Work under way to channelise rainwater in Muscat

Implementation of a project to channelise rainwater through open channels in the Al Ghubrah area is under way. The (phase B) of the project has a length of 2,000 metres and is likely to be completed during the first quarter of 2023, Muscat Municipality announced.

The project comes as part of the Municipality’s efforts to strengthen the rainwater drainage system in vital areas in the Governorate of Muscat.

The project aims to drain rainwater smoothly from the commercial district, next to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the opposite area, and in front of the Court Complex, all the way up to the stream of Wadi Athaiba.

It also aims to streamline traffic during rainfall, strengthen the drainage system and mitigate the effects of floods in climatic conditions.

The Municipality said that the project is based on the construction of open channels with a length of 2 km, consisting of reinforced concrete and gravel lined with cement. It also includes changing a service path with a length of 270 metres and the transfer and protection of service lines intertwined with the rainwater drainage path.

The project came as part of the Municipality’s plan to build a sustainable protection system with modern designs characterised by high quality and efficiency, which guarantees solving the problems of water gatherings and their negative effects on the surroundings of this vital area in the Governorate of Muscat, as well as making traffic flow more smoothly in various climatic conditions.

In mid of last March, the governorate revealed the detailed plan for treating the rainwater system and low areas, as it is hoped to implement projects for wadi drainage channels, prepare studies for the water drainage network in residential neighbourhoods, implement protection dam projects, and update and prepare flood risk maps, which include wadis and low spots in the governorate.

The plan included constructing protection dams, and drainage channels, rehabilitating a number of wadi streams, and treating water accumulations in residential neighbourhoods.

@zainabalnasseri