in selected houses everytime a resident leaves KAUST , has already resulted in a water reduction of almost 40 %. This coupled with the reuse of 100 % of the treated sewage effluent ( TSE ) resultant from wastewater treatment , has reduced significantly KAUST ’ s water use .
Water conservation in numbers
100 % Reused TSE
100 +
landscaping optimizations
~ 40 %
water use reduction since 2015
Tahliah Almiah Pilot Plant
6.3 ENGAGEMENT & OUTREACH
Sharing knowledge on water management
Celebrating and raising awareness for the world ’ s most precious element
Every year KAUST celebrates the World Water day with its community . Being located in Saudi Arabia , where water security is a pivotal challenge , the university also has water research as one of its core pillars . The days are usually a collaboration between KAUST departments , who organized several activities to raise awareness about the importance of managing and consuming water responsibly .
Piloting new desalination technologies and improvements
A new pilot desalination facility was inaugurated in 2021 at the Desalination and Reuse Center ( WDRC ). As subsidiary Dupont transferred its Center of Excellence for Desalination to KAUST , the newly renamed Tahlia Almiah pilot has its new home on the ground floor of Building 23 ( at KAUST ’ s Innovation Cluster ).
The pilot is operated and monitored through a SCADA system , very similar to that of full- scale desalination plants . Inside and outside the building , there is room to temporarily install additional pilot skids and monitoring equipment . It also has a facility to perform membrane autopsies , dye and bubble testing to determine the causes for performance decline and assess whether membrane damage has occurred . The aim is to use the plant primarily for research translation projects .
As part of KAUST ' s strategy to ensure The KAUST School ( TKS ) students can connect and learn from the university ’ s scholars , TKS ’ s grade 9 reached out to various subject matter experts to work on a project focusing on the UN Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ) during 2022 . Several faculty and researchers from the WDRC gave
an interview to three student groups on the topics of water management , sanitation , and sustainable desalination .
By using the KAUST community and the local desalination and wastewater treatment plants as close examples , the researchers discussed their work and its potential impact out of KAUST ’ s walls . It was the first time WDRC researchers were requested to discuss their work in a student-led interview , and the outcomes were enormously positive both for the researchers and the students .
World Water Day celebration announcement 2021
During the year of
2021 several events were held over one week , from visits to the local desalination plant , to sports events to raise awareness on water challenges , and screening of documentaries on the topic . The
2022 edition counted with a similar program over the celebration day and , in line with the theme of “ Groundwater : Making the Invisible Visible ”, community members learned about groundwater monitoring systems used on campus , visited the Water Desalination and Reuse Center , and were challenged with a groundwater quiz .
KAUST faculty from WDRC discussing water management with TKS students World Water Day celebration announcement 2022
17 | KAUST SDG HIGHLIGHT REPORT