People in Jeddah are still awaiting the result of a study conducted by King Abdulaziz University experts about environmental pollution of Arbaeen, Salam and Shabab lakes in the city as well as KAU's proposals to solve the problem. The study was conducted on the recommendation of an environmental committee. Jeddawis have welcomed Jeddah Mayoralty's efforts to clean Arbaeen Lake after removing dead fish that appeared in the lake recently. The study comes at a time when concerned government departments exchange blames for failing to shoulder their responsibility toward protecting Jeddah's lakes from pollution. The committee comprises representatives from Jeddah governorate, the mayoralty, ministries of water and electricity and agriculture, National Water Company, and the General Authority for Meteorology and Environmental Protection. Muhammad Obaid Al-Baqami, spokesman of Jeddah mayoralty, said his organization closed about 300 illegal sewage dumping outlets. "All the existing estuaries are legal," he told Al-Watan Arabic daily. "We'll be more than happy to implement KAU's recommendations based on its study on pollution of lakes." Hussein Al-Qahtani, spokesman of the meteorology agency, said his organization is responsible for all legal estuaries. "We'll take action against other sewage dumping outlets that are directed to the sea, even if it is treated water," he said. He added: "We have been calling upon people and agencies to make use of treated and untreated sewage water for industrial and agricultural purposes for the past several years." Al-Qahtani said the main reason for pollution in the city is incomplete sewage network and the dumping of sewage in the sea. "We monitor people and firms who try to pollute seawater." However, the spokesman of NWC did not respond to Al-Watan's queries on the reason behind environment pollution of the three lakes in Jeddah. A responsible source at Jeddah mayoralty, meanwhile, blamed construction works of government departments and dumping of construction leftovers for the narrowing of the entrance of Shabab and Arbaeen lakes. The entrance to Arbaeen Lake has narrowed due to expansion work at Jeddah Islamic Port, the source said, adding that the lake's entrance has been reduced from 1.5 km to 600 meters, preventing large scale inflow and outflow of water to and from the sea. Asked why the water purification plant on the Arbaeen Lake halted its operation, the source said it was a temporary project to move water inside the lake and increase its oxygen content.
