In force Last amended 28/5/1444 AH
Saudi Water Law
نظام المياه
Governs water resources and water services in Saudi Arabia, including ownership of water sources, licensed use, water tariffs, conservation, strategic storage, well drilling, protection from pollution, violations and penalties.
- Articles
- 77
- In force
- 77
- Amended
- 1
- Issued
- 11/11/1441 AH
Issued by: مرسوم ملكي رقم (م/159) وتاريخ 1441/11/11هـ · قرار مجلس الوزراء رقم (710) وتاريخ 1441/11/9هـ
Each article shows the official Arabic text, which is the only legally binding version, followed by our plain-English explanation.
Browse Water Law by topic
Definitions and Objectives of the Water Law3 articlesRoles of the Ministry and the Water Regulatory Authority9 articlesOwnership of Water Sources and Use Licenses9 articlesWater Use Priorities and Allocation9 articlesWastewater and Treated Water12 articlesWater Tariffs2 articlesTransfer and Export of Water Use Rights4 articlesWater Conservation8 articlesStrategic Water Storage5 articlesWater Service Licenses and Infrastructure13 articlesWell Drilling and Water Exploration3 articlesProtecting Water Sources from Pollution12 articlesWater Violations and Penalties8 articlesCommittees for Water Violations5 articles
Articles of the Saudi Water Law
الفصل الأول: التعريفاتArticles 1–1
الفصل الثاني: أهداف النظام ونطاق التطبيقArticles 2–3
- Article 2The article sets out the objectives of the Water Law: protecting water sources and their sustainability, providing safe supplies at reasonable prices, promoting private sector participation, and securing supplies for agriculture.
- Article 3The article provides that the Water Law applies to all water sources and affairs in the Kingdom, including special zones, with the exception of Zamzam water.
الفصل الثالث: المهمات والمسؤولياتArticles 4–6
- Article 4The article sets out the tasks of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture in water plans, strategic storage, emergencies and monitoring sources, and gives the Minister the power to declare a water emergency.
- Article 5The article sets out the Authority's tasks in service provision activities, including approving executive plans, regulating treated water contracts and deciding on complaints, and allows its board to amend the scope of activities and licenses.
- Article 6The article requires the Ministry and the Authority to give the private sector the information it needs for water investment, and requires bodies and licensees to give them information, samples and documents.
الفصل الرابع: مصادر الياه وملكيتهاArticles 7–11
- Article 7The article provides that water sources are surface water and renewable and non-renewable groundwater.
- Article 8The article provides that water sources are public property to be benefited from in accordance with the Water Law and other laws, without prejudice to rights established by Sharia.
- Article 9The article bars using or developing any water source other than seawater, or preparing for either, without a license, and requires the Ministry's prior approval for the site of any desalination plant.
- Article 10The article gives the Ministry the right to impose meters on wells in non-renewable aquifers to monitor consumption under the water allowances, and lets the Ministerial Committee consider imposing a fee when the allowance is exceeded.
- Article 11The article provides that licenses to use well water sources do not pass with the transfer of ownership of the land containing the source except with the Ministry's approval.
الفصل الخامس: استخدام المياهArticles 12–31
- Article 12The article ranks the priorities for water use and allocation: basic human needs, then watering animals, then agricultural, urban and industrial demand and the environmental minimum, as decided by the Ministerial Committee.
- Article 13The article requires government bodies and the private sector to coordinate with the Ministry on water needs when preparing national and development plans.
- Article 14The article requires public and private bodies to inform the Ministry of any indicator or change they detect in the water sources belonging to them, and requires the Ministry to follow it up.
- Article 15The article makes the allocation of water quantities for development purposes a decision of the Ministerial Committee on the Ministry's proposal, based on aquifer characteristics and the annual flow of valleys.
- Article 16The article requires water allocated for agriculture to be used under the national strategies set by the Minister, and requires a license for agricultural water supply activities and the Ministry's principal buyer activities.
- Article 17The article bars the relevant bodies from issuing licenses or approvals for any facility that may obstruct the use of surface water except with the Ministry's prior approval.
- Article 18The article gives the Minister the right to suspend any source use license or reduce its quantities because of water scarcity or shortage, or water, environmental or public health security, except what the Ministerial Committee excludes.
- Article 19The article requires the Ministry to take the necessary measures to prevent the use of water sources that have become unsuitable for use, including stopping the issuance of the source license or cancelling it.
- Article 20The article gives Ministry inspectors the right to enter sites and facilities, including special zones, to verify lawful use of water and the soundness of its sources, and addresses the case where they are obstructed.
- Article 21The article prohibits using wastewater outright, restricts the use and discharge of treated wastewater to the approved standards, and requires a service provision license to transport, collect and dispose of wastewater.
- Article 22The article gives the Ministry's inspector the right to enter farms that use treated water to monitor and take samples, to verify that the water, products and crops are free of pollutants, and addresses the case where he is prevented or obstructed.
- Article 23The article permits using tertiary-treated water after confirming it is safe and free of pollutants, except for drinking, household uses and food industries, under the Ministry's regulations.
