Saudi Gazette report

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 of digging and issue permission to move from one site to another. The Regulation and Monitoring Unit also includes the computer program for water regulations, monitoring water levels in wells under surveillance, and the levels and volumes of water in dams.

The ministry also pointed out that the unit provides permanent monitoring of the processes of issuing licenses for groundwater and surface water sources and their uses, financial values and tariffs, and monitoring their violations and performance indicators in all regions of the Kingdom