ABU DHABI- Mohammed bin Jarsh Al Falasi, Under-Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, DoE, has presented the emirate’s strategies, policies and plans related to water security at the second annual Cairo Water Week.
Held under the theme ‘Responding to Water Scarcity’, the event is taking place from 20th to 24th October 2019, with over ten international organisations and experts from 56 countries taking part to discuss and coordinate decision and policymaking in the water sector. Al Falasi participated in the plenary session titled, ‘Achieving SDGs under Water Scarcity,’ where he outlined the water resources in Abu Dhabi, the various technologies used for water production, and the emirate’s strategic approach to achieving water and environmental sustainability.
He said, "Water intensity is high in Abu Dhabi due to the hot desert climate and limited rainfall. Our supply mix comprises 60 percent ground water, 30 percent desalinated water and ten percent recycled water. However, with 79 percent of groundwater reserves being highly saline, we rely heavily on desalination to provide usable water." "Abu Dhabi is one of the world’s largest desalinated water producers – we have nine desalination plants with total capacity of up to 960 million imperial gallons per day, transported though a 3,500 km network and distributed across a 13,000 km pipe network," the DoE Under-Secretary added. The highest demand for water is driven by agriculture and irrigation - which account for 70 percent of water consumption - in addition to the climate, government commitment to large green spaces, residential buildings, commercial and industrial uses. Al Falasi added, "While our population grows and demand for water increases, our ground water supplies decrease. Currently, we have 200,000 wells producing two billion cubic metres of ground water per year, of which 87 percent is used for farms consumption."
To counter these challenges and prepare for the future, the UAE has embarked on a Water Security Strategy 2036 to reduce total demand for water resources by 21 percent, increase the reuse of treated water to 95 percent, and increase national water storage capacity up to two days. The DoE Under-Secretary continued, "In Abu Dhabi, we have set targets to minimise water losses to ten percent, reduce indoor and outdoor water use intensity to 12 percent, and increase use of recycled water to 100 percent by 2030." He went on to note, "We continue to capitalise on Reverse Osmosis, RO, as the preferred and most cost-effective technology for water desalination. Today, 120 MIGD of our total desalinated water is produced through RO while 840 MIGD is produced using traditional thermal desalination methods." Al Falasi further explained how Abu Dhabi’s reliance on RO technology will increase when the mega water desalination project at Taweela Power and Water Complex is fully operational in 2022 as the new plant features a capacity of 200 MIGD. He also highlighted the Liwa aquifer – the world’s largest reserve of 26 Mm3 of high-quality desalinated water, which Abu Dhabi completed in January 2018. This project is sufficient to store 5.6 billion gallons of water, or enough to provide 180 litres of drinking water to one million people for up to 90 days.
Another key highlight of the DoE Undersecretary’s presentation is the launch of Abu Dhabi Demand Side Management and Energy Consumption Rationalisation Strategy 2030. Through nine core programmes, including District Cooling, Efficient Water Use and Water Reuse, the strategy aims to reduce water consumption by 32 percent and energy consumption by 22 percent by 2030 based on a 2013 baseline.
As part of the visit to Cairo, Al Falasi met with Dr. Mohamed Abdel-Aty, Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, to discuss opportunities to expand knowledge-sharing and cooperation between Abu Dhabi and Egypt. The meeting also comprised representatives from the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi and the Abu Dhabi Food Security Authority who are participating in Cairo Water Week.
© Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2019.