- Article 24The article requires an agricultural irrigation system to include an integrated drainage system that collects excess irrigation water and disposes of it safely, to protect water sources from pollution.
- Article 25The article permits using secondary-treated water in restricted agricultural irrigation, industry, mining, construction work and the like, after confirming it is safe and under the Ministry's regulations.
- Article 26The article requires all government and private bodies to coordinate with the service provision licensee before connecting sewage to the networks or collecting it by tanker and discharging it at the treatment plant.
- Article 27The article makes the use of sludge subject to the controls and standards issued by the Ministry to protect public health and the environment.
- Article 28The article makes licensing any facility, granting final approvals, or supplying a facility with water conditional on a suitable sewage disposal system, or a licensed private treatment plant where there is no network.
- Article 29The article requires the owner, where sewage networks are available, to connect to them or build a private sewage treatment plant, as the Authority's regulations set out.
- Article 30The article prohibits discharging rain water, groundwater, agricultural drainage water and construction site water into the public sewage network except with the approval of the service provision licensee.
- Article 31The article requires oil factories, car wash stations, restaurants, kitchens and similar facilities to provide grease or oil traps, and requires the owner to maintain them and monitor their operation.
الفصل السادس: تعريفة المياهArticles 32–33
- Article 32The article tasks the Ministerial Committee with proposing the water tariff for water sources and submitting it to the Council of Ministers for approval under set criteria, and reviewing it at least every five years.
- Article 33The article makes approving the tariffs for service provision activities, and reviewing them periodically, the Authority's responsibility, and sets seven considerations to be taken into account in the review.
الفصل السابع: التصرف بحقوق استخدام المياهArticles 34–36
- Article 34The article requires the Ministry, before transferring a source use license from one user to another, to verify there is no higher-priority or more viable request and that the new use fits the strategy and safe yield, and to coordinate with the Authority where needed.
- Article 35The article authorizes the Ministry or the Authority, each within its jurisdiction, to impose a financial charge on licenses and on applications to transfer water use rights.
- Article 36The article prohibits importing or exporting unbottled water except by a decision of the Council of Ministers, and tasks the Ministry with identifying the water-consuming agricultural and animal products whose export is banned.
الفصل الثامن: ترشيد الاستخدامArticles 37–42
- Article 37The article assigns the regulation and management of water-use rationing to the Ministry or its delegate, and requires licensees, consumers and beneficiaries to comply with rationing and use its tools and equipment.
- Article 38The article requires government and private sectors to use water-saving sanitary ware and plumbing materials that meet the specifications, and to make use of gray water and recycle it under the Ministry's regulations.
- Article 39The article requires government bodies and service provision licensees to adopt the principle of water rationalization as a theme of their awareness, education and marketing programs, as the Ministry's regulations set out.
- Article 40The article requires water-saving irrigation systems when irrigating in urban or agricultural activities, as determined by the Ministry's regulations.
- Article 41The article sets four obligations on water users: rationing and not wasting, keeping to licensed uses and quantities and allowing measurement, preserving sources, and paying what is imposed.
- Article 42The article requires the Ministry and the Authority, each within its jurisdiction, to subject all water uses to measurement and monitoring and to verify its effectiveness, directly or through licensees.
الفصل التاسع: الخزن الاستراتيجي للمياهArticles 43–46
- Article 43The article tasks the Ministry with periodically estimating available water quantities and measuring withdrawals, storage and its quality, depletion rates and treatment, and requires the relevant bodies to enable and cooperate with it.
- Article 44The article tasks the Ministry with approving strategic water storage and strategic reservoirs distributed across all regions of the Kingdom, taking into account consumers' expected needs in emergencies.
- Article 45The article allows the Ministry, or whoever it licenses, to carry out injection when it is safe from the health, environmental and technical standpoints, as determined by the Ministry's regulations.
- Article 46The article allows the Ministerial Committee, on the Ministry's proposal, to ban the use of water sources in specified areas to secure reserves and strategic storage, and to lift the ban, with licensees compensated under the Ministry's regulations.
الفصل العاشر: خدمات المياهArticles 47–51
- Article 47The article makes issuing, renewing and amending licenses, exemptions and permits for service provision activities the Authority's responsibility, and bans carrying out any of these activities without a license except those exempted by the Authority's regulations.
- Article 48The article prohibits a licensee for a service provision activity from assigning its license or disposing of the licensed assets in any way before obtaining the Authority's written permission, without affecting the performance of the activity.
- Article 49Article 49 requires a service-activity licensee to get the Authority's approval before merging with others or acquiring most of their shares or assets, and to notify the Authority of any preliminary agreement.
- Article 50Article 50 requires the Authority, in coordination with the Ministry, to make the necessary arrangements to ensure service continues if a service-activity licensee is unable to carry out its activity for any reason.
- Article 51Article 51 gives the Authority's inspectors the right to enter sites and facilities licensed by the Authority to check compliance with the Law, and allows the Authority to coordinate with the competent bodies if they are prevented or obstructed.
