International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and

Science (IJAERS)
Peer-Reviewed Journal
ISSN: 2349-6495(P) | 2456-1908(O)
Vol-11, Issue-4; Apr, 2024
Journal Home Page Available: [Link]
Article DOI: [Link]

Reuse of Greywater and its Role in the Sustainability of

Water Resources – A Study in Saudi Arabia
Anbarah Khamis B. Al-Saud

Department of Geography, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
[Link]
Email: aassaod@[Link]

Received: 08 Feb 2024, Abstract— Reuse of greywater has become one of the proposed
Receive in revised form: 19 Mar 2024, solutions worldwide to support water resources; that are subject to
depletion in desert areas such as Saudi Arabia, where rainfall is scarce,
Accepted: 05 Apr 2024,
suffering growing water demand for municipal and agricultural
Available online: 14 Apr 2024 purposes, and the sustainability of groundwater resources on the other.
©2024 The Author(s). Published by AI In Saudi Arabia greywater represents nearly 55-74% of the water
Publication. This is an open access article under consumed in the buildings; so this study aimed to answer the following
the CC BY license question: According to ministerial order No. 228 of 29 August 1426
([Link] AH, which stipulates that greywater should be reused and that two
wastewater recycling systems should be implemented in the development
Keywords— Reuse of greywater, natural
of specifications and plans for the construction of new installations in
characteristics, lack of potable water, BOD,
the sectors concerned; Are there any indicators which prove the
COD, Saudi Arabia.
implementation of this ministerial decision? What is the evidence for
this application? The reuse of treated greywater depends on the natural,
chemical, and physical characteristics of the amount of biological
consumption of oxygen (BOD5), total suspended solids (TSS), and the
chemical oxygen demand (COD). The study concluded that some of the
general natural characteristics of water are similar in value to those of
high-income and low-income countries. The results show a continuous
increase in water consumed through the study period within the urban
and agricultural sectors, of Saudi Arabia into global support for the
conservation of natural resources.

I. INTRODUCTION freshwater is only 1/100 of 3% of complete freshwater

Daily demand for freshwater in the civil, industrial, resources, which is well below the total human demand
agricultural, and other sectors increases yearly. This (Ibid). Of course, the percentage of greywater discharged
demand corresponds to many factors such as the annual from the residential sector varies at the regional level. The
growth of the world's population, on the one hand, and to reason for this discrepancy depends on the primary use of
the disparity in their living standards, on the other [1]. water in the dwellings and the efficiency of the service of
These are the key variables that explain the annual increase such water [3]. The reuse of treated water is mentioned in
in the amount of clean water consumed worldwide. On- many kinds of literature and was advised by many global
demand for clean water: More than three billion people are environmental agencies, including the United States
expected to live by 2025 under the current 0.8 billion Environmental Protection Agency EPA [4], to gain the
water stress threshold conditions [2]. They also pointed out ecological dimension of the sustainable development
that globally, the total volume of directly exploitable goals. Reusing greywater has recently become an essential
strategic solution to secure water scarcity in Saudi Arabia's

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Al-Saud International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Science, 11(4)-2024

