Saudi officials tell forum of new ways of conservation, including building micro-grids and sewage treatment plants related to renewable energy There are also plans for the Red Sea Project to set a new standard for sustainable development ABU DHABI: With Saudi Arabia ranking among the top five countries in the world in terms of water scarcity, the Kingdom is changing the way it produces, uses and distributes water to ensure sustainable growth.
km, it’s nearly the size of Belgium, with 90 unspoiled islands, 200 km of coastline, and nearly 50 hotels to be built.” The company plans to operate the largest battery plant in the world, producing 250 megawatts of diversified power, fully renewable, including wind and solar energy, and 56,000 cubic meters of water per day.
“Our sustainability goals are very challenging,” Stahl said.
It’s a resource locally produced and distributed.
But what’s driving this zonal shrinking of the network is the technology across the value chain, from the production through the transmission, distribution and even customer services, that’s making the micro-grid more viable, and more attractive from a technical, commercial and quality-of-service point of view.” The clean and renewable energy revolution is expected to strongly impact the water sector and help minimize climate change.
“A transformation in the energy and water sectors has begun, and fossil fuel domination will fade for desalination.” Saudi Arabia is working to build sewage-treatment plants related to renewable energy, with the private sector, in the cities of Taif, Jubail and Yanbu.
We also have huge projects in Dubai, with the engagement of the private sector, to build infrastructure.
The global oil and gas industry produces 50 million cubic meters per day of a wide variety of water chemistry,” he said.
Robert Owens, business development operations manager at construction company Bechtel, said: “Historically, more than 90 percent of the water produced in that area (the oil and gas industry) is reinjected.
But if you look at the holistic approach to the challenge, it makes an economical difference,” he added.

The desalination plants aren’t generating salt per se, points out IDE Technologies, Israel’s biggest desalination company.
They are redistributing the salt: They take in seawater (or other) and produce distilled water and concentrated brine.
Not a very efficient process Producing one liter of fresh water produces about 1.5 liters of brine, though there are big differences in the “recovery ratio” (freshwater to brine) between plants, based on the salinity of the source feed water and desalination technology used, Jones explains.
Their UN-backed paper didn’t focus on the nature of desalination’s environmental impacts, but Jones tells Haaretz that, generally speaking, the largest salinity increases are observable in the immediate vicinity of the outlet.
Saudi Arabia alone is responsible for 15.5 percent of the global desalination capacity and produces 31.5 million cubic meters of brine a day, or 22.2 percent of total global production, according to the paper.
Israel produces 2.18 million cubic meters of desalinated water per day (2.3 percent of total global desalinated water) and 2 percent of the global brine, Jones says.
One problem with brine dumping is that it depletes the oxygen dissolved in the receiving waters around the plant, explains Jones.
The brine can be used to cultivate the protein-rich algae, which is being touted by some as a possible solution to feeding the10 billion people the world is expected to have by the year 2060.
“There is a possibility that this technology could be used along the Red Sea of Israel,” Missimer tells Haaretz.
Saudi Arabia is looking at possibly developing hot dry rock geothermal energy, he adds.

Climate change was on an accelerating course, 700 million people still lived in extreme poverty and conflicts in war-torn countries remained entrenched.
More than 815 million people remain hungry and an additional two billion people are expected to be undernourished by 2050, while almost a billion people have no electricity.
Furthermore, without action, the world’s average surface temperature rise is likely to surpass 3°C this century.
As the annual Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) returns to the emirate this week, doubling down on those UN SDG’s — in particular, a push for better and more coordinated international action on climate change — has been earmarked as a key priority for this year’s agenda, as delegations from around the world, including Saudi Arabia, head to the UAE capital to discuss advancing the world’s sustainable development.
“We welcome the expanded pillars of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week as a means of attracting an even broader range of stakeholders to join the sustainability discussion and to innovate new approaches to addressing the challenges of climate change, resource scarcity and energy access.” The focus on climate change (SDG 13) at ADSW will be a call to action for global leaders to get behind sustainability goals and turn the tide against climate change, under #WeAreCommitted, an online campaign which has brought together sheikhs, government ministers, ambassadors, business leaders and young innovators to share their commitments to sustainability.
Since the UN SDGs were established, GCC leaders in nations that are most likely affected by increasing average temperatures, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have been doing their part to push forward environmental programs and implement renewable energy projects that will reverse the impact climate change.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, led the way for renewable energy developments in 2018, with up to $7 billion worth of new tenders, according to an official from the International Renewable Energy Agency, while the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 aims to achieve the UN objectives by encouraging more investment in alternative energy.
Speaking to Arab News, Marine Pouget, policy advisor for climate politics and civil society in the MENA region at Germanwatch, which aims to tackle climate change, said: “Saudi Arabia is a key player for the energy and ecological transitions” to a more sustainable world, as one of the most important oil countries.
“This region is extremely affected by climate change, because of its natural dry climate.
“The (GCC) needs to reduce emissions, work on energy transition with ambitious targets for renewables, establish climate laws and legislation, and work on adaptation to tackle desertification, water scarcity and heat waves.” Adnan Z. Amin, director general of the IRENA, said ADSW has become the “premier meeting point for those invested in the transition to a sustainable world.” “The reason it is so important today… is that over the over past couple of years our attention has been focused on game-changing events.

