Abstract: 

This paper presents key features of “Flood Assessment and Protection Guidelines” (FAPG) prepared by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), Qatar. It is intended that the FAPG will provide guidance and assistance to a wide range of entities, including government agencies, developers, engineers, planners and policymakers, for locating flood-prone areas across Qatar, assessing potential flood hazards, and subsequent mitigation. Flood modelling was carried out using a two-dimensional rain-on-grid (RoG) hydraulic modelling approach. A series of flood risk maps covering both rural and urban areas of Qatar were then prepared as per the degree of flood risk to people, property and infrastructure. These maps have been provided as digital flood inundation layers in an interactive GIS web-based flood mapping portal.

International Conference on Civil Infrastructure and Construction (CIC 2020)
February 2-5, 2020 Doha, Qatar

DOI: https://doi.org/10.29117/cic.2020.0078

Abstract:

A 3D numerical hydrodynamic and dispersion study was carried out using the MIKE3 Hydrodynamic model to assess the dispersion of stormwater effluents discharged from the four sea outfalls into the Doha Bay area in Qatar. Dispersion simulations were carried out for three scenarios: dry weather, representative storm event and first flush. Input parameters (such as temperature, salinity, total suspended solids, total nitrogen, and Faecal coliform) for the dispersion simulation were defined from measurements obtained during representative events for each scenario of interest. Results show that variation of temperature and salinity mostly occurred in the vicinity of the disposal point. The net sedimentation of solids was observed above 25 g/m2 within about 250 m from the outfalls. Concentration of Faecal coliform was found to be N500 count/100 mL N90% of the simulation time within 50 m from one of the outfalls, which reduced to 250–500 count/100 mL at 100 m distance. Simulation of exceedance for total N of 0.2 mg/L shows that during the dry weather flow condition, overall in the Southern Doha Bay, total N exceeded 70% to 90% of the time. However, when exceedance of 0.6 mg/L of total N was modelled, the vicinity of only one outfall showed exceedance in 90% of the simulation period. A risk assessment was carried out using results of the numerical dispersion modelling based on negligible, minor, moderate and major risk categories. Criteria for risk assessment were developed based on field observation of local ambient seawater conditions. Risk of eutrophication, impact on swimming water quality and sedimentation of hazardous contaminants were evaluated. The developed risk criteria are applicable to similar bays in Qatar and in other GCC countries near the Arabian Gulf.

Science of the Total Environment 732 (2020) 139305

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139305 0048-9697/© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abstract:

Urban runoff water from simulated rainfall for three different land uses (residential, industrial, commercial) at six different locations in Doha, Qatar was analysed for physico-chemical parameters such as trace metals, pH, total suspended solids (TSS), total organic carbon (TOC), total phosphorus (TP), total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Rainfall events with two different intensities (40 mm/h and 20 mm/h) were simulated in a micro catchment area (4.55 × 4.55 m2) using a specially designed portable rainfall simulator. Out of six sites, runoff samples were collected from five sites with paved surfaces. The study results demonstrated significant concentration of TSS, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn in the urban runoff, exceeding the Qatar Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) and Tropical Australian Standards. The first flush effect was also investigated during the experiment, which exhibited first flush effect of selected pollutants (TSS, TKN, TP, TOC and heavy metals) at five study sites with impervious surfaces. The magnitude of the first flush varies across the study sites and was found to be affected by the surface texture of the sites. Analysis of variance revealed that rainfall intensity has limited effect on the first flush in the studied scenarios; however, first flush effects showed a relation with the event mean runoff concentration. Furthermore, strong positive correlations were observed between analysed water quality parameters, particularly between TSS, TOC and metals. This study is the first study investigating first flush in Qatar’s capital, Doha, which will provide a ground for future researchers to design appropriate stormwater treatment devices that will capture and treat the first flush for significant reduction of urban stormwater pollution.

Science of the Total Environment 693 (2019) 133552

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.358 0048-9697/© 2019 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Abdullah Al Mamoon & Ataur Rahman

Abstract:
Prompted by rapid infrastructure development in recent years, the State of Qatar has developed a comprehensive national guideline titled Qatar Rainfall and Runoff Characteristics (QRRC) for the estimation of design rainfall in Qatar. This guideline introduces more accurate rainfall characteristics that will be used as the basis for new world-class drainage standards that will contribute to a more resilient and safe stormwater infrastructure for Qatar under a changing climate regime. QRRC was developed using rainfall data from over 30 stations located in Qatar and nearby Gulf countries. The method of L-moments was employed for the derivation of a new set of Intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) data for Qatar. This approach reduces the impacts of sampling variability on the analysis. It is intended that the QRRC will provide guidance and assistance to a wide range of entities including government agencies, developers, engineers, planners and policy makers. It is therefore of paramount importance that the recommended approaches and guidelines presented in QRRC be introduced in the undergraduate and graduate courses at the universities, including research and training centres in Qatar. This will assist in the preparation and training of young professionals for solving engineering problems in civil infrastructure, storm water design and hydrology. This paper presents important features of QRRC and how it can be used in tertiary education in Qatar.