agricultural and industrial sectors [5]. Alternative water of the reuse of greywater in alleviating the demand for
management strategies have been set up in dry territories freshwater sources and protecting them from depletion;
because of the absence of freshwater [6]. This consecutive this is not without the technical and economic challenges
demand for fresh was associated with some geographical that societies in low-income countries will face. Statistical
locations such as Saudi Arabia, Scarcity of supply of such data shows that the percentage of wastewater from the
water for different geographical reasons, Extremism in residential sector treated safely varied globally between
prevailing climatic conditions and its impact on the developing and developed countries; and between
scarcity and occasional scarcity of rainfall, as in the desert countries with higher and lower incomes in 2020 (figure
regions, or one of the reasons for this scarcity may be poor 1). Many countries were green color, which means a high
consumption or mismanagement of available water percentage of safely treated wastewater flows from
resources. No doubt: It was accompanied by increased households. The darkest green color means > 90% as in
water consumption in various areas, an Increase in the the United States, France, Japan, Sewed, Finland, and
amount of water used, and discharge to the public other countries with high economies. Otherwise, the rest of
sewerage network [7]. Greywater was defined as water the countries which appeared in a disparity of light green
used by the State to meet the continuing demand for it for color, including Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Norway, Spain,
various civilian purposes, for example, in the residential Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, and other countries with
sector for multiple purposes including bathing, washing the same rates of treatment are under 90% and up by 25%.
clothes, kitchen, etc. [8]. There is also a similar definition The important notice matter wasn’t in the groups of
of greywater: “Greywater is defined as a domestic countries with other colors; but in the rest of the countries
wastewater that is uncontaminated by direct contact with that appeared in grey color as no data, and the more
human excreta [9]. Greywater was defined as water used dangerous thing of the countries which not yet begun the
for washing machines, baths, kitchen laundry, and laundry reuse of greywater, and both of that two groups classified
[10],[11], and greywater is any household wastewater of low economy and poor countries.
produced except for sewage or black water [12]. "Reuse of
treated greywater has become a demand, especially in
those countries with natural and economic challenges in
accessing safe water." The proportion of greywater
discharged from the residential sector is up to 75% [13]. In
Jordan, it is between 50 and 80% of the sewage for the
residential sector ([14]. Since there is a rise in water use,
the amount of wastewater discharged into public sewage
systems is expected to increase. Thus, at the outset, it must
be considered that greywater is one of the main sections of
Fig.1: Estimated proportions wastewater safely treated
wastewater [15]. Some believe that greywater discharged
(2020), Source: [17].
from the residential sector, such as bathing water, and
without purification, can be used for certain uses, such as
irrigating crops in comparison to black water [16]. Of Using treated greywater is expected to reduce the demand
course, As the demand for water increases in various for freshwater use within residential, governmental, and
sectors in any of them, so does the amount of greywater. service sectors. If specific treatment policies are
The relationship between the amount of demand for clean implemented, the greywater will be recycled to meet the
water and the amount of used water discharged is an increasing demand. When deciding to treat greywater for
evolutionary one. What's bad is that the increase in the reuse, it should be known that this water differs in terms of
amount of greywater that will undoubtedly flow into the whether it is a high load or low load, as shown in (Figure
public sewage system if it's not treated before, so that it 2); Water discharged from hand-washing and fast bathing
becomes reusable in the sectors that consume it. Globally, basins is classified as "light water," while water discharged
it's estimated that 50-80% of sewage comes from from the kitchen basin and dishwasher is "heavy water." In
greywater (Aljayyosi, [Link].) explained that a case study Saudi Arabia the greywater removed from the washbasins
was presented on the reuse of greywater in Jordan to shed in mosques is the purest compared to the previous
some light on its role in sustainable water management. To greywater sources. It, therefore, requires only simple and
operationalize this concept, water is seen as an economic economically inexpensive purification (General
commodity and a limited resource that should be evaluated Administration of Sanitation, [Link].)
and managed rationally. Notwithstanding the importance

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Al-Saud International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Science, 11(4)-2024

the terms of the Act on the Reuse of Greywater, two water-

recycling systems must be implemented in the formulation
of specifications and plans for the construction of new
installations in the sectors [19], as well as the
promulgation of several programs and initiatives dealing
with freshwater consumption regulations; however, with
the successive annual increase in the population of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which reached 32,175,224
people in 2022 [20]. Hence, the increased demand for
water for the agricultural sector, which meets the
Fig.2: Classification of greywater by payload. requirements of producing various plant and animal foods,
Source: this diagram was designed by the researcher. increases the amount of greywater discharged from
farming and other sectors.

