Two global companies specialized in environment protection have started their studies on the decaying Al-Misk lake. The British and Australian companies have started inspection of the lake to give Jeddah municipality the perfect solution to end the problem that is dangerously affecting the city, Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, director of public relations department in the municipality, said. The two companies have conducted tests on the lake. They will provide integrated studies for a comprehensive and final solution. The companies have begun gathering all the important information about the lake and the many problems the municipality is facing in launching new projects there. They have also sought information on the level and amount of water received daily, Al-Ghamdi said. Sewage disposal, he added, has increased recently due to rains which lashed the region recently. Trucks were advised to discharge their loads in the Khomrah, Iskan and Ruwais water treatment stations which can take up to 7,000 cubic meters of raw sewage daily. Jeddah does not have the capacity to handle the amount of sewage it produces and, therefore, much of it ends up in the sewage lake or is poured directly into the sea. Al-Ghamdi said trucks would be banned from entering the area of the sewage lake from 10 P.M. until 6 A.M. He said sewage disposal in the lake is stopped when rain forecasts are issued by the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment. The Jeddah municipality is currently undertaking a number of urgent projects to reduce the water level of the lake by building extension pipelines and additional water purification plants.
