Editing Geography of Saudi Arabia (section)

==Water resources==
{{see also|Irrigation in Saudi Arabia|Water supply and sanitation in Saudi Arabia|Zamzam Well}}

Until the 1980s, [[Saudi Arabia]] had lakes at [[Layla Aflaj]] and deep waterholes at '[[Al-Kharj]], fed by huge underground [[Aquifer|aquifers]] formed in prehistoric times and non-renewable. 'Al Kharj was a valuable source of drinking water in a barren terrain. In recent years, these aquifers have been drawn upon heavily, both for [[Agriculture in Saudi Arabia|agricultural]] and domestic purposes, and no fresh water remains in the lakes or pits.

In the absence of permanent rivers or bodies of water, streams and groundwater, [[Desalination|desalinated]] seawater and very scarce surface water must supply the country's needs. In eastern Arabia and in the [[Jabal Tuwayq]], [[Artesian well|artesian wells]] and springs are plentiful. In [[Al-Ahsa Oasis|al-Ahsa]] numerous large, deep pools are constantly replenished by artesian springs as a result of underground water from the eastern watershed of the Jabal Tuwayq. Such springs and wells permit extensive irrigation in local oases. In the [[Hijaz]], wells are abundant, and springs are common in the [[Qetn Mountains|mountainous areas]]. In [[Najd]] and the great deserts, watering places are comparatively fewer and scattered over a wide area. Water must be hoisted or pumped to the surface, and even where water is plentiful its quality may be poor.
[[File:Water_Stress,_Top_Countries_(2020).svg|thumb|Saudi Arabia is the third most water stressed country in the world.<ref>[[FAO]]. 2023. ''[https://www.fao.org/3/cc8166en/cc8166en.pdf World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2023]''. Rome. p. 41–42</ref>]]
Modern technology has located and increased the availability of much of the underground water. Saudi Arabian Oil Company ([[Saudi Aramco]]) technicians have determined that very deep aquifers lie in many areas of northern and eastern Arabia and that the [[Wasia]], the largest aquifer in Saudi Arabia, contains more water than the Persian Gulf. The Saudi government, Saudi Aramco, and the United Nations (UN) [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] have made separate and joint efforts to exploit underground water resources. In the past, improperly drilled wells have reduced or destroyed any good they might have served by leaching the lands they were drilled to irrigate. Successive agricultural projects, many of which were designed primarily to encourage Bedouin settlement, have increased water resource exploitation. In the early 1990s, large-scale agricultural projects have relied primarily on such underground aquifers, which provided more than 80% of the water for agricultural requirements. In fiscal year (FY) 1987, about 90% of the total water demand in the kingdom was consumed by agriculture.