Consumption of water by farmers frightening

Gov. Prince Saud bin Abdul Mohsen opened Wednesday the Hail Comprehensive Water Project and said the consumption of water by farmers in the region was frightening. The first phase of the project was constructed on Al-Shiqaiq field at the cost of SR 800 million. The governor also laid down the foundation stones for a number of new projects. Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Water and Electricity Abdullah Al-Husayen said the agricultural sector in the region had consumed 14 billion cubic meters of water during the past six years, which was equivalent to the entire consumption of the residents of the region in 400 years. The minister said the cost of the first phase of the project in addition to other completed water projects and those under implementation was about SR 2.2 billion. He said the first phase of the project would produce 20,000 cubic meters of water daily, which will go up to 150,000 cubic meters when the entire project is completed. "The daily output of water will reach 680,000 cubic meters when all electricity connections are completed in a few years," he said. Talking to Al-Eqtisadiah business daily, Al-Husayen described the repeated water cuts in Riyadh and Jeddah as "exceptional" and said the cuts followed the periodical maintenance of the water networks. He said Riyadh, to which 1.8 million of cubic meters of water are being pumped daily these days, would have additional 800,000 cubic meters from next year. He added that the daily consumption per individual in Riyadh was 330 liters per day, which was extremely high.