الفصل الحادي عشر: البنى الأساسية للمياه وكشف التسرباتArticles 52–57
- Article 52Article 52 tasks the Ministry or its delegate with building water harvesting infrastructure and networks outside the jurisdiction of the secretariats, municipalities and special zones when there is no licensee, and treats public water infrastructure as state property.
- Article 53Article 53 places everything relating to water infrastructure used in service-provision activities, including sale or otherwise, under the Authority's supervision, whoever owns it.
- Article 54If a licensee cannot carry out its activity and wishes to liquidate, or liquidation proceedings are opened under the Bankruptcy Law, it must coordinate with the Authority to transfer its assets at a fair value to the Ministry or another licensee.
- Article 55Article 55 requires the licensee, except in special zones, to prepare water infrastructure plans for the Ministry's approval, and requires government and private bodies to coordinate with the Ministry to avoid threatening the infrastructure's safety.
- Article 56Article 56 prohibits work or digging within the boundaries or protective zones of infrastructure and water plants without coordinating with the licensee or owners, and within those of wells and dams without coordinating with the Ministry.
- Article 57Article 57 prohibits water from flowing outside the boundaries of public and private buildings, or leaking from tanks, internal networks or water tankers, as the Authority's regulations specify.
الفصل الثاني عشر: مزاولة أنشطة الحفر والتنقيبArticles 58–59
- Article 58The article requires a license to carry out water exploration, well drilling, use, maintenance and backfilling, and the drilling profession, and requires the owner of a newly acquired property with an unlicensed well to apply for a license.
- Article 59Article 59 states that a license to drill wells, to explore for water or to explore for other uses, issued by anyone other than the Ministry, does not give its holder the right to use the water source discovered.
الفصل الثالث عشر: الحماية الصحية والبيئية للمياهArticles 60–61
- Article 60Article 60 allocates the task of monitoring water quality: the Ministry for agricultural water standards, and the Authority for water quality in the activities of service-provision licensees, with bottled drinking water excluded.
- Article 61The article tasks the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture with issuing, and updating, the measures, standards and requirements for protecting water sources and the environment from pollution.
الفصل الرابع عشر: تدابير أساسية لحماية مصادر المياهArticles 62–64
- Article 62Article 62 prohibits any act likely to harm water sources or their infrastructure, as the Ministry's regulations specify.
- Article 63Article 63 requires the Ministries of Energy, of Industry and Mineral Resources, and of Municipal and Rural Affairs, each within its competence, to prevent hydrocarbon and toxic materials from leaking into aquifers, and to notify the Ministry of leaks and deal with them.
- Article 64Article 64 requires the licensee to set a safe separation distance, specified by the Authority's regulations, between wastewater collection networks and water sources and systems, and to take the necessary measures to prevent wastewater from leaking into them.
الفصل الخامس عشر: المخالفات والعقوباتArticles 65–69
- Article 65Article 65 makes detecting violations of the Water Law and its regulations, and investigating them, the tasks of the Ministry and the Authority, each within its competence, and allows them to qualify specialized companies or offices for monitoring and detecting violations.
- Article 66Article 66 specifies who approves the controls for detecting violations of the Water Law, who appoints those assigned to detection and investigation as law enforcement officers, and their powers of inspection and access to records.
- Article 67The article lists seventeen acts that count as violations of the Water Law, including operating without a license, giving misleading information, causing water scarcity or pollution, and unlawful connection to networks.
- Article 68The article sets the penalties for violating the Water Law: suspension of the activity for up to one year, cancellation of the license, and a fine of up to twenty million riyals, with a daily fine, doubling on repetition, and publication.
- Article 69The article punishes anyone who attempts to violate the Water Law or conceals a violator with half the prescribed penalty, and with the full penalty on repetition.
الفصل السادس عشر: لجنة النظر في المخالفاتArticles 70–72
- Article 70Article 70 creates two committees to hear violations of the Water Law, one for the Ministry and one for the Authority, sets their composition and approval of their decisions, and allows objection before the Administrative Court within 60 days.
- Article 71The article allows the Ministry and the Authority, in urgent cases, to order a violator to stop and remove the violation, suspend their activity or manage the source for up to six months, and requires the committee to decide within 20 working days.
- Article 72The article makes whoever commits a violation of the Water Law liable for all damage to the licensee's facility or to third parties, including repair costs and compensation for the benefit lost.
الفصل السابع عشر: أحكام انتقالية وختاميةArticles 73–77
- Article 73Article 73 exempts from the fine for unlicensed wells anyone who discloses their existence on their property within the stated period, which was extended by one more year by Royal Decree No. M/68.Amended M/68
- Article 74Article 74 allows the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture to delegate some of its tasks assigned to it under the Water Law to any public body or to the private sector.
- Article 75The article repeals three earlier laws and their regulations: the Law of Water and Sewerage Authorities, the Law on Conservation of Water Resources, and the Law on Treated Sewage Water and Its Reuse.
- Article 76Article 76 specifies who issues the Implementing Regulations of the Water Law within 90 days of its publication, and lists the regulations the Authority issues for its regulatory tasks.
- Article 77The article provides that the Water Law comes into force 90 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.