Dubai: After launching Dubai Lamp to save energy consumption, Dubai is tapping into a new valve named after the emirate to aid water conservation.
Dubai Municipality on Wednesday unveiled “Dubai Tap,” a new brand of water taps with inbuilt valve that will cut 80 per cent of water wastage.
Hussain Nasser Lootah, director-general of Dubai Municipality said Dubai Taps will first be installed in mosques in Dubai to cut down the high volume of water wastage that takes place during ablution. Studies had earlier found that several litres of water are left to pour down the drain while people remove socks and shoes, chat, with some even taking a long-time to perform wudu.
“With Dubai Tap we can decrease this water wastage by 80 per cent,” he said.
Lootah said every year, 35,100 litres of water is used by a person during ablution.
With Dubai Tap, this can be reduced to 7,614 litres as it has a flow rate of just 1.41 litres per minutes as compared to 6.5 litres per minute in a standard ablution tap.
That means an estimated 27,486 litres (27.5 cubic metre) of water per person can be saved every year.
“We will fix it in all the existing and new mosques in Dubai in the first phase,” he said.
During the press conference announcing the launch, the civic body signed an agreement with a private company which will produce and market Dubai Tap.
Ahmed Saeed Al Badwawai, director of Applied Sustainability and Renewable Energy Department, who signed the agreement with Ali Majid Al Shamsi, dssistant director of Hamad Rahma Al Shamsi General Trading Corporation, told Gulf News the new taps will also be used in Dubai Municipality projects.
As per the agreement, the company shall bear all costs for the production and marketing of the product, while the Municipality shall encourage property developers to use Dubai Tap and work on the success of the initiative by all possible means. A joint working group has also been formed for overseeing the implementation of this agreement.
Al Badwawi clarified that Dubai Tap is not made mandatory for Dubai buildings. However, companies will be encouraged to use it once it becomes commercially available later. The details of its commercial availability and pricing were not announced.
Another agreement between the two parties is expected to be finalised within three months to fine-tune further details of the installation of Dubai Taps. Officials said it will include all the operational and technical details, conditions and obligations and other details necessary for the implementation of the programmes and activities that fall within the provisions of the agreement signed on Wednesday.
Lootah said that the agreement was in line with the vision of the UAE and Dubai Strategic Plan 2021 to make Dubai the most innovative and sustainable city by improving air quality, conserving water resources, increasing clean energy contribution and implementing green growth plans.
Standard ablution tap
Flow rate — 6.5l/m (litres per minute)
Water used per person per prayer — 19.5 litres in 3 minutes
Water used per person per year — 35,100 litres
Dubai Tap
Flow rate — 1.41l/m
Water used per person per prayer — 4.23 litres in 3 minutes
Water used per person per year — 7,614 litres
