Water consumption in UAE is amongst the highest in the world… but we live in a desert
Did you know that the average UAE resident consumes an average of 550 litres of water a day compared with the global average of 170-300 litres a day?! Even developed countries such as the UK and Germany are consuming less than 200 litres a day on average. Read more here.
And not only do we consume some of the highest amounts of water per person, we have limited availability of freshwater. The UAE is located in a desert climate resulting in extremely low levels of rainfall combined with high levels of evaporation, therefore it hasn’t exactly got excess water to throw around! With an increasing population, and an emphasis on a luxury lifestyle, this demand is only predicted to increase…
I know what you’re thinking. ‘Well I’ve never had a problem with water shortage, in fact every time I turn on my tap the water happily gushes out’.
So where do we currently get our water from?
Each Emirate is different, but overall in the UAE, most water comes from groundwater supplies which…according to this article could be depleted by as early as 2030.
Within the Emirate of Dubai the vast majority of water comes from desalination plants, a process whereby salt is removed from seawater making it drinkable. Great, so what’s the issue? Okay, well these plants are extremely expensive and emit greenhouse gases as they’re currently powered by fossil fuels (which will one day run out). Read more about where UAE water comes from here
In addition, the country has amongst the world’s highest per capita consumption of bottled water of 285 litres per year. The water used to fill the bottles is mainly desalinated water, which costs approximately 11.8 billion AED annually. In addition, it takes around 3 liters of water in order to make 1 litre of bottled water according to EcoMENA.
Sustainable solutions..
Let’s look at what the Government are doing to ensure they can meet the ever rising demand combined with the challenges faced of a low freshwater supply…
- Creating desalination plants powered by renewable technologies to make desalination a more sustainable solution. See here.
- Topping up aquifers with piped desalinated water. Should there be a water emergency, this water is sufficient to provide one million people in Abu Dhabi with 180 litres per person for up to 90 days, officials said, see source here.
- When conditions are right, cloud seeding, see here. However, this relies on there being adequate natural cloud formations.
- As agriculture is currently the biggest user of water in the UAE, the government have invested into making irrigation of crops more sustainable and efficient. See here.
- Recycling and treating wastewater to use for watering lawns and irrigation, see here.
So as you can see there’s a lot of investment into sustainable solutions to ensure the water security for UAE citizens and residents both now and in the future.
What can I do?
The DEWA website states that “reducing water consumption is necessary to save fuel consumption and reduce carbon emissions”.
As residents we need to support these initiatives to make the country sustainable, by considering how we can be more mindful of our own water consumption and take some individual responsibility to reducing that demand. Small changes can make such a big difference.
10 top tips to reduce water consumption:
1. Don’t leave the taps running when you’re brushing your teeth, or between washing dishes.
2. Yes make sure your car windscreens are clean. But your car surely doesn’t need to be washed within an inch of its life every single day sloshing water everywhere?! Use a bucket to wash instead of a hose.
3. When you’re cooking just think carefully about how much water you need to cook your rice, pasta or whatever. After you’ve used it think about how you can re-use it, e.g. to water plants (once its cooled down of course!)
4. If you have any water leaks, e.g. that dripping shower or toilet get it fixed ASAP!!
5. Reduce the amount of grass in your garden. Yes, it looks pretty I know, but consider how much water is needed to keep that grass green.
6. Water your plants early morning or evening when the water is less likely to be evaporated.
7. Have you downloaded the smart app to monitor your water and electricity consumption? https://www.dewa.gov.ae/en/customer/innovation/smart-initiatives/app-download-page
8. Reduce (or emit) your meat consumption. Start by having ‘meat free Mondays.’ Raising animals for meat uses a lot more water than crops, both in the water the animals drink and the food they eat. Reducing meat consumption also by default reduces your water consumption. Read more about the benefits of going meat free here.
9. Only run the dishwasher and washing machine when there is a full load.
10. Install flow regulators on your showers and taps. Check out Ecocamel for efficient shower heads.
Benefits:
If you manage to reduce your demand you may even be eligible for recognition for your efforts!
Not only will you be helping making the country more sustainable, but you will reduce your water bills in the process, a win-win situation! For more tips on reducing your water consumption and helping the UAE become a more sustainable country read here
This UAE based company – Ecostore sells a range of reusable and eco friendly bottles to reduce the use of plastic bottles.
Is water consumption something you think about? What habits do you have to reduce your water consumption?
Further reading:
https://www.ecomena.org/freshwater-uae/
https://www.ecomena.org/water-conservation-middle-east/
https://www.ecomena.org/water-conservation/
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