How Dubai greens the desert: Interesting numbers to know

90% WATER REUSE: For more than five decades, Dubai Municipality has led the way in a groundbreaking water reclamation initiative, attaining an impressive 90 per cent water reuse rate. Greenery at Marsa in Festival city, Dubai. Photo taken on August 23, 2023.

ADDRESSING WATER CHALLENGES: Dubai has recycled 4.5 billion cubic metres of water from 1980 to 2022. This endeavour has notably diminished the dependence on desalinated water and groundwater. By 2030, Dubai aspires to achieve a 100 percent water reuse rate.

PIONEERING JOURNEY: Dawoud Al Hajri, Director General of Dubai Municipality, underscored the foresight of Dubai's leadership in recognizing the vital role that water conservation plays in securing sustainable development. Each year, Dubai uses about 365 million cubic metres of water for green spaces.

WASTEWATER-TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY: Dubai is at the forefront of adopting cutting-edge technologies in wastewater treatment facilities, employing advanced triple and tertiary treatment techniques to generate top-tier reclaimed water. This reclaimed water serves various purposes, including irrigation, central cooling, and the creation of artificial lakes. Spread over 10 hectares in the middle of Saih Al Salam Desert, the man-made Qudra Lake is supplied with recycled water and is now a thriving ecosphere.

RECLAIMED WATER: Impressive greenery and world-class infrastructure are two of the remarkable features of Dubai and the UAE. Reclaimed water in Emirate serves various purposes, including irrigation, central cooling, and the creation of artificial lakes. In 2022, Dubai used 134 million cubic metres of recycled water was reused to keep the emirate green.

BENEFITS OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT: Extensive water reuse in a desert clime offers advantages that go beyond resource management. Dubai saves about Dh2 billion every year from reusing water. More fundamentally, this water reuse strategy seamlessly aligns with the emirate's 2050 Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy. By preserving valuable groundwater reserves for future generations and diminishing the energy-intensive desalination process, this endeavor plays a role in decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.

INITIATIVE: Dubai initiated its water reclamation efforts in the late 1960s. The inaugural wastewater treatment facility, founded by Dubai Municipality in Al Khawaneej in 1969, set the groundwork for subsequent initiatives. Photo shows a Dubai Municipality worker helping the city clean and green.

EXPANSION: With the city's rapid expansion, there was a corresponding surge in the need for wastewater treatment and recycled water. The Warsan facility, established in 1981, expanded its capacity to 260,000 cubic meters per day, and the Jebel Ali plant, initiated in 2006, significantly augmented the city's daily water recycling capacity to approximately 560,000 cubic meters.

MEETING RISING DEMAND: Following expansions, such as the 2015 upgrade of the Warsan facility to 325,000 cubic meters daily and the 2016 enhancement of the Jebel Ali plant to 675,000 cubic meters daily, played a pivotal role in satisfying the increasing need for reclaimed water and promoting sustainable water resource management.

SUSTAINABILITY: Dubai extensively employs reclaimed water for the irrigation of parks and landscaping, administered through an extensive network most parts of the city. Municipality workers at Al Mamzar district in Dubai.

HIGH WATER UTILISATION RATE: This network, which spans around 2,400 kilometers, encompassing most parts of Dubai, enables the utilisation of roughly 265 million cubic meters of water for green spaces each year. Photo taken on August 23, 2023, Greenery in Dubai's Za'beel district.

SUSTAINABILITY PUSH: Dubai's sustainability strategy has not only lowered expenses but has also spurred the adoption of energy-efficient technologies, resulting in additional reductions in power usage and carbon emissions. Dubai Municipality workers near Garhoud.

IRRIGATING 10,400 HECTARES: In Dubai, reclaimed water is employed to irrigate approximately 10,400 hectares of land, including public gardens, green spaces, and landscaped areas within property developments. On a monthly basis, roughly 22 million cubic meters of reclaimed water are utilized for irrigation, leading to significant cost savings.

4.5 BILLION CUBIC METRES OF RECLAIMED WATER: From 1980 to 2022, Dubai generated more than 4.5 billion cubic meters of reclaimed water. This reduction in the use of desalinated water and groundwater led to significant annual savings of around Dh2 billion. By 2030, Dubai's goal is to double its recycled water production to surpass 8 billion cubic meters. A flower bed outside the One Central building in Dubai's financial district. Photo taken on August 23, 2023.

USES OF RECLAIMED WATER: Dubai utilises recycled water for diverse applications, such as central cooling, firefighting, and the physical treatment processes in sewage treatment plants and pumping stations. Joggers catch the morning sun on a jogging track next to a green patch in Dubai. Photo taken August 23, 2023.

CURBING CARBON EMISSIONS: To mitigate carbon emissions from sewage treatment processes, Dubai Municipality's Waste Management and Sanitation Department has adopted anaerobic digestion in central treatment plants. This approach reduces energy consumption and produces biogas, significantly reducing carbon emissions from methane gas. Some of this biogas is used for heating aerobic digestion tanks and drying sludge to produce thermally-treated organic fertiliser. An impressive green and flower patch in Dubai.

CLEAN TECH: Dubai shows the way for sustainability with the latest clean tech, including the use of solar and pumped hydro-electric power. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, spread over an area of 77 km² in Saih Al-Dahal, about 50 kilometers south of the city of Dubai, is one of the world's largest renewable projects based on an independent power producer model. The Hatta pumped hydroelectric project being developed at Hatta, Dubai, will be the first of its kind power project in the Arabian Gulf region. Set for completion in 2024, the 250MW project is being developed by the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority. Each megawatt can typically power up to 1,000 homes for 365 days. The Hatta pumped hydro facility will have a storage capacity of 1,500 megawatt hours and a lifespan of up to 80 years.

YEAR OF SUSTAINABILITY: As the UAE commemorates the Year of Sustainability, Dubai's water recycling and resource management initiative serves as an inspiring blueprint for other urban areas and regions. Through continuous investments and careful strategic planning, Dubai consistently improves its water recycling infrastructure. With each use of reclaimed water, Dubai advances towards a future that is more balanced and resource-aware. Dubai makes extensive use of drip irrigation technology.

DRIP IRRIGATION: The United Arab Emirates is one of the top 10 most water-scarce countries in the world. To address this challenge, the country has adopt drip irrigation system, which employs perforated tubes positioned along the ground or buried close to the plant roots to deliver water directly to the plants' base. This method not only significantly reduces water evaporation but also consumes 25% less water compared to spray irrigation systems. Photo shows horticulture staff at work to keep the city green. And they continue to expand the city's green patch.

GREEN SOLUTIONS: In a recent project, Dubai Municipality utilised biogas as fuel in power generation stations at the Warsan treatment plant, fulfilling about 50% of the plant's electricity needs with biogas-generated electricity. This accelerates the transition to a greener treatment facility.

RECOGNITION: Dubai’s excellence in water recycling garnered global recognition. In 2022, Dubai Municipality secured first place in the International Water Reuse and Recycling Award, organised by the International Desalination Association (IDA). The Jebel Ali Sewage Treatment Plant Expansion Project (Phase 2) received the award in the Exceptional Utility Leader category.