No more than a hundred people sat down in the darkened cavern in the northwest Iranian city of Qazvin, while listening to the tune played by electronic musician, Saba Alizadeh, who came up with the idea to highlight the ongoing water shortage in Iran.
It added that by 2020, up to 80 percent of Iran’s more than 80 million people could face water scarcity.
‘Elegy for water’ So far, Alizadeh has performed his show, ‘Elegy for Water’ at reservoirs in the cities of Qazvin, Kerman and Shiraz.
The 35-year-old musician plans to do more events in Kashan, Yazd and Isfahan, cities that in recent years have faced water shortages.
Lack of awareness about the issue has further added to the problem.
Alizadeh came up with the idea of the musical piece in 2012, when he started to study music in California Institute for Arts, after he finished his bachelor’s degree in photography in Iran.
The rattling of the chains is then processed by a computer to become a sound that is reminiscent of that of flowing water.
‘Nailed to my chair’ The performance includes visuals created by artist Siavash Naghshbandi, who collaborated on the project.
The images were an artistic perception of the reflections of water.
And that’s the noblest thing you can say about art."

The study, which comes from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), says that the effects of climate change will be combined with an ever-increasing number of people to trigger intense competition for increasingly scarce resources.
Future water wars cannot be neglected.Approximately,Eight hundred million people are lacking clean drinking water around the globe.
It had a population of 210 million now.The country is grappling with the same sorts of growing pains that its neighbour, India, is experiencing.
The year 2025 has been marked as the year when Pakistan — if it doesn’t mend its ways soon — will turn from a “water-stressed” country to a “water-scarce” country.
Glacier melting is responsible for roughly half of the water flowing in the Indus, making the situation worse.
The health of the Himalayas in the face of the Earth’s changing climate is a real, and growing, concern.
“Given the rapid melting of the Himalayan glaciers that feed the Indus River… and growing tensions with upriver archenemy India about use of the river’s tributaries, it’s unlikely that Pakistani food production will long keep pace with the growing population,” Steven Solomon ,Writer Of Water comprising the epic struggle for wealth,power, and civilisation.He also told that Middle East would be the first region to confront the issue and which actually apparent as of now Yemen,wrote in The New York Times.
If both countries collaborated on a series of giant, large-scale dams that were built to rotate water use to different regions, tensions could be reduced.More than 700 billion gallons of water are pulled from the Indus River every year to grow this cotton.
“The problem with Pakistan’s economy is that most of the major industries use a ton of water—textiles, sugar, wheat—and there’s a tremendous amount of water that’s not only used, but wasted.” Water crisis in Pakistan and overall the world has become adverse than never before.All this should serve as a clarion call to our leaders who are busy in power politics and political squabbling.
Dr. Zeeshan Khan is a medical doctor, enthusiast writer, educationist, Human Rights Defender, Blogger, certified trainer and Poet.

Balochistan Minister for Public Health Engineer and Water & Sanitation Authority (WASA) Haji Noor Muhammad Dummar on Saturday said that provision of clean drinking to general public was among provincial government top priorities QUETTA, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 12th Jan, 2019 ) :Balochistan Minister for Public Health Engineer and Water & Sanitation Authority (WASA) Haji Noor Muhammad Dummar on Saturday said that provision of clean drinking to general public was among provincial government top priorities.
These views were expressed by the minister in a seminar held here highlight the 100 days performance of Water & Sanitation Authority in the province.
Members of the provincial assembly Malik Naseer Shahwani, Ahmed Nawaz Baloch, Akhtar Hussain Lango, Nasarullah Zaray district, MD Wasa Mujeeb-ul-Rehman Qambrani, and other officials were also present on this occasion.
The minister told the gathering that he and the department officials were making all out efforts to overcome the problem of water scarcity in the province and provide maximum relief to the people.
He said that strategic reforms would be introduced to upgrade the WASA agency in the province in-line with modern technology.
Officials had been directed to utilize all available resources for the welfare of the masses, he added.
"The agency is making efforts to improve the water supply system but the citizens should also adopt measures to conserve the commodity", he said.
The minister on this occasion urged media to create public awareness of measures to conserve water.
He suggested MPAs and other provincial ministers to hold open courts at their respective Constituencies.
MPAs while speaking at the seminar said that water shortage was emerging as a serious national issue of the country and policymakers should focus on urgent construction of water dams to cope with the rising water crisis in Balochistan.

