Arafat: The arrival of large numbers of pilgrims and Umrah performers to Makkah and holy sites, coupled with limited water resources, used to pose a problem for pilgrims who would face significant difficulties due to water scarcity in the Arabian Peninsula.
Over the centuries, the number of pilgrims arriving at the holy sites increased, exacerbating the problem of water scarcity. It was solved by the “Ain Zubaydah” project, named after Zubaydah bint Ja’far ibn al-Mansur, the wife of Caliph Harun Al-Rashid, through which water was diverted from Wadi Numan to Makkah nearly 1,200 years ago, ending the people’s struggle to secure water during the Hajj season.
During the reign of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, a seawater desalination unit was established in 1348 AH to supplement the freshwater sources.
The endeavor to secure fresh water continued with the establishment of desalination plants on the Red Sea coast, in Jeddah in 1401 AH, and in Shuaiba in 1409 AH.
The Saudi W
ater Authority (SWA) supervised the operation of the Water Transmission and Technologies Company (WTTCO) first pump in Al-Jumum Governorate’s second pumping station, at the start of this year’s Hajj season, 1445 AH.
This is part of the Rabigh-Jeddah-Makkah (RJM) Water Transmission System, at a value exceeding SAR4 billion and a total pipe length of about 650 km, that ensures the supply of water to the governorates and towns of Makkah Region, in line with Saudi Vision 2030.
Later on, WTTCO was ready to supply the Makkah Region with up to 1.3 million cubic meters per day after the immersion tanks reached their full operational capacity, exceeding their design storage capacity of over a million cubic meters. The efficiency of the pumping stations was also increased by 125% of the design pumping capacity, and the operational storage quantities were raised to 98% of the design storage capacity.
SWA emphasized the readiness of its water production, transmission, storage, and distribution to meet the demand for w
ater this year’s Hajj season, as per the directives of the wise leadership, which asked that every effort be exerted to serve the pilgrims and achieve the Saudi Vision 2030 goal of ensuring that pilgrims perform their rituals with ease.
SWA announced yesterday that it pumped approximately one billion liters of water in Makkah and holy sites during the Day of Tarwiyah, as part of its operational plan to secure the supply of water for pilgrims and all beneficiaries during the Hajj season.
SWA makes use of all its capabilities and resources, and exerts all efforts during Hajj; it said it had increased water supply to records comparable to last year.
Source: Saudi Press Agency