For the application of these terms and regulations, the following words and phrases - wherever they appear - mean the meanings shown in front of each, unless the context requires otherwise:

• Law: Water Law.

• Ministry: Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture.

• Minister: Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture.

• Ministerial Committee: A committee formed under the chairmanship of the Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, and membership of the Minister of Energy, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Minister of Economy and Planning, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs; to carry out the tasks assigned to it under the law.

• Agency: Water Agency of the Ministry.

• Branch: Branch of the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture.

• Organization: Saudi Irrigation Organization.

• Ministry's Regulations: The regulations necessary for the Ministry to carry out its tasks in accordance with the provisions of the law.

• Beneficiaries: Public and private entities and individuals, including practitioners of activities, users, and consumers.

• Terms and Regulations: Terms and regulations for issuing licenses (use) of surface water sources and classifying their violations.

• Water Quota: The amount of water specified according to the needs of different crops.

• Surface Water: Water accumulated or flowing on the land, and sea water.

• Water Harvesting: The natural or industrial technique used to capture and store rainwater and floods during their fall periods, in ways that vary according to the purpose of their collection, their rainfall rates, and their reuse when needed for various purposes, whether urban, agricultural, industrial, or reinjection into the ground; to recharge aquifers to enhance water sources.

• Surface Water Sources: Sea water, rivers, natural and artificial lakes, terrestrial and marine springs, rainwater, and floods, located in the terrestrial and marine territory of the Kingdom.

• Rainwater and Flood Harvesting Facilities: Surface and underground dams, mountain ponds and lakes, rainwater and flood collection tanks, embankments, and barriers.

• Collection Area (Water Drainage Basin): A natural depression on the earth's surface where all water drains from surrounding areas and all materials transported with the water are deposited.

• Surface Water Source Reserve: The area directly affecting the surface water source in terms of water quality and quantity.

• Surface Water Boundaries: The boundaries of the highest level reached by surface water at its peak, and the surface water source reserve is part of the surface water boundaries and a component of its components.

• Water Infrastructure: Facilities used in the production, harvesting, transportation, distribution, storage, or monitoring of water, whether owned by the public or private sector, excluding desalination plants, treatment plants, and purification plants.

• Dams: Water facilities constructed in the courses of valleys or their tributaries, according to technical foundations, to harvest floodwaters and control their flow, or to avert their dangers.

• Ponds, Lakes, and Collection Tanks: Water facilities constructed with technical specifications below the natural ground level, to collect and preserve rainwater and floods during their flow, and to use the collected water later to enhance surface water sources and provide it for various uses.

• Embankments: Facilities constructed using natural materials to harvest floodwaters to divert part of the floodwaters to irrigate benefiting farms.

• Barriers: Constructions built within the boundaries of valleys and tributaries using natural or concrete materials to calm floodwaters and reduce their dangers, preventing soil erosion and increasing the recharge rate of groundwater.

• Bays: Constructions built using natural materials to divert part of the floodwaters to irrigate benefiting farms.

• Dam Sediments: Fragmented materials of different sizes transported by wind or floodwaters during their flow in valleys as a result of soil or rock erosion, then naturally deposited in low-level sites due to the decrease in wind speed or water current energy.

• Usage Rights: Powers granted to the holder of a source usage license.

• Licensee: Any public or private entity or individual issued a license to use a surface water source.

• Source Usage License: A document issued by the Ministry for the use of water sources - excluding sea water - under the law and the Ministry's regulations.

• Source Development License: A document issued by the Ministry to authorize the practice of water source development activity under the law and the Ministry's regulations.

• Permit: A document granted by the Ministry or the authority in connection with preparation works - including planning and conducting studies - before commencing any source usage activity, source development activity, or service provision activity.

• Approval: Written permission issued by the Ministry to start completing the procedures for obtaining the necessary licenses from the relevant authorities.

• Exemption: General permission from the Ministry to use water from some rainwater harvesting and flood sources.

• Strategic Water Storage: Storing water in artificial reservoirs, dams, or suitable aquifers; to pump and utilize it later for the public interest to ensure supply stability.

• Safe Yield of the Source: The quantities of water that can be withdrawn from the water source without compromising its sustainability or changing its quality.

• Injection: Pumping water into aquifers that meet the technical standards specified by the Ministry's regulations.

• Water Source Development Activity: Any technical or technological work, traditional or non-traditional, aimed at sustaining water resources and maximizing their utilization; through water harvesting, increasing surface and groundwater storage, protection, or rationalizing use.

• Water Desalination: Producing water by treating seawater, by removing its pollutants and all or part of its salinity through a series of industrial processes, through desalination plants; to convert it into pure water suitable for urban, industrial, and agricultural uses.

