The Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Engineer Abdul Latif bin Abdul Malik Al Sheikh, directed the secretariats to prepare, approve, and review hydrological studies in accordance with technical mechanisms, controls, and review schedules, and to limit the acceptance of hydrological studies to consulting firms qualified in the field of hydrological studies and experienced in preparing them, while accepting applications from firms wishing to become qualified in this field and forwarding these applications to the Ministry’s Agency for Technical Affairs toassessment and to verify the technical capabilities of these firms to conduct hydrological studies.
This was stated in a circular to municipal secretariats regarding the approval of hydrological studies prior to commencing procedures for the approval of residential plans within the urban areas of cities, governorates, and centers, and expropriation, while taking into account the preservation of the natural courses of wadis, in a manner that ensures the approval of these plans within a period not exceeding 60 days.
The technical mechanisms and controls for hydrological studies include an introduction containing a brief overview of the risks of flash floods and surface runoff from rainwater, as well as the study’s objectives in line with the methodology for mitigating flash flood risks and rainwater drainage. The mechanisms and controls for hydrological studies also include a description of the study area, including a detailed geographical characterization of the study area, and a table listing the coordinates of the study area’s corner points and their locations on recent satellite imagery as well as historical topographic maps.
His Excellency also directed the secretariats to coordinate with the Ministry’s Agency for Land and Surveying to provide it with topographic and contour maps, as well as satellite and aerial imagery, of the sites of the plans to be studied and the extent of their conflict with wadi channels and their inclusion in the plans, and to provide the Ministry’s Agency for Technical Affairs with both a hard copy and an electronic copy of any approved hydrological study.
The Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs called on the municipalities to identify available technical alternatives for addressing rainwater and flash flood drainage issues in the plans, as well as cases involving land expropriation, the cost of each alternative, and the selection of the most technically and financially suitable alternative. This should be done by conducting comprehensive technical studies of the plan and ensuring that engineering and consulting firms exercise due diligence in both preparing and reviewing the hydrological study, and to bear full responsibility for any damages that may result from errors in the study, in accordance with the consulting engineering services contract issued by the Expert Committee of the Council of Ministers.
