Abu Dhabi’s groundwater resources have shrunk 18 per cent since 2003, the Chairman of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) said yesterday citing the Annual Abu Dhabi Emirate Water Resources Statistics Report.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, who is also the EAD’s Chairman, said this reduction in groundwater supply meant that Abu Dhabi is increasingly reliant on unconventional water resources, such as desalination and re-use of treated wastewater.
Currently, available groundwater resources measure 641 cubic kilometres in Abu Dhabi, but less than three per cent of this is fresh water. EAD’s report also reveals that groundwater contributes 71.2 per cent to the total water demand, followed by desalinated water (24 per cent) and treated wastewater (4.8 per cent).
Sheikh Hamdan said yesterday the total consumption of water in Abu Dhabi exceeds 24 times its natural recharge capacity. This has because of the rapid social and economic development that the emirate has witnessed in the last four decades, which has placed considerable stress on sectoral water use.
He said the emirate has one of the highest per capita consumptions of water in the world, despite having an arid/hyper arid climate with less than 100mm or yearly rainfall, a low groundwater recharge rate (10 per cent of total annual water used) and no reliable, perennial surface water resources.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? What measures should be taken to reduce the stress on groundwater resources? Have your say by posting a comment below, or emailing us at
opinoin@7dubai.com
January 7th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
To start with I think buildings of a minimum size should per forced by law to recycle condens water on building surfaces and use it to flush the toilets or watering the surrounding gardens and other areas where apropriate.