Nexus of Water Footprint with Energy and GDP of Saudi Arabia and Solution for Sustainable Water Usage

Abstract

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is the largest oil-producing country in the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East. The country is fast developing under the dynamic leadership and undergoing a transition between modernization and tradition. On the one hand, KSA is among the most stressed regions of the world from the water resource point of view; on the other hand, it is a country with the highest oil reserves in the world. The water footprint (WFP) per capita of Saudi Arabia is among the top 10 countries, and the energy footprint is among the top 20 countries in the world. About 50% of the water in KSA is derived from the desalination, at a high cost, which is subsidized by the government. Hence, a large part of the economy is compromised to cater to this subsidy, adversely affecting the growth of the GDP of the country. In the present study, a state of art and most recent analysis has been done for nine years on the factors contributing to the development index of KSA. The focus is on per capita water footprint. About 70% of the electric power in the KSA is consumed for the purpose of air-conditioning, which generates condensate water as a by-product, often drained. A most effective measure to recycle wastewater is suggested by harnessing the condensate from the air-conditioning and using it for sanitation, without any purification or filtration. The proposed solution can cater to the daily water need of 0.4 million residents of KSA and can save more than 30 million USD per annum, almost 4.37% of the GDP of 2018.