Ahead of the 2026 rainy season, Riyadh Region Municipality has completed preventive maintenance and cleaning of the capital's entire stormwater drainage network, covering 4,840,000 linear metres of pipes, and serviced 181 network outlets along Wadi Hanifah and Wadi Al-Sulay.

In line with national goals for the Year of Artificial Intelligence 2026, the municipality brought in robots and AI to inspect the network. A job that used to take a full eight-hour working day now takes about one hour, saving seven hours per inspection, or 87.5% of the previous time.

The robots carry specialised cameras that collect and analyse data, giving a clearer view of the inside of the pipes. This supports preventive maintenance and early response, frees up time and resources for other sites, and provides imaging, documentation and analysis.

Preparations also included preventive work at 82 critical sites where rainwater tends to pool, checks on the readiness of 165 emergency vehicles and machines, and a joint simulation exercise with the relevant agencies to speed up response.

The municipality said the work is part of its strategy to develop the city's systems, make operations more reliable and use modern technology in the field, protecting residents and visitors and keeping municipal services running.