ABU DHABI - The Abu Dhabi General Services Company, Musanada, and the Al Ain Region Municipality, ARM, commenced the Package 1 works of the Al Ain Rainwater Streams project totally valued at nearly AED119.3 million, aimed at reducing the risk of flash flooding in the 79.4km-long Al Ain, Al Sulaimi & Al Tawayya valleys in Al Ain city.

The project will help contain rainwater and streams and reduce the potential risk of flash floods, while keeping up with the continuous urban development, expanding the scope of services of the rainwater stream drainage network, in addition to properly and systematically investing in available water resources.

Musanada added that the project’s scope of work includes the cleaning and levelling of floors of the three valleys, restoring them to their normal shape to provide a regular stream of water without disruption or sharp runoff, besides carrying out maintenance work for rock/concrete protection barriers, repairing the damaged ends of bridges, dams and low waterways as may be necessary, and protecting and relocating infrastructure services as per requirements.

The ARM had studied the risks of floods and runoff in Al Ain city through the torrents water discharge project in Al-Ain city, aiming to assess the infrastructure conditions and capacity, identify the number of flash floods and develop a master plan to study the risks of flooding in the Al Ain, Al Sulaimi and Al Tawayya valleys in Al Ain city and the priority areas for protection from flood risks.

The ARM initiated the project across three main phases. The first phase involved the collection of information, data and statistics related to rain, valleys and dams and the development of topographic surveys that involved studying the average precipitation and location of valleys and dams. The second phase involved creating a geographic database and a hydraulic model to study the movement of rainwater.

The third phase included engineering solutions. This involved engineering studies to analyse and select the best developed solutions for the protection of private and public properties, developing the idea for using future lands in areas far from the risks of flash floods and runoff, besides developing the necessary maintenance programmes for existing and future dams and valleys.

© Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2020.