Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia.
Photochemistry Department, Chemical Industries Research Institute, National Research Centre, Scopus Affiliation ID 60014618, 33 EL Buhouth St., Dokki, 12622, Giza, Egypt.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2024 Apr;31(19):27554-27565. doi: 10.1007/s11356-024-33024-3. Epub 2024 Apr 8.
Saudi Arabia (SA) is one of the world's arid, most water-scarce nations without permanent water resources. The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive overview of Saudi Arabia's water resources availability and reliability in terms of water supply, demand, and the major challenges that water faces. Saudi has an annual water supply of roughly 89.5 m per person as consumption is rising in parallel with the country's rapid population growth and development. SA produces the most desalinated seawater in the world, accounting for 22% of worldwide consumption. Due to changes in agricultural demand, Saudi Arabia's overall water needs in 2020 were 15.98 BCM. Apart from agricultural use, the food industry utilizes up to 80% of freshwater supplies, with only around 20% of rain recharging the aquifer, meaning that the region will still be water-stressed by 2025. In addition to wastewater reuse, water expenses should be split between private investors and the government, and water losses in cities should be collected and recycled. Water development projects must also be safeguarded and have long-term viability for the community's future and well-being. Despite previous conservation efforts (public awareness campaigns, television and other public media messages, drip irrigation, and so on), more work is required, including improving water resource infrastructure, implementing environmental use of friendly technologies, and increasing economic feasibility, social acceptability, and management in light of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
沙特阿拉伯（Saudi Arabia）是世界上最干旱、水资源最匮乏的国家之一，没有永久性水资源。本文旨在全面概述沙特阿拉伯的水资源供应情况和可靠性，包括供水、需求以及水资源面临的主要挑战。沙特阿拉伯每人每年的水供应量约为 89.5 立方米，而该国的人口增长和发展速度与日俱增，因此用水量也在同步攀升。沙特阿拉伯生产的海水淡化量居世界首位，占全球总消费量的 22%。由于农业需求的变化，沙特阿拉伯 2020 年的总用水量为 159.8 亿立方米。除了农业用途外，食品工业也消耗了高达 80%的淡水资源，而只有约 20%的雨水会补给含水层，这意味着到 2025 年，该地区仍将面临水资源短缺的问题。除了废水再利用外，水费应由私人投资者和政府分担，还应收集和回收城市的水资源损失。此外，还必须保障水开发项目，并确保其具有长期的可行性，以实现社区的未来发展和福祉。尽管之前已经采取了一些保护措施（公众意识宣传活动、电视和其他公共媒体信息、滴灌等），但仍需要做更多的工作，包括改善水资源基础设施、实施环境友好型技术的利用，以及提高经济可行性、社会接受度和管理水平，以实现可持续发展目标（SDG）。