Although the process of greywater reuse includes

several natural, economic, and social benefits in the sense
that it would achieve the globally recognized triad of
sustainable development; the success of this operation
depends on the type of pollutants that may be present in
such water, according to sources (Allen, [Link]). BOD5 is
the acronym for Biochemical Oxygen Demand and is
widely used for cxin biological wastewater treatment. It is
known as a standardized unit for measuring organic water
pollution. Through BOD5, the mass of molecular oxygen
consumed by micro-organisms in five days in one Liter of
water at 20οC in the dark [18].
In a country such as Saudi Arabia, which is within the
arid tropical desert climate region, the attendant scarcity
and sudden rainfall on its territory, which, although
covering a land area of approximately 2 million km 2, is Fig.3: Map of the study area
devoid of permanent inland water bodies, such as lakes, Source: the researcher.
rivers, and waterfalls. Otherwise, temporary waterways,
such as the stream of valleys, appear after the winter rains
in all areas of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and after the III. METHODOLOGY
summer rains fall exclusively on the mountain’s lands of Statistical data of freshwater consumption in the
the southwest of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. municipal, industrial, and agricultural sectors, other data
on the source of that freshwater, as well as data on the
amount of wastewater, and the amount of what was
II. STUDY AREA
treated during the study period 2009-2020 in the
Saudi Arabia lies between 16° and 32° north of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; that issued in the statistical
equator (Figure 3). As a result of the astronomical nature yearbook, and the annual reports of the Ministry of
of this site, extreme climatic characteristics prevail Environment, Water, and Agriculture. Information was
throughout the year. The study area has no permanent also collected from the statistical yearbook of the General
water bodies, such as lakes or rivers. Apart from this, there Authority for Statistics. Graphs were drawn that showed
are hundreds of dry valleys in which water flows at the nature of freshwater consumption within the urban
varying intervals immediately after the rains fall. Meeting and agricultural sectors and the change in the amount of
the increasing water demand depends on several traditional treated water reused during the study period.
sources, namely deep and surface groundwater, and salt-
water desalination plants, located directly to the Red Sea
and Arabian Gulf. The decision-makers valued the IV. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
importance of preserving groundwater, therefore, issued Tracking freshwater demand in any population area
ministerial order No. 228 of 29 August 1426AH. Under proves to be subject to constant change. The quantity of

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Al-Saud International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Science, 11(4)-2024

freshwater demand in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Agricultur 1441 1751 1961 1978 1900 1067
changed during the study period 2010-2020, as this al 0 4 2 9 0 0
demand increased from 17447 million m 3 in 2010 to (non-
25992 million m3 in 2018. In 2019, the consumption renewable
decreased significantly to 15393 million m3, but it water)
increased slightly to 15979 million m 3 in 2020 Table (1).
It noted that just as there was a variation in the amount of Total 1726 2088 2341 2393 2382 1597
water demand during the study period, the data in the 7 4 6 4 8 9
same Table also shows a disparity in the amount of water % For 83.4 83.8 83.7 82.6 79.7 66.7
consumption within the three municipal, industrial, and consumpti
agricultural sectors. Water consumption within the on of the
municipal sector, as well as the industrial sector, has been agricultur
characterized by continuous increases. Data in Table (1) al sector
shows that the volume of water consumption within the Source: Ministry of Environment, Water and
municipal sector increased from 2.2 million m 3 in 2010 to Agriculture (2020). Statistical Yearbook: 1441-1442
3.6 million m3 in 2020. This leading sector includes all AH.
sub-sectors, mainly residential, health, educational, and
services. This increase reflects the impact of key
variables within these sectors. The growth in population
size and the consequent diverse water requirements play
primarily within the residential sector, which includes
drinking, cooking, bathing, washing clothes and kitchen
utensils, as well as other uses such as garden irrigation
and yard washing. The percentage of water demand in the
urban sector reached 23% in 2020. Although water
consumption in the industrial sector was characterized by
a continuous increase during the years of study from 753
million m3 to 1680 million m3, this amount represented
only 10% of the total amount of water demand in the
Fig.4 Sectoral distribution of freshwater consumed in
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2020. Finally, the water
demand reached the highest in the agricultural sector, Source: prepared by the researcher.
becoming the dominant sector in the total water demand
during the study period by 82.5% in 2010 and 66.7% in
2020. The percentage of this dominance over the total
amount of water consumption during the study period
was 82.5% in 2010 and 81.5% in 2018 (Table 1). The
decline in the amount of water demand in the agricultural
sector (Figure 4) and (Figure 5) reflects the efforts of the
Ministry of Environment, Water and Resources to adopt
the water demand management approach and not meet it
to keep pace with the global trend in this important matter
[21]. By applying this policy, Saudi Arabia engages the
global a crucial role in sustaining its rare water resource.
Table 1: Amount of freshwater consumption 2010-2020 Fig.5: Amount of freshwater consumption in all sectors
(million m3/year) from 2010 to 2020 (million m3/year). Source: prepared by
2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 the researcher.

