Project assistance completion report (PACR) for Wadi al Khawd aquifer recharge project, project no : 272-0102, loan no : 272-K-01

The project has effectively met both its goal and purpose. An earthen dam - 5 km long and 8 meters at its highest point - was built (on time and under budget) to capture flood water runoff; the dam included 11 culverts to allow the water to be discharged at a controlled rate and percolate into the ground. Shortly after completion, in the Spring of 1987, the dam was blessed with several floods; analysis of dam performance showed that about 5.7 million cubic meters of water had been saved from flowing into the sea during these storms. While there are no clear lessons to be learned from this project, a number of factors contributed to its success: Oman's Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) actively participated in decisions affecting the dam's design and construction; working relationships among the OAJC, the MAF, and project engineer, and the contractor were excellent; low personnel turnover contributed to early completion of the project, within budget; ample funds were provided by MAF and the OAJC; and the project's goals were simple, quantifiable, and clear. Two aspects of the project could have been improved: (1) the TA component, which included drilling and monitoring wells and procuring recording devices, was not implemented from the outset of the project as envisioned in the PP, but through later amendments; this perhaps hampered TA provision; and (2) the design engineer should have taken percolation tests in the recharge area downstream of the dam himself, and not relied on another consultant's test data, which proved to be wrong.