Drainage Water Disposal, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

The ground‐water table in four districts of the city of Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, is to be lowered by installing a subsurface drainage system. In connection with the drainage studies, the pollution potential of the drainage water for discharge to the coastal waters has to be determined. Quality of the subsurface waters in the areas to be drained was characterized by their physical, chemical, and bacteriological parameters. Samples were collected from 31 shallow (3–5 m) and from four deep (40–86 m) observation wells. The study showed that the quality of the drainage water satisfied the 1989 standards of the Meteorology and Environmental Protection Agency (MEPA) for discharge into the Red Sea.