Saudi ministry to set up Regulatory and Monitoring Unit for water sources and their use

Saudi ministry to set up Regulatory and Monitoring Unit for water sources and their use

RIYADH — The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture signed a contract with one of the leading companies to establish a unit to regulate and monitor groundwater and surface water sources and their uses. This is aimed at automation of work, acceleration of access to data, and linking all current and future systems concerned with regulating groundwater and surface water sources within the purview of the ministry or outside of it. The ministry explained that the Regulatory and Monitoring Unit will provide performance indicators for the governance of the water system and the extent of compliance with it, as well as performance indicators for the water sources code. This will help in organizing and digitizing work, and will greatly support in making detailed decisions and drawing strategies for preserving groundwater and surface water sources and their sustainability for all activities. The ministry clarified that the unit will work to link everything related to regulating and monitoring water sources and their uses through multiple electronic systems, including the “Hafiz” platform, which receives and analyzes data on well-drilling equipment tracking devices, and meters measuring water consumption from various sources such as wells and dams, in addition to monitoring the mechanism of operation