the area here with the presence of water and electricity. It frankly had a great impact in reviving the area here.”

Mohammad Al Qahtani, general manager of the first phase of Ras Al Khair desalination and hydroelectricity plant. Photo: Sky News Arabia

In addition to focusing on reverse osmosis technology at its desalination plants, the SWA is creating a factory to produce the membranes that these facilities use.

Due to begin operations in 2025, the membrane factory will be the first of its kind in the Middle East and will achieve reductions in energy consumption and cost.

“Over the years, we have achieved a number of successes, including our converting thermal systems to systems of reverse osmosis, which is more environmentally friendly, and helped achieve the lowest consumption rates of energy in the world,” Mr Al Abdulkarim said.

“This move is better for the environment and our world as it reduces carbon emissions to more than 37m metric tons of carbon emissions per year.

“The reduction in energy consumption does not stop here, we also established the first desalination facility that runs on alternative energy.”

By using solar power, AlKhafji Desalination Plant cuts the energy intensity and environmental impact of producing fresh water.

Another of the Saudi Water Authority’s flagship facilities is Al Khobar Desalination Plant, the second part of which – Al Khobar 2 – began operating at full capacity earlier this year.

Inside the control room at Al Khobar desalination plant on the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia. Photo: Sky News Arabia

This seawater reverse osmosis plant can produce 630,000 cubic metres of fresh water per day, enough to serve three million inhabitants.

Like Al Khobar 1, which began operations in 2020, Al Khobar 2 was developed by Acciona, a Spanish infrastructure company.

“Al Khobar ensures a complete water supply to the Eastern Region [of Saudi Arabia] at a high-quality standards,” said Adham Al Hamam, a production system operation engineer at Al Khobar.

Mr Al Hamam described the reverse osmosis technology used at Al Khobar as being the opposite of the process by which plants absorb water from the soil.

“Seawater is pumped in at high pressure and, when we reverse it, the water is transferred from the high-pressure area with high salinity to the low-pressure area that we call the production water area,” he said.

“The salty water will pass from the bottom, and the production water will come to us from the middle area and collect the production water from all the pressure vessels, so we have the full production of this station.”

Adham Al Hamam, a production system operation engineer at Al Khobar. Photo: Sky News Arabia

Aside from ensuring that water is supplied in large quantities and with the lowest possible use of energy, the Saudi Water Authority prioritises quality.

To maintain high standards, thousands of tests samples are carried out on samples each day.

In line with this focus on quality, multiple certifications have been issued to the Saudi Water Authority by the International Standardisation Organisation.

“The water is tested for 24 hours under high monitoring to ensure it complies with the standards for each stage,” said Ahmed Al Kubaish, a water quality chemist with the Saudi Water Authority.

“Samples are routinely and diligently taken and tested as part of the water authority’s constant monitoring to ensure safety standards.

“In the event of any defect, it is treated automatically and permanently by communicating with the relevant departments to correct it as soon as possible.”

Ahmed Al Kubaish conducts water quality tests at Al Khobar desalination plant. Photo: Sky News Arabia

At the end of desalination, water is treated chemically before being analysed to ensure that it is free of impurities or potentially harmful microorganisms, including bacteria and viruses.

It is also fortified with minerals and salts, such as calcium and magnesium, and the pH – the level of acidity versus alkalinity – is controlled.

The provision of large quantities of high-quality fresh water is central to the ability of more than two million people to complete the Hajj pilgrimage each year.

Mr Al Abdulkarim said that in this year’s Hajj, between Tarwiyah – the eighth day of the month of Dhu Al Hijjah, when Hajj begins, – and the 12th day of Dhu Al Hijjah, the authority provided more than five million litres of tap water for pilgrims.

Water mist is sprayed on pilgrims on the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during Hajj in 2023. AP Photo

He said the Saudi Water Authority was “honoured” to play such a central role in the operation of Hajj, which is the fifth and final pillar of Islam.

“We are proud of such achievements, and we are working to increase our efficiency and sustain this system to ensure a safe and secure Hajj,” Mr Al Abdulkarim said.

“Water is a source that is essential for life and development. It's an essential part for quality of life in Saudi Arabia.

“Today, as we look to the future, we feel that our water network will remain a national wealth for future generations.”