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Without water we can’t live. Water supports out agriculture and aquaculture. Clean water is vital. However, due to bad economics or poor infrastructure, millions of people including children die every year from diseases associated with inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene. SDG6's goal is to ensure access to water and sanitation for all.
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the critical importance of sanitation, hygiene and adequate access to clean water for preventing and containing diseases. According to the World Health Organization, handwashing is one of the most effective actions you can take to reduce the spread of pathogens and prevent infections, including the COVID-19 virus. Yet billions of people still lack safe water sanitation, and funding is inadequate.
With their high reachability to generations, and major role in creating and disseminating knowledge, universities have been the major drivers of local, regional and global innovation, economic and social development. As such, universities have a critical role in the marketing and achievement of the SDGs while also benefitting from them.
Data Publishing
KAU publishes and reports all events and data that are related to SDG6, mainly online on the SDG related page, or as part of its strategy, as well as other dedicated reports, to monitor and control the sustainability goals’ improvement within KAU and as part of KAU’s alignment with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
All the data that is related to SDG6 “Clean Water and Sanitation” is openly available and can be fetched from the below channels:
SDG 6 Report 2023.pdfKing Abdulaziz University (KAU) has many colleges and research centers that deal with water issues, including water desalination, water resources, and marine environmental studies.
Prominent Specialized Centers and Departments
Center of Excellence in Desalination Technology: Focuses on research related to water desalination and its applications, localizing technologies, and training researchers.
Water Research Center (WRC KAU): Participates in projects and research on water, such as the "Wadi Atlas" project for monitoring water resources, and investigates groundwater and surface water resources.
Faculty of Environmental Sciences: Includes a specific department for water resources, and offers graduate programs in this field.
Faculty of Marine Sciences: Offers multiple specializations addressing the biological, chemical, geological, and physical aspects of marine water.
Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies: Conducts research in the fields of water pollution and strives for research leadership in this area.
Partnerships and Initiatives
Research Partnerships: The university establishes partnerships with local and international entities, such as the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), to develop research and projects in the water sector.
Cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA): The university has held meetings with the MEWA office in Jeddah to discuss cooperation in water resource management and protection.
Participation in Global Studies: The university participated in a global study published in the journal Nature regarding "groundwater depletion", and studying the causes of the rapid decline of groundwater globally.
KAU Efforts towards clean water and sanitation
Here is a brief list of events and actions that are related to "Clean Water and Sanitation" and which are detailed in the SDG6 related reports:
Achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all, while paying special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations
Improve water quality by reducing pollution, minimizing release of hazardous chemicals, and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse.
Substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater.
Expand national cooperation and capacity-building support to in water- and sanitation-related activities and programmes, including water desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies.
Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management.
The below areas explain, in details, how KAU is approaching this SDG while enhancing aspects related to Clean Water and Sanitation.
6.1: Publications in Clean Water and Sanitation
This focuses on research that is relevant to Clean Water and Sanitation, measuring paper views, the proportion of papers in the top 10 per cent of cited journals and the volume of research produced.
This is a critical indicator to understand how KAU is supporting Clean Water and Sanitation through research.
A significant 44% of KAU's publications on Clean Water and Sanitation, are in the TOP 10% of Journals, with a citation rate of 2.29 per paper.
6.2: Water Consumption per Person
KAU measures the volume of water used on campus and strives to save water consumption per person, in different ways. KAU recycles a significant 92% of its water usage.
6.3: Water Usage and Care
KAU provides free drinking water for students, faculty, staff and visitors within its premises. KAU also deploy the needed processes to treat wastewater and prevent polluted water from entering the university water system.
6.4: Water Reuse
KAU defines a Policy to save and reuse water, and tries to highly save water usage by recycling the water consumed on campus for different re-uses like landscape irrigation, toilet flushing and other usages. KAU recycles a significant 92% of its water usage.
6.5: Water in the Community
KAU tries to save water usage by recycling the water consumed on campus for different re-uses like landscape irrigation, toilet flushing and other usages.
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