RIYADH: Rising groundwater will no longer pose a problem for more than 47 neighborhoods in Riyadh as an effort to reduce the groundwater table to safe levels has achieved its goal.
The High Commission for Riyadh Development (HCRD) said it implemented a network of underground drainage projects to reduce the level of groundwater in these neighborhoods over a distance of 373 km.
Ibrahim Al-Sultan, Project and Planning President at HCRD, said this is just one of HCRD’s ongoing groundwater level projects to manage the problem of rising ground water within the city. “Work continues through the implementation of several methods in another six neighborhoods covering 59 km,” he said.
The commission is currently preparing a comprehensive plan to continue to monitor and control the rise of groundwater in the capital’s eastern region, he added.
Shedding light on the problem, Al-Sultan said water levels began to rise over four decades ago, keeping up with the city’s population and building construction boom. This increase in water consumption and run-off led to rising groundwater levels particularly in areas of inadequate underground drainage in parts of the capital.
The HCRD commissioned a study to assess the city’s groundwater drainage network systems effectiveness and find alternative solutions. Based on their findings, the city was divided according to priority and projects to implement effective underground drainage projects began.
HCRD assures safe groundwater levels projects
