Water Demand Management and Islamic Water Management Principles: A Case Study

Most of Saudi Arabia is arid and water resources are limited; it has experienced extensive and rapid developments in industrial, agricultural, domestic and construction sectors during the last two decades. Saudi Arabia follows the sacred principles of the Islamic law 'Shari'a', whereby water is considered the common entitlement of all people, and the main component of the sustainability of the nation's life and security. To protect the community of interest which constitutes the traditional basis of Muslim customary water law, the government has control over water resources development, management and planning for the benefit of the whole community. The traditional methods for satisfying the limited water demand in the past have been modified to meet the drastic rise in water demand. Large desalination plants on the Gulf and Red Sea coasts have been constructed to produce sweet drinking water, and thousands of deep and shallow wells have been drilled with government support for agricultural purposes. Specialized water offices for water production, distribution and treatment have been established. Legislation and laws have been developed to organize water-management issues. To protect the interests of the community and its natural resources, several measures were introduced to reduce national water demand and to augment the available water resources. Support for wheat cultivation was reduced to about 25% of the previous level to mimimize irrigation water use. Modern irrigation techniques have been practised to reduce water losses and demand. New water pricing policies, leakage detection and control and promotion of public awareness of water conservation have been practised, significantly during the last decade. The Council of Muslim Leading Scholars gave a pioneering example of the wisdom of Islam by issuing a special Fatwa to regulate the reuse of treated effluents for different purposes. This has promoted wastewater recycling by the public. The Islamic water management principles used in Saudi Arabia can be taken as a model to improve water demand management in other countries.