SOCIO IMPACTS OF DUST STORMS ON DAILY WATER CONSUMPTION IN THE CITY OF RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

Paucity in potable water applies great deal of stress on planning water resources and water use for development sustainability. The ongoing migration from rural areas to urban centers created nodes of high freshwater demands all over the country of Saudi Arabia. As the demand for more fresh water continues to increase in the city of Riyadh focus is turned on better and more effective management of this vital resource. However, the marked difference between escalating demand and shrinking supplies illustrates that progress towards sustainable management falls short of adequacy. Understanding people's behavioral response to meteorological variables such as heat waves and dust storms will help create a short-term forecasting model of urban water consumption. And will help city management educate people and guide them to a more conservative response to naturally imposed conditions. One of the common practices following dust storms in most households in Riyadh is front and back-yards wash, house carwash and house trees wash using potable water supplies. Aggregate analysis of city daily water consumption vs. dust storms during the period 1/1/2009 to 1/6/2011 is presented in this paper. The water supply delivery system the city water management uses and the common installation of underground water storage tanks shed some ambiguity on the correlation between dust events and fluctuations in daily consumption. Nevertheless, significant correlations were observed when weekly and monthly consumptions were considered. The correlation is found to be stronger in wealthier neighborhoods, with 3-5 days lag behind dust storms.