Geography : Water Issues

By Khushi

Introduction to Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is a deserted country in the northern hemisphere and its capital is Riyadh. It is located in south-west Asia and is known as the biggest country of Arabia. Saudi Arabia is an inhabitant country although its population is 28.83 million. There aren’t many rivers or lakes around Saudi Arabia as it is mostly surrounded by desert. This leads to a lot of water issues and many people there don’t have access to safe drinking water. The weather there is also vey hot and dry which means that people need more water to survive. Most of the water problems are caused sustainably and physically.

Introduction to Australia

Australia is a country and a continent in the southern hemisphere. It is located in Oceania between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean. Australia is the biggest island and the 6th largest country in the world. The population of Australia is 23.13 million and its capital is Canberra. It is a country with a lot of mountain ranges and famous beaches. 20% of Australia is deserted and the weather is very hot and dry. The main water sources of Australia are The Murray-Darling Basin, The Great Artesian Basin, Lake Eyre and The Great Barrier Reef. There aren’t many water issues in the coastal areas of Australia although water issues do occur in central Australia. Most of the water problems are caused economically.

Climatic information about Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The weather of Riyadh is variable throughout the year. The temperature of Riyadh is very hot and dry during most of the year. The temperature sharply increases from January-March and is fairly consistent from June to August. The maximum temperature during the year is during June, July and August which is 43.7 degree Celsius. The temperature then sharply drops during October and it gets very cold during December and January. It doesn’t rain for 4 months and then it rains mostly during January, March and April. As Riyadh is close to the equator the weather mostly stays hot and dry.

Climatic graph : Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Climatic information about Adelaide, Australia

The weather of Adelaide is variable throughout the year. The temperature sharply increases from August to November and then stays consistent during December, January and February. The maximum temperature is during December, January and February which is 29.5 degree Celsius. The temperature then sharply drops during March, April and May and it is very cold during June and July. It rains a lot from June to August which is about 79-69 mm. It doesn’t rain much during January and February.

Climatic graph : Adelaide, Australia

Compare and contrast

Adelaide, Australia

Riyadh,Saudi Arabia

Lowest minimum temperature (°C)

7.5 7

Highest minimum temperature (°C) (°C)

17 26

Lowest Maximum temperature (°C)

15 20

Highest (peak) maximum temperature (°C)

30 44

Warmest months December-February June-August

Coldest months June and July December-February

Hemisphere Southern   Northern Lowest amount of rainfall in a month (mm)

13 mm   0 mm

Months of lowest rainfall January-March   June-October Highest amount of rainfall in a month (mm)

80 mm  26mm 

Months of highest rainfall June- August March and April  Key geographic features • Adelaide hills

• Torrens river• Murray river 

• Small lakes formed from

rainfall• Hijaz mountain

ranges   Population of city 600,000-

1,000,000 Over 1 million  

Population of country 24 million  29 million  

Water issues : Saudi Arabia

The main water issue in Saudi Arabia is water scarcity. Saudi Arabia have no permanent lakes or rivers and there is only very little rainfall. Aquifers are the major source of water in Saudi Arabia. Many people in Saudi Arabia don’t have access to safe drinking water. There is a shortage of water as there aren’t any permanent rivers or lake and the water stress in Saudi Arabia continues to increase. There is more demand for water nowadays.

To solve this problem the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) operates 27 desalination stations that produce more than three million cubic meters a day of potable water. These plants provide more than 70 percent of the water used in cities as well as industries. More than 200 dams collect an estimated 16 billion cubic feet of runoff annually in their reservoirs. This water is used primarily for agriculture and is distributed through thousands of miles of irrigation canals and ditches to vast tracts of fertile land that were previously fallow. An expanding source of water is the use of recycled water. The Kingdom aims to recycle as much as 40 percent of the water used for domestic purposes in urban areas. Recycled water is used for irrigation of farm fields and urban parks. Saudi Arabia tries to resolve all water issues sustainably. They try to use more natural sources to collect water and resolve the problems they are facing due to lack of water availability.

Water issues : Australia

There aren’t many water issues in Australia as it receives sufficient amount of rainfall although it can face some serious problems in the future. As most of the main cities in Australia depend on the Murray Darling Basin, they sometimes don’t get enough water supply. If the water in the Murray river is not safe or is not sufficient then most of the Australian people won’t get access to clean drinking water. Sometimes when there is a drought in the Murray Darling Basin, the people will suffer and there will be water scarcity although there are some other rivers/lakes to provide water but there are not as convenient as the Murray Darling Basin and do not have sufficient water for everyone. Another big issue is that the central Australia does not receive much rainfall and is very dry, specially Western Australia. As there isn’t much water in Western Australia, people living there don’t have access to clean water.

Most of the water is stored in big dams that are all over Australia, specially near Murray Darling Basin. This water is mostly used for agriculture and household uses. Water is used very carefully and is not wasted (most of the time).

By 2025 Saudi Arabia will be withdrawing more than 40% of the total available water and it was withdrawing the same amount of water in 1995

70% people in Saudi Arabia wouldn’t have enough water in 2030 if the water issues are not resolved and if people don’t use water carefully.

Saudi Arabia have physical water scarcity whereas Australia have economic water scarcity.

Future of Saudi Arabia and Australia

Saudi ArabiaIf Saudi Arabia continues to withdraw more than 40% of the available water then 70% of the people in Saudi Arabia would not have access to safe drinking water. Saudi Arabia also faces water scarcity because of physical (geographical) reasons. If they continue to withdraw that much water and not use it carefully then it would be under water stress. To solve this problem people shouldn’t use too much water or waste it. They should also use water very carefully otherwise they won’t have access to water. There should be more dams built in main cities and groundwater and rain water should be collected, purified and then used.

AustraliaIf Australia will continue to withdraw less than 10% out of total available water then 2030 not much water scarcity would be faced by Australia. Although Australia wouldn’t have enough water for everyone by 2025 if they don’t use it correctly. Australia would be facing water scarcity and water stress because of economic reasons. To solve this problem there should be more employment in every state and people should open more businesses and employ people. People in Australia should also use water carefully and shouldn’t waste it.

Conclusion

Water should be used carefully and it should not be wasted. It should only be used for important uses.

Rainwater and groundwater should be collected and more dams should be built to store water.

Thank you