Municipal 2284 2527 2874 3130 3428 3629

Conventional and non-conventional sources have played
Industrial 573 843 930 1015 1400 1680
essential roles in meeting the growing annual demand for
water in the municipal, agricultural, and industrial sectors.
Data collected from the General Authority for Statistics

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Al-Saud International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Science, 11(4)-2024

showed that the non-renewable groundwater sector is the value to those of high-income and low-income countries
primary source of the freshwater demand, as it plays an (Table 3). The importance of greywater reuse in
important role compared to other sources in terms of the groundwater sustainability in the Kingdom of Saudi
amount of water it provides to meet the increasing Arabia requires new analytical studies to fill in the gaps in
domestic demand for fresh water from various sectors some parameters of the characteristics mentioned in this
during the study period (Figure 6). table.
30000 Table 2: quantities of treated wastewater
25000 Quantity of Average Averag % of
20000 treated amount of e reused
Million M3

15000 wastewater treated amount water

10000 (M3 /year) wastewate of water quantity
5000
r reused of the
3
(M /day) (M3 total
0
2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 /day) processe
Total of all resources d fluid
Non-renewable groundwater
201 166505919 4561806 862140 18.11
Fig.6: The predominance of non-renewable groundwater 8 0
over total. Source: The researcher.
201 180187355 4936640 852307 17.26
9 1
Due to the scarcity of rainfall at times and the limited
202 186857383 5105431 929252 18.20
amount of rain at other times due to the nature of the
0 8
prevailing climate, which is the direct source that feeds
surface and deep groundwater, and due to the continuously
increasing demand for freshwater, the attention of
decision-makers has once again focused on the reuse of
Source: Preparation by the researcher based on the
greywater. Every increase in clean water consumption will
Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Environment,
be offset by an increase in the amount of greywater
Statistical Yearbook from 2018 to 2020
discharged into sewage channels, so the greywater reuse
initiative has been activated. Table 3: Physicochemical characteristic of greywater s in
low- and high-income countries
Data in (Table 2) show that government decisions have
played a crucial role in dealing with wastewater in a more Parameter Low- High- Saudi
income income Arabia b
beneficial way that ensures the sustainability of
countries a countries a
groundwater resources. What is noticeable about these data
are two things: the growth of the quantities of that treated pH 6.7 7.17 -
water, and finally, the % reused water quantity of the total Turbidity (NTU) 35.2 41.35 -
processed fluid through the years from 2018 to 2020.
TSS (mg/L) 285.8 48.0 -
There are many advantages of reusing greywater; one
TDS (mg/L) 337.5 171.0 -
represented 55-74% of the water used in building. It is also
easy to deal with the low pollution from organic matter, BOD5 (mg/L) 206.0 80.6 -
nitrogen, germs, and microbes during purification stages COD (mg/L) 819.5 204.8 -
(Ministry of Environment Water and Agriculture, op. cit). TOC (mg/L) - - -
The process of reusing treated water for living Oil and grease 7.0 - -
requirements depends on crucial things, the first of which (mg/L)
is acceptance from members of society. Otherwise, the
Nitrate (mg/L) 49.3 3.9 -
reuse of greywater is such a sensitive thing. The reuse of
Source: Preparation by the researcher.
treated greywater depends on the natural, chemical, and
a
biological characteristics of the amount of physical Peprah, Acheampong and deVries, 2018.
consumption of oxygen (BOD5), total suspended solids b
Ministry of Water and Electricity, General Department of
(TSS), and the chemical oxygen demand (COD). The Sanitation. Greywater Reuse Guide. Second edition,
study concluded that only some of the general natural (1429h).
characteristics of water in Saudi Arabia are similar in

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Al-Saud International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Science, 11(4)-2024

V. CONCLUSION RECYCLING SCHEME FOR AGRICULTURAL

IRRIGATION REUSES.
Reusing greywater is play an important role in
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