The Wadi Dayqah Dam, one of the biggest water projects in the Sultanate of Oman, and the adjacent places in Quriyat witnessed a large turnout during the extended Eid holidays recently.

Located in Al Mazara Village in the Wilayat of Quriyat, Wadi Dayqah was opened a few months ago and this is the first time that people in such large numbers are visiting this place. Wadi Dayqah can provide about 35 million cubic metres of water annually upon commission. The storage capacity of the dam is about 100 million cubic metres and the depth of the dam is around 73.8 metres.

The dam has been receiving a large number of tourists since it was opened after the completion of the first phase. People from different regions and governorates of the Sultanate have been visiting this dam as one of their top-priority must-see during holidays. The second project of the dam includes a state-of-the-art water treatment plant from where the pumping station at the dam site will pump water through a pipeline network. The work of this project is currently in the final phase along the Mazara Village road to a tank, around 2.3 km north of the main dam. The stage of water treatment process also includes passing it through an aerator tank for oxygen, adding clarifiers and disinfectant.

“The water is treated according to Omani standards on drinking water and after treatment. The water will be stored in a tank, from where it will flow by gravity to villages in Quriyat for domestic and irrigation purposes”, an official at the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources (MRMWR) told the Observer.

A pipeline network parallel to the Muscat-Quriyat road will supply water to the Muscat Governorate. A booster pumping station near the Hail al Ghaf-Quriyat road junction will be constructed to pump water through a 1,100 mm pipeline over a distance of 33.5 km to a tank at the highest point.

Along with wilayats in the Muscat Governorate, Mazara, Hail al Ghaf and Daghmara villages in Quriyat are also expected to benefit from the dam. A 138 km network of pipeline ranging from 200mm to 1,200mm in diameter is being laid to build the pipeline network and pumping system.

This reservoir will be the connecting point between the existing Muscat water supply system and the new Wadi Dayqah system. The capacity of the pumping stations and the treatment system will be 125,000 cu m per day. Nevertheless, the scheme is also designed to allow emergency transfer of water from the Wadi Dayqah facility to Muscat.

“The village of Daghmar will be supplied with water through two pipelines, one for irrigation and the other for domestic consumption. Hail al Ghaf will be connected to the existing reservoir for water required for domestic use”, he further said.

These three main agricultural villages are famous for growing mango, lemon and other crops. People in these 1346163520470742200 villages are highly ambitious that the use of the water from the Wadi Dayqah Dam for agricultural purposes will boost the farming activities and contribute to the local and national economic growth.

“We are highly hopeful that the dam will help increase the crops and support national economic growth”, Sami al Battashi, a resident of the area said.
A vast number of good opportunities for investment in this field by using the large surface water at a lower cost in different productive sectors are identified besides the greater possibilities of farming there.

The dam’s multi-tasking also involves reduction of depletion of water in wells and prevention of mixing of sea water with groundwater as well, according to the ministry sources.