Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi will soon open a new plant in Al Nahda area to recycle 6 million gallons of water a day to cater to 220 farms in the area.
It is part the efforts to minimise huge amount of water consumed by agriculture and related sector — about 72 per cent of the total water consumption in the emirate. But the agriculture is generating just one per cent of GDP (Gross Domestic product) and less than 15 per cent of the fruits and vegetables available in local markets annually, according to a report of the Environment Agency- Abu Dhabi (EAD).
The new recycling plant in Al Nahda will help minimise the use of groundwater that account for 94 per cent water consumption in agriculture in the emirate and only one per cent of desalinated water is being used for farming. The water extractions exceed 25 times the average groundwater recharge rate,
With the recycled water, farmers can avoid using saline groundwater because 80 per cent of groundwater in farms in the emirate was found saline in 2011 due to over extraction, a senior official told Gulf News yesterday.
Currently, agriculture is using just 5 per cent of the recycled water and establishment of new water recycling plant is part of the efforts to increase that share to 10 per cent, said Mohammad A Dawoud, Water Resources Advisor, Environment Quality Sector, at EAD. He was speaking on the sidelines of a panel discussion on optimisation of water production at International Water Summit in Abu Dhabi.
The new plant is part of EAD’s strategic move to increase the share of recycled water up to 10 per cent in agriculture for conserving ground water resources, the official said without giving the date of the opening of the plant.
EAD is trying to explore renewable energy sources as well as to produce water, Dawoud said. He was referring to the 22 solar desalination plants constructed by the EAD that will generate 1,050 KwH of clean energy and 6,600 gallons of clean water per day.
The eco-friendly desalination plants are meant to provide drinking water for the Arabian Oryx, an endangered species, in the desert. It is part of the EAD’s project to construct 30 solar desalination plants across the emirate. Solar desalination is an innovative zero-carbon technology that extracts brackish water from groundwater aquifers and purifies it into potable water. EAD is testing this new solar desalination technique and working to perfect its efficiency through its pilot project in Umm Al Zamool, as Gulf News reported earlier.
