The National Water Company (NWC) will assume full responsibility for Misk Lake after a transition period of two months, Mayor Adel Fakeih said at a press conference at the Jeddah Municipality Wednesday. The announcement came after officials from the NWC and the municipality held a meeting in order to determine how to implement the recent Royal Decree of King Abdullah relating to the Jeddah flood disaster, which also ordered that Misk Lake be emptied in one year's time. “We have formed two main teams: the first will be responsible for field implementation while the second will focus on studying the strategic coordination between the municipality and the NWC,” Fakeih told Saudi Gazette. He said the two teams are comprised of officials from both the municipality and the NWC. The mayor said the implementation work will begin next week and that the teams have been asked to submit weekly reports to the NWC and the municipality. Loai Al-Salem, NWC chief executive, said the capacity of the Al-Khumra sewage treatment plant in south Jeddah will be increased to receive and scientifically treat a larger amount of sewage water. He further added that the work at the new treatment plant in the northern airport area which has a capacity of 250,000 cubic meters will start in two months. “We are installing a long pipeline linking the treatment plant at Misk Lake with the airport treatment plant to speed up the emptying of the sewage lake,” said Al-Salem, adding that the NWC is approaching international companies to provide technical assistance to Jeddah's treatment plants.
