Omani-Dutch water project for Sohar region begins

By Kaushalendra S Singh - MUSCAT — A joint Omani-Dutch project on Water Availability Management for the Sohar region was kicked off yesterday in the presence of officials from the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources, Dutch Ambassador to the Sultanate Koninkrijk, and delegates from Dutch water resources companies. The initiative was held on the sidelines of the Water Science and Technology Association (WSTA) 9th Gulf Water Conference.

The initial study for the project, which aims at influencing the water availability within the boundaries of the Sohar wadi system, will be executed by a Dutch consortium headed by the consultancy company Royal Haskoning. The project also aims at enhancing infiltration, retention and sub-surface storage of water at times of abundance in order to recover it in times of shortage.

A high-level Dutch delegation is participating in the 9th Gulf Water Conference headed by Dr R J (Rudd) Schotting, Sultan Qaboos Chair of Quantitative Water Management at Roosevelt Academy and Roy Agterbos. Dr Schotting praised Oman’s level of understanding and concern for the cause of water and said the level of speakers at the conference is quite high and Omani administration is receptive to new ideas.

“Sohar is now Oman’s hub of development, which requires water. Natural water sources are limited and the process of desalination requires lots of money and energy. Tapping of natural water sources with an intelligent network seems to be the only solution now,” he said. He also laid stress on the fact that 90 per cent of natural water resource is being used in agriculture sector in Oman. But the output does not match the use of such a big resource.

“It means that a big amount of natural water is going waste mostly by evaporation. Only a small amount of water is reaching to the plant.” Commenting on solution to this problem Dr Schotting said, “There cannot be one solution to it. The answer lies in a joint effort to uplift irrigation techniques, water recharge, new techniques of desalination and infiltration.”