Qiddiya Whitwater Rafting Venue

The Qiddiya Investment Company is developing an area located an hour outside of Riyad. The development will include a Parks and Recreation District which will include the Herding Grounds recreational area. The Herding Grounds is an outdoor adventure center that will include a number of active outdoor activities centered around a pumped artificial river system.

The artificial river system will include a long channel that is optimized for both competitive kayaking and commercial rafting including a central section that is an Olympic Standard Whitewater Competitive Channel. There is also a Waterfall Park, and a Surf Wave. The three components of the Artificial River System are connected by a smaller upper pond, and a larger bottom pond which will hold all of the water for the system. Water is pushed through the system via a large pump station.

The artificial river was designed using 1, 2, and 3 dimensional flow modeling software. However, this software does not lend itself well to the intricate design needed to create world-class whitewater. For most common stream projects, 1D and 2D numerical modeling methods are adequate to meet project objectives. These methods have lower resolution as well as inaccuracies and uncertainties as a result of the simplifying assumptions used to create the model. 3D numerical methods are another method which has increased resolution, but certain uncertainties still remain. However, for this project, due to the risk potential and need for accurate data describing flow conditions a Froude scaled physical modeling was chosen as the preferred method.

S2o worked with the Czech Technical University in Prague to create physical models that create what-you-see-is-what-you-get whitewater for the three system elements. S2o’s own staff then worked with other world-class whitewater experts at the laboratory to tune and optimize the whitewater. The resulting tuning and analysis created an optimum configuration that meets or exceeds project ojbectives.