WATER REUSE SAVES PRECIOUS GROUNDWATER IN SAUDI ARABIA

The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) uses wastewater as a resource to save precious groundwater. The company owns and operates wastewater treatment and reuse facilities throughout Saudi Arabia. These facilities use a variety of treatment methods to reclaim approximately 20 million gallons of water per day for reuse. Reuse saves precious groundwater for many uses and avoids the high cost of seawater desalination. The company uses multiple pipeline systems to minimize costs and maximize reuse. The Dhahran Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant (AWTP) is the company's largest wastewater treatment and reuse facility. The AWTP produces 10 million gallons of reclaimed water per day that is used for community landscaping, public parks, athletic fields, a golf course, a sod farm, and a percolation pond that is a wildlife habitat. The Riyadh Refinery Water Treatment Plant (RRWTP) is the company's largest industrial wastewater treatment and reuse facility. The RRWTP treats 3.4 million gallons per day of tertiary effluent from the municipal Riyadh City Wastewater Treatment Plant. The treated water is used for refinery fire water, cooling tower water, and refinery boiler feed water.