musk lake

This lake is classified as one of the artificial lakes created by the Saudi government, and it is a headquarters or dumping ground for sewage in Jeddah Governorate. This lake took its name out of mockery and sarcasm, and not as the name suggests due to the emitting of unpleasant odors from it, as the amount of sewage is It contains an estimated nineteen million cubic meters of polluted water, and this lake is surrounded by earthen dams.

Musk Lake is located on the road leading to Mecca, to the eastern side of Jeddah. It extends on the highway from the Breiman Bridge towards Huda Al-Sham Road, and is separated from the Breiman Bridge by a distance of approximately seventeen kilometers.

Description of the lake

The length of the earthen dams extending around the perimeter of the Musk Lake reaches one thousand three hundred meters, and its height is about ten metres, while the width of these dams is approximately ten metres. The neighborhoods most affected by the unpleasant odors emanating from this lake are the neighborhoods of Al-Samer, Al-Ajwad, and Al-Rabi’ due to their proximity to them. .

It is noteworthy that this lake receives quantities of wastewater exceeding fifty thousand cubic meters, which are emptied by one thousand and two hundred tankers throughout the entire day, and the lake is one hundred and twenty-five meters above sea level, according to the Saudi Geological Survey.

The decision to drain the lake

The Jeddah Governorate Municipality has resorted to taking necessary procedures and measures to limit the health hazards caused by the presence of this lake, in addition to the unpleasant odors emanating from it. It greatly threatens the people of the region, as it poses a danger if the surrounding earth dam collapses, and thus water will leak out and invade the surrounding area. It leads to its drowning, and the danger reaches its peak during the rainy seasons more than at any other time due to the possibility of its water levels rising and thus flooding. Therefore, a decision was made to dry this lake within a maximum period of one year, followed by taking action to allow the torrents to return to their courses. As before, basins were created to collect water, and the National Water Company took effect with this decision and withdrew water from the lake.

Sewage water treatment

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has given great importance to wastewater investments, so it resorted to adopting a special system for treating and recycling wastewater in an effort to achieve the highest levels of safety in the use of this water, as it is used after treatment in several areas, including agricultural irrigation and recreational places, and it also looks forward to the future. To benefit from it in feeding groundwater wells and many other uses, this interest came in an effort to preserve the health of citizens and protect them from the transmission of diseases to them.