JEDDAH -- Crown Prince Abdullah yesterday appealed to Saudi citizens and expatriates to cut down on water consumption saying both consumption rate and the cost of producing water and carrying it to cities and remote areas in the Kingdom are among the highest, if not the highest, in the world.
The appeal came on the eve of a nationwide campaign to be launched on Saturday by the Water and Electricity Ministry in a bid to encourage Saudis and expatriates to rationalize water use.
"I would like to remind all citizens and expatriates of their religious, moral and social responsibility to protect and maintain this great blessing and to cooperate with the relevant authorities to cut down on their consumption so that the money spent on making this water available would not be lost in vain," Crown Prince Abdullah said.
Quoting verses from the Holy Qur'an that encourage people to observe good behavior and avoid excessiveness, the Crown Prince said the Kingdom is among the poorest countries of the world in water resources and relies heavily on desalinated water and the water taken from underground sources most of which are not renewable.
"The decision is in your hand" is the slogan of the national campaign with the program this time designed to become more effective than previous campaigns.
Minister of Water and Electricity, Abdullah Al-Hussayen, said the need to conserve water would be presented in a clear and effective manner to encourage the public to adopt a positive decision on the matter.
The crown prince said water saving devices to be distributed at homes free of charge by the ministry would help the public reduce water consumption by one third or even more.
"God willing, the use of these devices will save huge amounts of money every year and most importantly will also provide additional water sources to meet the growing demand," he said.
Al-Hussayen said electronic media would be utilized to reach the message to people across the country, including children.
Billions of riyals are spent annually by the government on supplying potable water to citizens and residents. The Kingdom has established 30 desalination plants on the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf at a staggering cost of SR54 billion, making it the world's largest supplier of desalinated water.
Saad Al-Takhais, undersecretary for water at the ministry, warned water would become one of the major challenges facing the Kingdom over the next two decades.
Al-Hussayen said his ministry was seeking practical solutions to the water problem. It plans to distribute more than 34 million pieces of various water conservation equipment among the public during the campaign period.
The ministry will also distribute 28.7 million color tablets to detect water leakage from commodes. Plans are under way to use water saving devices at all government departments.
The first phase of the campaign will cover Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah, Eastern Province, Asir, Tabuk, Qasim, Hail, Baha, Jizan, Najran and Al-Jouf regions to be followed by another phase covering other regions.
Abdul Wahab Bashir
© Arab News 2004