• Desalinated Water: Water sourced from the sea treated by desalination.

• Pollutants: Any substance that causes a physical, chemical, or biological change or has radioactive activity that negatively affects water quality directly or indirectly, making it unsuitable for uses.

• Water Unfit for Use: Water whose natural properties have changed in a way that does not conform to the specifications of its designated uses.

Provisions of the Water Law issued by Royal Decree No. (M/159) dated 11/11/1441H, and its executive regulations, as follows:

Article Two: The law aims to achieve the following:

• 1- Preserve, develop, protect, ensure sustainability, manage, and regulate water resources and related rights and uses.

Article Seven: Water sources include the following:

• 1- Surface water.

• 2. Renewable and non-renewable groundwater.

Article Eight: Without prejudice to rights established by Sharia, water sources are considered public property, to be utilized according to the provisions of the law and other regulations.

Article Nine:

• 1- Except for seawater, no person may use, develop, or prepare any water source without obtaining the necessary license; according to the financial compensation for the license determined by the ministerial committee, and the conditions set by the ministry.

• 2- To establish a desalination plant at a specific site on the sea, prior approval from the ministry is required for establishing the plant at that site.

Article Seventeen: Relevant authorities must not issue licenses or approvals for establishing any facility that may obstruct the use of surface water without prior approval from the ministry.

Article Nineteen: The ministry shall take necessary measures and procedures to prevent the use of water sources that have become unfit for use, including stopping the issuance of a source usage license or canceling it.

Article Twenty:

• 1- Ministry inspectors have the right to enter sites and facilities, including private areas within their jurisdiction; to ensure the legality of obtaining and using water, the safety of its sources, compliance with license conditions, and adherence to the application of the law's provisions, in coordination with the competent authorities.

• 2- In case ministry inspectors are obstructed from performing their duties, the ministry shall coordinate with the competent authorities to take necessary measures to complete the entry process.

Article Forty-One: Water users must adhere to the following:

• 1- Rationalize water use, avoid waste, avoid excessive use, and use water-saving tools, devices, and systems that comply with the approved Saudi standards recommended by the ministry.

• 2- Adhere to the licensed uses and quantities, and enable relevant authorities to conduct measurement and monitoring operations.

• 3- Preserve water sources.

Article Forty-Two: The ministry and the authority, each within its jurisdiction, must subject all water uses to measurement and monitoring according to the provisions of the law, and ensure its effective implementation, either directly or through licensed parties.

Article Forty-Five: The ministry or its licensed parties may permit injection whenever it is safe from a health, environmental, and technical standpoint; according to what is determined by the ministry's regulations.

Article Fifty-Six:

• 1- It is prohibited to perform any work or drilling within the boundaries of infrastructure, desalination plants, purification plants, treatment plants, or their sanctuaries as determined by the ministry or authority's regulations without coordinating with the licensed party or their owners and taking necessary measures to protect them.

• 2- It is prohibited to perform any work or drilling within the boundaries of wells and dams or their sanctuaries without coordinating with the ministry.Article Sixty-Two: It is prohibited to perform any act that may harm water sources or their infrastructure; according to what is determined by the ministry's regulations.

Article Sixty-Seven:

Without prejudice to other regulations, performing any of the following acts is considered a violation of the law:

• 1- Engaging in any activity or work subject to the law without obtaining a license.

• 6- The licensed party not obtaining the necessary approvals; according to the law, or the ministry's regulations, or the authority's regulations, or the license conditions, or the exemptions issued under the law.

• 7- Non-compliance with the decisions and instructions issued by the ministry or authority in implementation of the law's provisions.

• 8- Misuse of any water source, or using it for purposes other than those intended.

• 9- Exploiting emergencies or disasters related to water sources, directly or indirectly.

• 10- Violating the principles of fair competition, or limiting it concerning activities or works subject to the law's provisions.

• 11- Engaging in any activity that leads to water scarcity or pollution.

• 12- Causing damage to water infrastructure, desalination plants, purification plants, treatment plants, or their sanctuaries, or to the equipment or devices of a licensed party, or misusing them.

• 13- Non-compliance with the specifications and standards approved by the ministry or authority, related to public health, environment, safety, or security.

• 15- Preventing inspectors and specialists from inspection, control, and investigation from performing their work, or obstructing them from doing so.

• 16- Assisting others in committing any violation of the law, or the ministry's regulations, or the authority's regulations, or the license conditions.

• 17- Violating any provision of the law, or the ministry's regulations, or the authority's regulations, or the license conditions, or the exemptions.

