The water level at the sewage lake dropped to 8.7 meters Saturday, compared to the 14-meter high recorded after last year's floods in Jeddah. The lake now holds about six million cubic meters of sewage water, 15 million cubic meters less than its actual capacity. The sewage water is now being pumped out of the lake daily through a wastewater treatment plant. The plant is soon expected to treat about 60,000 cubic meters of sewage water from the lake for irrigation of the 10 million square meter eastern forest. According to the Jeddah Mayoralty, sewage tankers now unload about 15,000 to 20,000 cubic meters of sewage water into the treatment plant without having to dump the water into the lake. The Ministry of Water and Electricity will take over the lake within a few days, according to Jeddah Mayor Adel Fakeih. The lake is expected to be fully drained within a year.
