Call for three new dams to contain Jeddah floods

Arab News: Three dams should be built in Jeddah’s Wadi Qaus and linked to rainwater drainage canals to help prevent flooding in the city’s eastern districts, according to a workshop set up by Makkah’s governor. It also says the residential district of Umm Al-Khair should be evacuated to save its residents from future floods. These are some of the recommendations from the workshop, set up by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, to ensure there is no repetition of the death toll from the disastrous floods of Nov. 25, which claimed over 100 people’s lives.

The Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) will soon start preparing a study on the possibility of constructing the Wadi Qaus dams and identify their required water storage capacity. It will also identify the districts and buildings that can remain in the area and those need to be removed because of flood risks.

The workshop, opened by Prince Khaled last week, said the SGS study should cover the engineering, design and environment of the dams and how to link them with drainage canals. The study has been given a completion date of six weeks.

The dams will be constructed within a month of completing necessary studies and once all buildings in its path are removed. The route for the Haramain railway, which links Jeddah with Makkah and Madinah, will also be reviewed to ensure that it will not be affected by plans for the dams….

The road from Jeddah to Medina, shot by Ammar shaker, Wikimedia Commons