Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — Social media have shared images of a white spot in the Red Sea at the Corniche, initiating a discussion on pollution and the fear of underwater destruction of life, Al-Madina reported.

Several people described the spot as a serious "sea pollution" that calls for the intervention of the competent authorities, saying that many major hotels are dumping sewage water into the sea. This contributes to the pollution of water and threatens life under sea including fish. Spokesman for the Presidency for Meteorology and Environmental Protection Hussein Al-Qahtani said that this was only residue of groundwater that is collected and then discharged into the sea. When the groundwater is poured and mixes with the sea then white shapes are formed. He pointed out that a dedicated team will examine the situation to double check that there are no environmental repercussions at all. He stressed that the presidency conducts supervisory visits from time to time to inspect and control all those who throw sewage water in the sea and it imposes appropriate fines and penalties against those who violate the law.

It is worth mentioning that two people shared pictures on social media showing the size of the white spot that covered the length of the sea strip of the new waterfront of the Jeddah Corniche and expressed their concern about the strange color that covered the sea.

Environmental expert and environmental researcher and professor of chemistry at Umm Al-Qura University, Dr. Fahad Turkistani, warned that the groundwater flow into the sea — if we assume it is actually groundwater — is a dangerous behavior and is not related to the environment and its preservation.

He noted that the sea shore in Jeddah has more than 600 sewage dumping points and 75 percent of them were shut down. Yet the situation still needs imposing strict procedures that contribute to the preservation of marine environment.

Dr. Turkistani explained that these waters carry within them many chemicals that destroy marine life.