The objective of preparing the terms and regulations for issuing licenses (use) of surface water sources

• 1- In enforcement of Article Nine of the Water Law, which states: Except for seawater, no person may use any water source, develop it, or prepare for it without obtaining the necessary license; according to the financial compensation for the license determined by the ministerial committee, and the conditions set by the ministry.

• 2- To preserve, develop, protect, and ensure the sustainability and management of water sources.

• 3- To regulate the affairs of water sources, the rights related to them, and their uses.

• 4- To ensure that no activity or work subject to the law is practiced without obtaining the necessary license.

Types of Licenses, Permits, Delegations, Approvals, and Exemptions for the Use of Surface Water Sources

• 1- Licenses for the use of surface dam water by direct withdrawal.

• 2- Licenses for the use of injection and artificial recharge water for aquifers.

• 3- Permits, delegations, approvals, and exemptions related to activities concerning surface water sources:

  • A- Permits to open dam gates designated for drinking in normal situations.

  • B- Delegation to open dam gates designated for drinking in emergency situations.

  • C- Delegation to open dam gates not designated for drinking in normal and emergency situations.

  • D- Delegation to use dam lakes for any investment or recreational projects.

  • E- Delegation for establishing irrigation projects on dams.

  • F- Approvals for the locations of purification stations on dams.

  • G- Exemption for rainwater and floodwater harvesting facilities (ponds, mountain lakes, barriers or embankments or bays, and rainwater and floodwater collection tanks) from having a usage license from the Ministry, and a construction license or a status correction license is sufficient.

A- Individual Sector.

B- Government Sector.

C- Business Sector.

D- Non-Profit Sector.

Without prejudice to the provisions of the Water Law and its executive regulations and the conditions and controls for issuing licenses for surface water sources and classifying their violations approved by Ministerial Decision No. (15021321) dated 24/1/1446 AH, these conditions, controls, and procedures shall be effective from the date of their approval by the authorized person and their publication in the official gazette.

• A- Except for seawater, the use of surface water sources is prohibited unless authorized by a (license, permit, approval, or exemption) issued by the ministers.

• B- Delegating the Saudi Irrigation Organization with the following tasks: (opening the gates of dams designated for drinking in emergency cases, opening the gates of dams not designated for drinking in normal and emergency cases, using dam lakes for any investment or recreational projects, and establishing irrigation projects on dams), in accordance with what is stipulated in these conditions and controls.

• C- Rainwater and flood harvesting facilities (ponds, mountain lakes, barriers or embankments, and rainwater and flood collection tanks) are exempt from the requirement of a usage license from the Ministry, and only a construction or rectification license is required, provided that each entity commits to providing the Ministry with periodic reports and data with all information about these facilities.

• D- The exemption period from the requirement of usage licenses for rainwater and flood harvesting facilities (ponds, mountain lakes, barriers or embankments, and rainwater and flood collection tanks) is (5 years) from the date of approval of these conditions and their publication in the official gazette (renewable).

• E- The licensee is obligated to establish rainwater and flood harvesting facilities (ponds, mountain lakes, barriers or embankments, and rainwater and flood collection tanks) without preventing others from benefiting from the water collected in these facilities if established outside private property or the right of concession or allocation decision or right to benefit.

• F- Anyone currently using any surface water source for any purpose must apply through the (Nama) portal via the Ministry's website using national access for individuals or the commercial register for institutions and companies or the unified number for government entities within (one year) from the date of approval and publication of these controls in the official gazette to rectify their status by obtaining the necessary usage licenses, permits, approvals, or exemptions in accordance with these conditions and controls.

• G- The licensee is obligated to install an electromagnetic flow meter with a data transmitter according to the specifications approved by the Ministry and under its supervision and connect it to the Ministry's site, whenever requested by the Ministry.

• H- The licensee is obligated to install a water quality testing device and conduct chemical, bacteriological, and radiological analyses in an accredited laboratory for the raw water collected in the drinking water designated dam lakes and in groundwater injection projects semi-annually, and to provide the Ministry with the results of these analyses to ensure their quality according to the specifications approved by the Ministry for various uses.

• I- The licensee must adhere to not exceeding the quantities of water specified in the usage license, except with the Ministry's approval.

• J- The licensee must, upon cancellation of the activity or cessation of the need for use, apply to the Ministry for the cancellation of the usage license within (ninety) days.

• K- The licensee must follow safety and security rules when using surface water sources.

• L- All licensees using water of various types must rationalize their use, avoid waste, and use tools and systems that promote conservation.

• M- The licensee must cease using the source if there are pollutants that cannot be treated or controlled and notify the Ministry of that.

