UAE | Environment
Emergency water reserves on the decline
There is only two to five days of emergency water reserves for domestic use in the UAE and region, according to a study which calls for more groundwater storage to cope with crises over long periods of time.
- By Emmanuelle Landais, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:15 September 21, 2007
Dubai: There is only two to five days of emergency water reserves for domestic use in the UAE and region, according to a study which calls for more groundwater storage to cope with crises over long periods of time.
The study by Dr Mohammad Dawoud, Manager Water Resources Department at the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi was recently published by the Gulf Research Centre.
According to the findings, current storage facilities can only hold water for less than five days and surface reservoirs are costly and not environmentally friendly. "Groundwater storage using the artificial recharge technique is a promising tool for strategic water reserves in all GCC countries. Storing the fresh water in groundwater aquifers is safer and more reliable in terms of time and location," Dawoud states.
Demand
Water demand today is five times what it was three decades ago in the UAE from less than 5 billion cubic metres in 1970 to about 26.778 billion cubic meters in 2005, driven mainly by agricultural consumption and rapid urban expansion.
Efficient management of water resources requires water policy reforms with emphasis on supply and demand management measures, Dawoud states .
"Due to the deterioration of non-renewable aquifers, all GCC countries rely on desalinated water as a main source of domestic water supply.
"It has been argued that the best long-term solution for the water crisis in the domestic sector is to build a network of large-scale desalination plants.
"The problem facing the GCC countries, however, is the vulnerability of desalination plants to pollution and emergency conditions. For example, the maximum stored water in the ground reservoirs and distribution network is enough only for 24 hours, except in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, where it is three and five days respectively.
The report lists groundwater aquifer storage and recovery system (ASR) as one method of storing fresh water for emergency and peak demand conditions.
"Usually wells can be located where most needed and because wells require little land, the costs of large land acquisitions are avoided," said Dawoud.
Share this article
More from UAE Environment
More from UAE
Popular in UAE
-
Your pictures
Readers' pictures
A Selection of the best Gulf News reader pictures this week
Latest news
- UAE National Day: Preparations in full swing
- Universities celebrate UAE National Day
- Brothers' triple success
- Reviving age-old craftsmanship
- Youth reconnect with history
- Fatima: UAE's women are exercising full rights
- Emirates Palace gears up for festivities
- Emerging writers to get networking opportunities
- Ministry of Health sacks employees for forgery
- Please don't use two parking spaces
- 'Education is a long-term investment'
- Scottish businessman awarded honorary doctorate in engineering
- Giving money is not enough
- Large crowds join in Eid festivities
- Al Ain's oryx may hold key to breeding
Community Reports
-
Please don't use two parking spaces
Thoughtless drivers means other motorists are losing out in a city where places to leave cars are often hard to find
-
School buses must do safe drop-offs
Some bus drivers let students off at the wrong side of the road
-
Munching on a health hazard
Residents must be careful about consuming snacks and sandwiches prepared along the roadside as they attract dirt and bacteria
-
Faded signage fails to guide visitors
Reader seeks better upkeep of signboards in green areas
