The Jeddah Mayoralty and the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) have resolved their dispute Sunday over an SWCC desalination pipeline in Tawfiq District that was blocking plans to drain floodwater from behind the sand barrier of sewage lake. The solution involves extending steel pipes below the desalination pipeline instead of covering the pipeline with concrete slabs. This will cut the cost and will reduce the time needed to complete the project. The Jeddah Mayoralty has already awarded the contract for the work to a national company. The mayoralty vowed that it would conduct a study to determine the possibility of extending steel pipes for carrying the floodwater through Tawfiq District instead of a concrete canal for engineering and hydrological considerations. The agreement between the mayoralty and the SWCC comes after the discovery of an underground saline water pipeline on Saturday which disrupted emergency work to drain excess floodwater from behind the sand defense barrier of Misk Lake. An official of the Mayor's Office said reducing the water behind the sand barrier of Misk Lake was an emergency measure approved after the recent floods. This is to prevent this water from overflowing and in turn raising the level of Misk Lake. The new pipeline project is to reduce the level of floodwater behind the sand barrier that has risen to 13.8 meters following the November floods. The water behind the sand barrier is floodwater, with no sewage overflow or leakage from the sewage lake, according to a mayoralty official. The plan is to drain about 15 million cubic meters of floodwater gathered behind the main sand defense barrier within two weeks through the new pipeline project. A source at the Jeddah mayoralty said this week that Misk Lake could be fully drained within a year through water treatment. The bottom of the sewage lake would be used as “good fertilizer,” the source said. Since the floods hit the city in November, sewage water tankers have been prohibited from dumping their cargo directly into the lake. This has contributing to reducing the water level in the lake. The sewage tankers have instead been directed to dump their daily cargo of about 17,000 cubic meters of sewage water into a water reclamation plant for immediate treatment, drainage, or re-use. Human rights body laments negligence of officials Members of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) said that they were disappointed with government offices that neglected studies on flood dangers by the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS). During a meeting Sunday with the NSHR members, the SGS officials feared worse disasters if no immediate solutions have been seriously taken. The SGS team showed the NSHR members well thought-out studies and plans that should be taken in consideration when carrying out municipal projects in the city, said Hussein Al-Shareef, chairman of the NSHR. “As seen in the video presentation of the SGS team, Misk Lake still poses a threat to the city with its rising water level after rain,” he said. Zuhair Nawab, chairman of the SGS, said that his department had warned Jeddah Mayoralty against the danger of Misk Lake before building it. “The mayoralty just ignored the requirements of the SGS,” he said. Ill-fated Jack Street in Quwaizah was the victim of a small sand barrier of a width of 3 meters that diverted the floodwater right into it instead of allowing it to take its natural route towards Muraikh valley, Nawab added.
