Oman Wires It's all about Oman
A ministry official mentioned, “Since 2007 the groundwater level has been rising. This was found during construction activities in the urban areas of Muscat governorate. To understand the reasons behind it, we asked the Water Research Centre of Sultan Qaboos University to conduct a study, ‘Rising water level in Muscat governorate’. The project which started in May 29, 2016 was completed on May 27, 2019.”
The project team performed a number of field visits to verify for alkalinity, deployed information loggers and monitored water head, temperature and electrical conductivity (EC). “Water samples were collected from different areas.”
The official mentioned that the study identified the geology of an region plays an crucial part in the presence of water at shallower depths. “The range of measured EC and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) indicates mineral dissolution and leaching from the soil profile which is also supported by pH variation.”
The official also ruled out contamination with sewage water.
“The absence of E.coli in the majority of samples rules out contamination with sewage. Monitoring head, EC and water temperature in Ansab indicates that rainfall introduces water to the subsurface and water level rises after rainfall.”
The official mentioned that groundwater modelling has been initiated. “Large scale groundwater model will be developed for the whole of Muscat with focus on the affected areas. Different scenarios will be proposed to identify best practices to alleviate the problem.”
Information Source: Muscat Daily
