Ajman to draw water map, bans digging of wells for commercial use

The Ajman Municipality on Tuesday launched a project titled ‘Water Map of Ajman Emirate’, which will be jointly executed by the Institute of Environment, Water and Energy at the Ajman University of Science and Technology. The project will be completed in two phases by 2015 at a cost of Dh1 million.

Khalid Moein Al Hosani with Dr Zein Al Abidin Rizk at the Press conference at Ajman Municipality head office on Tuesday. - KT photo by M. Sajjad

It also banned the digging of wells and usage of water drawn from them for commercial purposes. The decision has been made with the aim of preserving the water sources in the emirate, said Khalid Mueen Al Housani, Director of Public Health and Environment.

The municipality has shut down 80 wells fund dug illegally by factories and companies for industrial and commercial usage and issued violation tickets to companies and individuals found using ground water illegally.

Al Housani said any wells found being dug without a licence from the municipality would be shut down. The individuals and companies intending to dig wells must first obtain a licence from the municipality which would be issued only under certain conditions.

The construction companies have been instructed to use water being treated by Saffy water treatment company and Ajman Water company.

Regarding the new project, Al Housani said the hydro-geological map would provide valuable information on water resources for planning and management as well as for education and public information. The map would illustrate the distribution of aquifers, hydraulic heads, groundwater recharge and discharge areas and groundwater flow directions. The map would also reveal the variation in groundwater chemistry, quality and exploitation rates. Additionally, it will include data on topography, geology and prevailing climatic conditions.

The project will cover a total land area of 259 square kilometres and 372,923 residents.

The emirate has three distinct land areas: Ajman metropolitan city overlooking the Arabian Gulf, Manama agricultural area located approximately 60km to the east and Masfut agricultural area lying in the Northern Oman Mountains, which is 110km to the southeast of Ajman city. “The emirate, particularly Ajman city, witnessed remarkable development during the last decade, imposing tremendous stress on water resources.”

Al Housani added that the hydro-geological map of Ajman is intended to Dr Zain Al Andeein Riziq, Dean of the Environment, Water, and Energy Institute of the university, said the geomorphology of the emirate is mountainous in Masfut, plain in Manama and coastal in Ajman. The rock lithology varies from Permian to Upper Cretaceous-fractured Hawasina Complex and Semail Ophiolites in Masfut, Quaternary eolian sand in Manama and Quaternary sand dunes in Ajman city. These rocks and sediments form unconfined aquifers, varying in nature, water chemistry and water quality. The groundwater is fresh in Masfut (TDS <1,000 mg/L), fresh to brackish in Manama (TDS 1,000 mg/L to 10,000 mg/L) and brackish to saline in Ajman (TDS 10,000 mg/L to 35,000 mg/L).

The mean annual rainfall varies from 100mm in Ajman, and 120mm in Manama to 160mm in Masfut, while the mean annual potential evapotranspiration changes from 2,390mm in Ajman, to 2,442mm in Manama to 2,441mm in Masfut.

The potentiometric surface maps of the aquifers within the study area indicate groundwater flow from the Northern Oman Mountains in the east towards the Arabian Gulf in the west. The agricultural sector in Manama and Masfut is the main consumer of groundwater. Ajman has 691 farms covering 2,104 hectares (21.04 km2) and receiving irrigation water from well tapping the Ophiolite and eolian sand aquifer.

Despite the time limitation on the validity of hydro-geological maps, their continuous update can provide an important water resources planning and management tool.

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com