Proc. 1st International Conference on Advancements in Engineering Education (iCAEED 2018) 03-06 Dec 2018, Sydney, Australia
ISBN: 978-0-6480147-9-9

Abstract:
Pollution in coastal waters is a major concern in the Arabian Gulf countries. In Qatar, untreated water, mainly consisting of stormwater, is discharged into the Doha coastline via several surface/shoreline type outfalls. This may cause adverse impacts on the sea environment and the fragile ecosystem of the coastal zone in Qatar. The Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), Qatar, has carried out a comprehensive sea outfall study to identify existing outfalls and assess their impacts on planning, regulation, design and implementation of environmentally friendly outfall schemes. Direct discharge of large quantities of domestic and industrial wastewater, pesticides and agricultural chemicals into the rivers and the Bay of Bengal is a major concern in Bangladesh. The pollution levels in the Bay of Bengal affect fish and other living things. In addition to the biological and chemical pollutants, heavy metal pollution has also been reported in coastal and riverine waters of Bangladesh, which presents an enormous challenge for monitoring, environmental management and conservation efforts. The recommendations and outcomes of the Qatar sea outfall study could provide government stakeholders in Bangladesh with adequate information for sustainable coastal management and the proper tools for planning, maintenance, and monitoring of sea outfalls, as discussed in this paper.

Proc. 2nd International Conference on Water and Environmental Engineering (iCWEE2019) 19-22 Jan 2019, Dhaka, Bangladesh
ISBN: 978-0-6482681-1-6

Extreme Hydrology and Climate Variability: Monitoring, Modeling, Adaptation and Mitigation, Editors: Assefa M. Melesse, Wossenu Abtew, Gabriel Senay, Elsevier, July 3, 2019, eBook ISBN 9780128159996, pp. 37-45.

Hydrology in a Changing World. Editors: Shailesh Singh and Dhanya CT.

K. Singh and C. T. Dhanya (eds.), Hydrology in a Changing World, Springer Water, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02197-9_7

Abstract: Design rainfall is widely used in urban infrastructure planning and design, such as culverts and urban drainage systems. In design rainfall estimation, one of the primary steps is the selection of a suitable probability distribution that fits the observed rainfall data adequately. This study examines the selection of the best-fit probability distribution in design rainfall estimation. The annual maximum (AM) rainfall data from 29 rainfall stations in Qatar are used in this study. The rainfall record lengths of these stations are in the range of 24–49 years (average of 36 years). Fourteen different distributions and three goodness-of-fit tests (Kolmogorov–Smirnov, Anderson–Darling and Chi-squared) are considered. Based on a relative scoring method, the GEV distribution is found to be the best-fit distribution. Results from bootstrapping and simulation analyses show that sample estimates of skewness of the AM rainfall series are subject to a higher degree of sensitivity to data length compared with standard deviation and mean, as expected. Since the rainfall quantile estimates of higher return periods are greatly influenced by skewness, a longer data length is needed to reduce the uncertainty in rainfall quantile estimates for higher return periods, which is currently unavailable in Qatar.

Natural Hazards, DOI 10.1007/s11069-016-2687-0

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the spatial and temporal distributions of rainfall in Qatar, which falls in the arid region of the Middle East. We use rainfall data from 29 rain gauges covering the period of 1962–2010. Fifteen different rainfall indices are used in the assessment. A combination of Mann–Kendall and Spearman’s Rho tests is adopted to identify trends in the rainfall data. The average annual rainfall values are found to be in the range of 55.5–99 mm. A sharp gradient in average annual rainfall is noticed, with the north having much higher values than the south. A mixed trend, both increasing (upward) and decreasing (downward) for most of the rainfall indices, is identified. Annual total and maximum daily rainfall show mixed trends, while rainy days show an increasing trend. For the rainy seasons, the total rainfall during the months of December–January–February shows an increasing trend, and March–April rainfall shows a decreasing trend, reflecting that seasonal rainfall in Qatar is changing. The findings of this study provide important insights into the nature of rainfall variability in Qatar, which will be useful in water resources planning tasks in Qatar and nearby countries.

ISSN 0921-030X

Nat Hazards (2017) 85:453-470 DOI 10.1007/s11069-016-2576-6