Dubai: Under a new rule, Dubai villa owners will pay a fixed monthly fee, instead of a variable metre rate, for irrigating their gardens, it was announced on Tuesday.
They will receive treated wastewater for a monthly fee of two and a half fils for every square metre of the total land area.
That means, for example, they will pay only Dh10 a month for a 400 square metre plot, about the size of a medium villa with some space for the front yard.
The directive was issued by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance and Chairman of Dubai Municipality, and announced on Tuesday.
It also covers the irrigation of private farms and residential plots of land.
UAE news agency WAM reported the directive stipulates the application of Executive Council Resolution No 21 of 2012 on the use of treated wastewater to irrigate privately owned farms, where owners of land can receive treated wastewater for a monthly fee.
Taleb Julfar, Director, Drainage and Irrigation Department, Dubai Municipality, said that the local decision was made to encourage owners of residential villas containing gardens to invest in and cultivate their space at a very low cost.
He added that the development will contribute to increasing agriculture in Dubai and reducing the city’s carbon footprint.
Julfar told Gulf News the directive is not related to domestic household water use, such as in kitchens and bathrooms at home, which will be billed as usual through the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).
The directive covers plots of private residential land or private farms integrated with the municipality piping or water supply system, he added.
“Some people are already connected, others are getting added to this network by the municipality. We are going into some new areas,” Julfar said.
It was not immediately clear what the implications would be, if any, for expat tenants irrigating gardens at their Emirati-owned residence villas.
