06 November 2010
By AFTAB H. KOLA
MUSCAT: The government has set aside RO5 million to protect aflaj, the Sultanate's main source of irrigation besides wells, said Engineer Saif Sulaiman Al Amri, director of aflaj at Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources.
"Considering the importance of aflaj in the Sultanate, the ministry is working with full zeal to maintain it. So far, 260 aflaj have been covered under the maintenance projects and in the next remaining two months more will be covered," the director said.
Many aflaj in Oman were built over 1,500 years ago and some of them may date back over 2,500 years.
In a survey conducted by the ministry, a total of 4,112 aflaj were identified in the Sultanate. Out of these, 3,017 were found active while 1,095 were categorised as inactive.
Muscat has the least number with 239, while Batinah is endowed with 1,561 aflaj. Sharqiyah comes next with 846, followed by Al Dakhiliyah with 750 and Al Dahirah with 716.
Today, aflaj deliver a total of 680 million cubic metres of water through its functional (active) aflaj.
A falaj can run as long as several kilometres, while the depth of the aflaj main well reaches 65 to 200 feet. Water from aflaj irrigates 32 per cent of the Sultanate's agriculture land.
Periodical maintenance
"The maintenance projects aim to preserve the structures of aflaj and reduce the cost of periodical maintenance borne out by the citizens. The government is providing the necessary support and state-of-the-art technology for the maintenance and renewal of aflaj, which are considered as one of the main sources of irrigation water in Oman," Amri said.
"The Sultanate is also blessed with several major springs, which come under the category of aini aflaj," he said.
Springs, a natural discharge point of groundwater at the surface of the ground, discharge their water from two geologic systems, Al Hajar limestones and the ophiolites.
"Spring water has been tapped for irrigation and other purposes. In northern Oman spring water is used for irrigation purpose while in southern region spring water is mainly consumed for feeding domestic animals. There are 1,152 springs identified in Oman and out of these 989 are active," he said.
The famous springs in Oman are Ain Al Kisfah in Rustaq and Al Thawra at Nakhl.
By AFTAB H. KOLA
MUSCAT: The government has set aside RO5 million to protect aflaj, the Sultanate's main source of irrigation besides wells, said Engineer Saif Sulaiman Al Amri, director of aflaj at Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources.
"Considering the importance of aflaj in the Sultanate, the ministry is working with full zeal to maintain it. So far, 260 aflaj have been covered under the maintenance projects and in the next remaining two months more will be covered," the director said.
Many aflaj in Oman were built over 1,500 years ago and some of them may date back over 2,500 years.
In a survey conducted by the ministry, a total of 4,112 aflaj were identified in the Sultanate. Out of these, 3,017 were found active while 1,095 were categorised as inactive.
Muscat has the least number with 239, while Batinah is endowed with 1,561 aflaj. Sharqiyah comes next with 846, followed by Al Dakhiliyah with 750 and Al Dahirah with 716.
Today, aflaj deliver a total of 680 million cubic metres of water through its functional (active) aflaj.
A falaj can run as long as several kilometres, while the depth of the aflaj main well reaches 65 to 200 feet. Water from aflaj irrigates 32 per cent of the Sultanate's agriculture land.
Periodical maintenance
"The maintenance projects aim to preserve the structures of aflaj and reduce the cost of periodical maintenance borne out by the citizens. The government is providing the necessary support and state-of-the-art technology for the maintenance and renewal of aflaj, which are considered as one of the main sources of irrigation water in Oman," Amri said.
"The Sultanate is also blessed with several major springs, which come under the category of aini aflaj," he said.
Springs, a natural discharge point of groundwater at the surface of the ground, discharge their water from two geologic systems, Al Hajar limestones and the ophiolites.
"Spring water has been tapped for irrigation and other purposes. In northern Oman spring water is used for irrigation purpose while in southern region spring water is mainly consumed for feeding domestic animals. There are 1,152 springs identified in Oman and out of these 989 are active," he said.
The famous springs in Oman are Ain Al Kisfah in Rustaq and Al Thawra at Nakhl.
© Times of Oman 2010
