Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE) has developed a new model to simulate water demand growth, allocation, and uses under various environmental and socio-economic scenarios as well as management strategies to optimize all supply sources and inform water-related policy and decision making.

The DoE’s Integrated Water Model (IWM) was launched today in the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority at GITEX Technology Week 2021 with H.E. Eng. Mohammed Juma Bin Jarsh Al Falasi, Undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE), in attendance.

The IWM provides a holistic view of the emirate’s three water sources including desalinated, recycled, and ground water to guide allocation policy and enhance the capacity to develop integrated water resource management plans. It is a computer-based program that uses state-of-the-art data storage protocols as input and output data to map actual and potential demand and simulate how future water capacity and distribution will evolve in response to various socio-economic scenarios and how water security will be influenced by climate change and water management options.

The IWM can be used to explore the socio-economic and environmental trade-offs between different water management options, enabling the joint optimization of the various water sources. Importantly, it supports key stakeholders in the water, energy, food, environment, and agriculture sectors to recognize water security implications and develop solid integrated water resource management plans.

Explaining the significance of the IWM, H.E. Al Falasi said: “Water security is of strategic importance to assure adequate water supply and quality to meet future demand, maintain our food security and sustain economic growth. Climate change risks to water availability, quality, and quantity underline the need for expanded water information and an integrated approach to water management. 

“Our new modeling tool will provide insights into integrated water resource management frameworks and strategic trade-offs, thus supporting our water sustainability efforts. By allowing for integrated social, economic, and environmental evaluations of water management scenarios, we are able to provide vital information to different stakeholder groups and policymakers in Abu Dhabi, enhancing the emirate’s capabilities in mitigating risks to water security while driving innovative solutions and water use strategies to conserve and sustain this vital resource for generations to come,” H.E. added.

With Abu Dhabi’s growing population and expanded economic development, meeting the significant increase in water demand and at the same time mitigating climate change impacts on water availability will require strategies and policies informed by science.  In order to assure accurate data inputs and assessments of water supply and demand of the various sectors – agriculture, industry, food, households, energy, and the environment – DoE followed an inclusive, multi-stakeholder approach to deliver a holistic water network model.

The IWM complements DoE’s modelling framework and provides a water dimension to the Abu Dhabi Integrated Energy Model (IEM). The underlying technology for the IWM is the same technology used for the DoE’s Energy Modelling Capability Build, developed by Energy Exemplar, a global leader in power and water simulation and analytics software. This provides flexibility to generate several additional water variables and allows for potential linkage to the IEM in the future to apply a nexus approach when generating energy, water, and food scenarios to inform policymaking.

The next phase of DoE’s IWM project will explore several key scenarios to enable the development of a long-term water outlook.

DoE is participating in GITEX Technology Week 2021 under the umbrella of Abu Dhabi Digital Authority.

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