JEDDAH: The rise in groundwater in east Jeddah districts has been caused by some one million cubic meters of water being drained from the Misk Lake into nearby valleys, sources have said. The issue, which has become most acute in the districts of Quwaizah and Al-Musa'ed where rising water mixed with sewage from drains is flooding streets, damaging infrastructure and attracting mosquitoes, has led the municipal council to demand detailed studies to suggest a course of action. Council member Bassam Akhdhar confirmed the problem. “The groundwater issue is threatening a number of districts in east Jeddah and the mayoralty needs to find an urgent solution,” Akhdhar said. “Although the Misk sewage lake is now dried up, the sewage treatment plant has drained the water in the direction of the agricultural projects currently being carried out by the mayoralty in the east of Jeddah. With the city having long been saturated, the water is bound to emerge in those neighboring areas.” Saudi Gazette reported Monday that the Makkah Emir's Office had instructed the Jeddah Mayoralty and the National Water Company to conduct “urgent studies” into the situation. A source at the Mayor's Office said the mayoralty responded immediately. “There are large areas of water mixed with sewage water, and the studies have shown that the problem did not exist before the floods of November 2009. Urgent solutions using modern methods are required to address rising groundwater,” the source said. The threat of the Misk Lake bursting its banks had long been a concern for the city, a concern exacerbated by the 2009 floods when the water level rose to precarious heights. In May, King Abdullah ordered the Minister of Water and Electricity to dry up the Misk Lake within one year, and drainage costing SR120 million and releasing over 30,000 cubic meters of water a day resulted in a ministry announcement mid-October that the lake was dry, six months ahead of schedule. Minister Abdullah Al-Hussayen said that “not a single drop of untreated sewage water was pumped into the sea”.
