Attacks on Aramco Plants Expose Risks to Saudi Water Supply
- Kingdom can’t store enough water to meet a single day’s need
- Saudis seek rapid expansion in storage, new desalination units
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The attack on Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil plant in September added urgency to the kingdom’s push to shore up another key vulnerability: water.
The country’s daily water consumption exceeds its storage capacity, and millions of people could go thirsty if the sprawling desalination plants on which the desert nation depends were put out of action. Saudi authorities plan a building spree of reservoirs to ensure security of supply as well as manage periodic surges in demand.