Dubai: More than 6 billion gallons of water — enough to fill 11,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools — has been saved over the past eight years as part of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (Dewa) efforts to conserve water.
Dewa announced its accumulated savings on the occasion of the World Water Day that is celebrated annually on March 22.
“The world celebrates ‘World Water Day’ on 22 March every year to raise awareness on water issues and challenges that threaten international water security, including climate change, population growth, urban growth, and poor water management in some areas. On this day, we at Dewa reiterate our commitment to supporting international efforts to find sustainable solutions to reducing water wastage …” Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of Dewa, said.
“We take this responsibility seriously and work towards enhancing water services as this is critical for our future welfare. Dewa provides water services according to the highest international standards of efficiency, reliability and sustainability, to meet current and future demands in Dubai,” he added.
Currently, Dewa provides 470 million gallons of desalinated water per day, while water network losses decreased to 8 per cent in 2016, compared to 15 per cent in North America.
“In adherence with our vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility, we are committed to adopting the latest technological innovations, and the best international practices, in addition to conducting many awareness programmes to encourage the community to adopt a culture of rational water consumption,” Al Tayer said.
“By celebrating World Water Day, we look forward to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations, especially those relating to the availability of water to all, to ensure food security, well-being, and environmental security.”
Also on World Water Day, Al Tayer said the UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia), under the umbrella of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, renews its support and commitment to raising awareness among the community about the importance of finding sustainable solutions to drought and water scarcity in underprivileged countries, while highlighting the role of renewable energy in achieving sustainable development.
“Suqia has launched a number of projects and initiatives to provide clean drinking water to underprivileged countries around the world, and has provided over 7.5 million people with clean drinking water by the end of 2016, in collaboration with the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation.”
The countries that benefited are Ghana, Uganda, Somalia, Tajikistan, Mauritania, Mali, and Senegal. Wells were also drilled in Afghanistan, the Philippines, Benin, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Thailand and Burkina Faso during the first quarter of 2017. These projects will benefit 121,920 individuals.
