National Water Assessment · Kingdom of Saudi Arabia · 15 Parameters
Water, Assessed Alongside the Land
Water is assessed separately from the land and reported next to it — never folded inside it. Fifteen parameters across five groups establish what supply exists, whether it will last, its quality limits, its delivery cost, and the basin's remaining budget — for every site in the Kingdom.
Parameters
15 · 5 groups
Source codes
WR·WF·WM·WT·WD·WS
States
0–4 scheme
Reference
FAO Papers 29 & 56
Why separate

The source never disqualifies land on its own — only the trend does. If water were folded into the land class, nearly every irrigated hectare across Al Jouf, Tabuk, the Eastern Province, Al-Ahsa, Ha'il and Al-Qassim — drawing on non-renewable aquifers — would read as "not capable land." That would be wrong. Keeping water separate lets a reader see the land is sound and the water is not, rather than a single bad score. Read across the rows, not down the columns: every source can proceed, and every source can be stopped — what changes the answer is the trend.

The Five Parameter Groups
WR WF WT WD
ASource & Availabilityv3
What water is here, and how much can be taken.
WP-A-01
Source TypeIdentifies which of the six W-source codes are present at or accessible from the site. A locatio
WP-A-02
Available VolumeThe volume of water that can actually be extracted annually from the identified source(s) at the
WP-A-03
Distance to SourceDistance from the site boundary to the nearest viable and accessible water supply point \u2014 a
yr 0 yr 20 trend
BSustainabilityy3
Whether the supply will outlast the investment.
WP-B-01
Water-Level TrendThe rate of groundwater table decline measured from monitoring well records over a minimum 10-ye
WP-B-02
Aquifer Type and ConfinementThe physical and hydrological classification of the aquifer. Governs how to interpret WP-B-01 (w
WP-B-03
Remaining Supply HorizonAn estimated range of years before the accessible portion of the aquifer is depleted at the plan
Na Cl Na B SAR · ECw · Cl · B
CWater Qualityq5
Salinity, sodium and toxicity limits for irrigation.
WP-C-01
Electrical Conductivity (ECw)The electrical conductivity of irrigation water, measured in dS/m. The primary indicator of tota
WP-C-02
Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR)The sodium adsorption ratio of irrigation water. A measure of the relative proportion of sodium
WP-C-03
ChlorideChloride concentration in irrigation water (meq/L). Chloride causes direct foliar toxicity in se
WP-C-04
BoronBoron concentration in irrigation water (mg/L). Boron is a plant micronutrient at trace levels b
WP-C-05
Treated-Wastewater Quality TierThe regulatory quality classification of the treated wastewater supply if WT is one of the ident
lift conveyance distance
DAccess & Deliverya2
The cost of lifting and moving it to the field.
WP-D-01
Pumping LiftThe depth to the pumping water level in the producing well, measured from ground surface (metres
WP-D-02
Conveyance DistanceThe routed distance from the producing well, canal off-take, or treated-wastewater discharge poi
ceiling allocation basin budget
EBasin Allocationb2
Whether the basin has budget left to license.
WP-E-01
Basin Sustainable YieldThe maximum volume of water the basin can sustainably supply per year \u2014 for renewable sourc
WP-E-02
Allocation StatusThe current regulatory and licensing position of the site relative to the basin water budget \u2

The Six Water Sources

WR
Renewable groundwaterRefills from rainfall on a human timescale. Documented recharge area upstream
WF
Fossil groundwaterAncient water — does not refill. Drawing on it is reported, not forbidden. Mor
WM
Mixed groundwaterPartly refilling, partly finite. Aquifer receives some recharge but not enough
WT
Treated wastewaterUsed once, cleaned to a regulated tier, reusable. Not subject to depletion. St
WD
Desalinated supplyProduced from seawater; no aquifer involved. Expansion limited by infrastructu
WS
Surface water and harvestingDams, wadis, captured runoff. Seasonal and episodic in most KSA regions. Usual

The W-State Scheme

0
PotentialResource identified, not yet developed.
1
UsableAvailable and within limits — proceed.
2
ConstrainedUsable with defined limits or treatment.
3
ConditionalAllowed only under specific conditions.
4
Not UsableFails a threshold — not available here.
Reading a Coded Result · Worked Examples
A site's water is recorded as a compact code: source + state + subclass. One site can carry several — one per source. Below: how the code is built, then real results decoded.
Anatomy of a code — WF2(y)
WF
Source code — which of the six supplies. Here WF = fossil groundwater.
2
W-State (0–4) — the verdict for that source. Here 2 = constrained (usable with limits).
(y)
Subclass letter — which group set the state. Here y = sustainability. Omitted when State is 0 or 1.
Read it as a sentence: "Fossil groundwater, constrained, on sustainability grounds."
WR1PROCEED
Renewable groundwater — State 1
Usable now. Stable level, within reach, sufficient volume. No constraint on drawing on it.
WF2(y)USE WITH LIMITS
Fossil groundwater — State 2, sustainability constraining
Usable but slowly depleting. A remaining-horizon calculation is required. Use with eyes open.
WF4(y)WATER FAILS
Fossil groundwater — State 4, sustainability stops it
Not usable: falling too fast for the investment to outlast it. The land capability is unchanged — only the water fails.
WT3(a)USE WITH LIMITS
Treated wastewater — State 3, access constraining
Water is there and of acceptable quality; the infrastructure to reach the site must be built first.
WS0POTENTIAL
Surface water — State 0
Potential only. Conditions are favourable but no developed supply exists yet. A route investment could open.
WF4(y) · WT3(a) · WS0PLANNING FINDING
Three sources recorded, each with its own state
No usable water today — but two routes could change that: connect to the treated-wastewater network, or develop surface harvesting. A planning finding, not a dead end.
Subclasses: v volume · y sustainability · q quality · a access · b basin allocation 15 parameters · 5 groups · 6 sources · states 0–4 · FAO Irrigation Papers 29 & 56
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