Riyadh | BETH

How did a country located in the heart of one of the driest regions on Earth manage to build one of the largest water systems in the world, securing the needs of millions of residents, cities, and industries in a harsh desert environment?

What Saudi Arabia has achieved over the past decades has not been merely a collection of water projects. Rather, it represents the construction of an integrated water system resembling artificial rivers crossing the desert, beginning at the sea and ending in cities, homes, and farms through a complex engineering network of desalination plants, pipelines, reservoirs, and dams.

Seawater Desalination

Saudi Arabia relies primarily on seawater desalination as its main source of fresh water and has become the largest producer of desalinated water in the world.

Key figures:

Production exceeding 7.6 million cubic meters of desalinated water per day

The Kingdom accounts for around 20% of global desalinated water production

More than 30 desalination plants along the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea coasts

Several plants rank among the largest in the world, producing hundreds of thousands of cubic meters daily

Water Transmission Across the Desert

Producing water on the coasts is only the beginning. The real challenge lies in transporting it to cities deep in the desert.

To address this, the Kingdom has built one of the world’s longest water transmission networks.

Key figures:

More than 14,000 kilometers of water transmission pipelines

A vast network of pumping stations and intermediate reservoirs

Water transported from coastal plants to inland cities hundreds of kilometers away, such as Riyadh and Qassim

Strategic Water Storage

Just as countries maintain reserves of food and energy, Saudi Arabia also maintains massive strategic water reserves.

This system includes:

Dozens of giant reservoirs distributed across cities

Storage capacities reaching millions of cubic meters per reservoir

The ability to secure water supplies for months during emergencies

Dams and Rainwater Utilization

Despite its desert climate and limited rainfall, Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in building a wide network of dams to capture rainwater and seasonal floods.

Key figures:

More than 550 dams across the Kingdom

Storage capacity exceeding 2.6 billion cubic meters of water

Contributing to groundwater recharge, agricultural support, and flood mitigation

Forming an additional water network complementing desalination and transmission systems

Demand Management and Efficient Use

Producing water is not the only challenge. Managing consumption is a crucial component of water security.

Saudi Arabia is therefore working to:

Develop distribution networks and reduce water loss

Use advanced desalination technologies that lower energy consumption

Reuse treated wastewater for agriculture and irrigation

Artificial Rivers Across the Desert

In a region that almost entirely lacks natural rivers and lakes, Saudi Arabia has succeeded in building artificial rivers stretching thousands of kilometers across the desert, starting from the sea and ending in cities.

From desalination plants to pipelines, reservoirs, and dams, this system forms one of the most complex and largest water networks in the world, serving as a cornerstone for urban stability and economic growth in the Kingdom.

BETH Commentary

Water security in Saudi Arabia has not been merely a technical undertaking, but rather a long-term strategic decision.

In one of the world’s driest regions, water has been transformed from a geographical challenge into a massive national infrastructure system built on technology, engineering, and effective management.

Today, water in the Kingdom is no longer just a natural resource; it has become a sovereign infrastructure system that safeguards urban stability, supports economic growth, and enables long-term planning for the future in a harsh desert environment.