This refers to the letter published on January 4th, 2019 regarding water issue in North Karachi.
I agree with the writer, Mr. Naveed Ahmed, but with some addition that the residents of sector-8 have been experiencing scarcity of water for the last several months and now-a-days valve man supply water to the residents of sector-8 once in 15 days.
Residents of sector-8 have never experienced such scarcity of water ever before and used to get water thrice in a week but the situation has changed drastically.
After every 15 days water is supplied to the residents of sector-8 which remained open for back to back 3-4 days.
As a result, water is wasted because underground water tanks fill in a day while water is kept coming for 3-4 days.
An application was written to the concerned Executive Engineer of KW&SB with a copy to Chairman Water Board and Commission but situation has not yet improved.
Supply of water could easily be managed if they supply water twice in a week instead of supplying water for continuous 3-4 days after every 15 days.
Wasting water in such scarcity is not affordable in any condition.
Concerned authorities should look into this matter and resolve the issue at the earliest.
Karachi

Rajasthan Chief minister Ashok Gehlot has raised a demand from the Modi government to intervene on the issue of inter-state agreements for distribution of Yamuna waters and ensure that Haryana releases the allocated share of water for Rajasthan from Tajewala headworks.
Gehlot raised the issue before Union water resources minister Nitin Gadkari, in whose presence he signed an MOU along with CMs of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh on Renuka Ji Dam Project.
Rajasthan will get 9.3 per cent water from the storage under this project.
Gehlot said that Haryana government had not agreed upon this rightful demand of Rajasthan since past 24 years.
Similarly, the state was not getting its allocated share of water for Bharatpur district from Okhala headworks," he said.
The CM apprised Gadkari that Rajasthan was continuously working with Haryana government since 2003 for signing an agreement to take the allocated share of water from Tajewala headworks as per MoU signed in 1994 between the five states.
Rajasthan is not getting its rightful water share even from the Okhala headworks for Bharatpur district.
He further asked the Central government to direct Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments to release Rajasthan’s share of water and stop its illegal usage in their respective areas.
Gehlot said, the objections raised by Madhya Pradesh government on ambitious Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) were also wrong.
This project would make drinking and irrigation water available for 13 districts of Rajasthan including Jhalawar, Baran, Kota, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Tonk, Jaipur, Dausa, Karauli, Alwar, Bharatpur and Dholpur.

The protesters said they were facing scarcity of drinking water in the village for years together Scores of inhabitants of Saidpora, Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district hit the streets on Friday morning and protested against the PHE department “for failing to provide adequate drinking water in the area.” The protesters said they were facing scarcity of drinking water in the village for years together.
The inhabitants of Saidpora village barely 3 kms from the main town Sopore, according to protesters, were being “forced to drink contaminated water from the open streams and ponds as the PHE department has failed to provide them with potable water supply.” “Our children and elderly mostly suffer because they contract water-borne diseases," said Manzoor Ahmad Dar.
The AEE, PHE Sopore acknowledged that there was “shortage of drinking water” in the village.
“This has been brought to our notice earlier and we will work on it soon,” he said, adding that in the meantime the department shall supply clean drinking water to the area through tankers.

Overused groundwater: 21 cities moving towards zero level The groundwater crisis in the cities is worsening, due to gross urbanisation, unchecked boring, exploitation of groundwater and surface water and a failure by the government or private bodies to rejuvenate groundwater.
Uttar Pradesh, the worst-hit state, shows depleting groundwater levels in 660 blocks.
The ‘Dynamic Ground Water Resources of India’, a report by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), has defined the stage of development of groundwater as the percentage of utilisation of groundwater with respect to recharge.
It shows that Hyderabad is the worst in this respect, with stage of development exceeding 400%.
Contamination: 200,000 die every year due to lack of clean water About 85% of India’s cities have access to drinking water, though most cities do not have the infrastructure to supply piped water to all homes.. Only 20% of water meet health and safety standards, according to the Niti Aayog report.
Almost all major rivers and 70 percent of water in India is contaminated, reveals the Central Pollution Control Board.
Mismanaged Sewerage: Two-thirds of city houses lack sewage connection To fight pollution, the solution is to build wastewater treatment plants in order to decontaminate water before it gets discharged into urban water bodies and rivers.
The low performers on the Water Index compiled by the NITI Aayog house 50% of the country’s population and account for 20-30% of agricultural output.
In Bhubaneshwar, the state has drawn up plans to provide free drinking water to urban households to develop the infrastructure for potable water.
Patna’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar plans to allocate Rs 7,000 crore for every household to get 70 litres of water everyday for two years.