• N- The Ministry has the right to monitor the uses of the source and access sites to verify compliance with the terms and conditions, and it may seek assistance from relevant authorities when necessary.

• O- The duration of the usage license for surface water sources is (5 years) starting from the date of issuance (renewable).

• P- A request for renewal of the usage license must be submitted through the Nama portal three months before its expiration.

• Q- A new usage license must be applied for if there is a desire to change the purpose of use or add another purpose not previously licensed.

• R- The use of water from rainwater and flood harvesting facilities or water from water source development facilities for purposes other than those licensed is prohibited.

• S- The licensee must retain the usage license for surface water sources and present it to Ministry inspectors.

• T- It is prohibited to carry out any action that may harm surface water sources, whether in terms of quality, quantity, natural channels, or their protected areas or infrastructure, directly or indirectly.

• U- The discharge of any type of solid or liquid waste, or any type of pollutants, or the discharge of effluent from existing treatment plants into the dam lake or in the natural channels is prohibited unless an environmental impact study, approved by the Environmental Compliance Center, is conducted, and the licensee must report any suspected cases of this nature.

• V- The Saudi Irrigation Organization is obligated to take all necessary measures before opening the dam gates in coordination with the relevant authorities and to notify farmers in advance before opening the gates.

• W- No project may be established on the dams or in their lakes, regardless of its type, except in accordance with these conditions and controls.

Conditions and Regulations for Issuing Licenses for the Use of Surface Dam Water through Direct Withdrawal

• A- The beneficiary entity shall submit a request through the Nama portal to obtain a license for the use of dam water through direct withdrawal, specifying the name of the dam, the quantity, the purpose, the type of project, and the duration of use.

• B- The dam must be constructed by the Ministry or transferred to it, or executed under its supervision.

• C- The request shall be referred to the General Administration of Water Resources for coordination with the Saudi Irrigation Organization for study, and in case of approval, the water balances for the dam shall be prepared, and the safe withdrawal limit and the quantity proposed for direct withdrawal from the stock shall be determined.

• D- The General Administration for Organizing Water Resources shall study the request and issue the necessary usage license and notify the Saudi Irrigation Organization accordingly.

Conditions and Regulations for Issuing Licenses for the Use of Injection and Artificial Recharge Water for Aquifers

• A- The beneficiary entity shall submit a request through the Nama portal to obtain a license for the use of injection and artificial recharge water for aquifers that have previously been injected under a license issued by the Ministry, specifying the name of the project, the quantity, the purpose, and the duration of use. 

• B- The injection project must be established by the Ministry or under a construction license from it.

• C- The request shall be referred to the Water Resources Department to determine the safe withdrawal limit and the quantity proposed to be allowed for withdrawal from the stock, ensuring it does not affect the beneficiaries.

• D- The General Department for Organizing Water Resources shall study the request and issue the necessary usage license, notifying the General Department for Water Resources to monitor compliance with the conditions and regulations of the license.

Conditions and Regulations for Issuing Permits to Open Dam Gates Designated for Drinking Water in Normal Cases

• A- The Saudi Irrigation Organization or the Saudi Water Authority - each in its respective capacity - shall submit a request to open the gates of these dams, either for the purpose of supplying farmers' wells or for the purpose of supplying the water fields located under these dams.

• B- The request shall be referred to the General Administration of Water Resources for study in accordance with the water budget of the dam and the needs of the existing purification stations that rely on direct withdrawal from the dam, in coordination with the Saudi Water Authority. If the stock is sufficient for these stations, the proposed quantity to be discharged and the duration of discharge for supplying the wells of water fields and farmers' irrigation projects shall be determined.

• C- The request shall be reviewed by the General Administration for Organizing Water Resources and then the necessary permit shall be issued to the Saudi Irrigation Organization to open the dam gates, including the quantity and duration of discharge.

• D- The Saudi Irrigation Organization shall take all general precautions mentioned in the operational plan for the dams in normal cases and during rainstorms prepared by the General Administration of Water Resources before opening the gates.

• E- The Saudi Irrigation Organization shall notify the Ministry of the date of opening and closing the dam gates and the quantity discharged.

The Saudi Irrigation Organization is authorized to open the dam gates upon receiving alerts from the National Center for Meteorology regarding the occurrence of a rainstorm or a severe rainfall event, while maintaining the storage of each dam according to the emergency plan for the operation of dams established for drinking purposes in emergency situations and rainstorms prepared by the General Administration of Water Resources, taking all general precautions mentioned in this plan and notifying the Ministry of the date of opening and closing the dam gates and the quantity discharged.