Water Research Centre
First point of contact for Water Researchers in Oman
International Water Conference
2016 “Water Resources in Arid Areas:
the Way Forward”
Written by: Ahmed Khalfan Al Mayahi
Water Research Center (WRC) organized the International Water Conference 2016 (IWC2016) entitled
“Water Resources in Arid Areas: The Way Forward”.
The four days international conference was held at
the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) on the 13th-16th
of March 2016. The conference was commenced under the patronage of His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Abdullah Al Shihi, the Minister of Regional Municipalities
and Water Resources, His Excellency Dr. Ali Saud Al
Bemani, the Vice Chancellor of SQU, and Dr. Rahma
Ibrahim Al Mahrouqi, the Deputy Vice Chancellor for
postgraduate studies and research at SQU. The opening ceremony started by a recitation of Holy Quran
followed by address of welcome by Dr. Osman Abdallah the director of WRC. The conference focused on
providing the premier interdisciplinary forum for researchers, practitioners, and educators to present
and discuss the most recent innovation, trends and
concerns, practical challenges encountered and solutions adopted in the field of water resources in arid
areas. Water issues, challenges, solutions and innovations were presented in eight main themes: water
economics policies and governance in agricultural,
urban and industrial sectors; desalination sustainability in arid areas; wastewater treatment and reuse;
subsurface hydrology; water harvesting; climate uncertainties and hydrological cycle; education, media
and water management nexus; and water resources
management and agriculture.
April 2016
Over 300 abstracts were received, reviewed and
published in an abstract book. The conference provided a friendly scientific environment and fruitful
discussion for about 300 participants from more
than 40 countries.
Seven keynote speeches, over 60 talks and 80 posters were presented in the event. Along with the
conference, there was also a student exhibition under the title “Water Footprint”. The student exhibition was organized by Soil, Water and Agricultural
Engineering (SWAE) society. At the closing remark,
prizes were given to three best oral and poster
presentations evaluated by keynote speakers. Two
field trips were arranged on the last day of the conference for all participants to explore the natural
beauty and diversity of local environment, and history and culture of Oman: One field trip includes
Birkat Al Mouz, Nizwa fort and Souq, and Misfat Al
Abreyeen; while the other was to Hammam Hot
Spring, Wadi Dayqah Dam and Bimma Sinkhole.
Water Research Centre
First point of contact for Water Researchers in Oman
IWC2016 received more than 200 full papers, among
which 40 and 20 peer-reviewed high quality papers
are selected for publication in a Spinger book and a
AJGS (Arabian Journal of Geosciences) special issue,
respectively. The recommendations and scientific reviews will be prepared in a report and submitted to
the decision makers.
A workshop on
“Reuse Of treated
Wastewater: Managed
Aquifer Recharge and
Direct Use in Farming
Activities”
Written by: Hilal Al Mamari
Water Research Centre (WRC), Sultan
Qaboos University (SQU) and Oman Water Society
(OWS) organized a workshop on “Reuse Of Treated
Wastewater: Managed Aquifer Recharge and Direct
Use in Farming Activities”. The workshop was held
from the 1st to the 3rd of November 2016. This
workshop was a hospitable environment to many
participants from Oman, Jordan, Tunisia and USA.
Most of the participant had projects funded by
USAID, managed by FABRI and Further Advancing the
Blue Revolution Initiative under one theme
"Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) Using Treated
Wastewater in Different Geological Settings of Middle East and North African Countries (MENA) ". The
welcoming and official opening ceremony was inaugurated by Dr. Osman Abdulla, the director of the
Water Research Centre at SQU.
April 2016
Keynote speeches were presented by Dr. Ali AlMaktoumi (SQU, Oman). The workshop also comprise of a practical exercise on fine particles migration in porous media followed by an analytical
modeling using HYDRUS 1D software .
Dr. Ali Al-Maktoumi
(SQU) was one of the
principal investigators for
a research team compromised from a group of researchers from SQU, Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources (MRMWR), OWS,
University of Jordan and
University of Nebraska,
Lincoln.
Dr. Ali’s team focused on
studying variable groundwater systems in Oman
and Jordan aiming to mitigating water shortage in
the MENA region. The researchers verify the possibility
of
recharging
groundwater using treated wastewater. Samail
lower Catchment (SLC) site, Jemma site, Al-Ansab
wetlands and Wadi Azarqa site in Jordan were selected as the project study sites. During 1.5 years
the project timeline, the team organized a number
of technical meetings, field work in Al-Ansab Wetlands, SLC, and Wadi Azarqa in Jordan as well as
workshops and training courses. The results of
MAR projects concluded potentially a significant
enhancement for groundwater storage as well as
feasible option to control sea water intrusion at
some affected coastal lines. Moreover, it is possible to improve some agriculture if groundwater
was properly managed and if MAR was implemented. At the end of this workshop, certificates
were distributed to all participants.
For suggestions or comments please email us at diana@squ.edu.om or call 2414-3151 & look for Diana Austria