Water Resources in UAE

Dr. Mohsin Siddique

Assistant Professor

Dept. of Civil & Env. Engg

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Outcome of Today’s Lesson

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� The following are the objectives of the lesson:

� 1) To know the water resources of UAE,

� 2) To study about water supply and demand in UAE

� 3) To further understand the cause of water shortage, challenges and initiatives to counter the shortage for sustainability.

� 4) to study the concept of water footprints and virtual water trade.

Geography

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United Arab Emirates (UAE) is located in Southwest Asia towards the southeatern area of the Arabian Peninsula.

UAE is a federation of seven Emirates-Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Umm al-Quwain, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah and Fuajaira

Area = 83600Km2

Coastline=1318KmPopulation by end of 2009 = aprrox 5.1 millionGDP = aproxAED 730 billion (USD 200 billion)

Economic ~ Population Growth

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Climate

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� UAE has an arid to hyper arid climate with high temperatures and infrequent irregular low rainfall.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Dubai

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Climate data for DubaiMonth Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Record high °C (°F)

31.6(88.9)

37.5(99.5)

41.3(106.3)

43.5(110.3)

47.0(116.6)

46.7(116.1)

49.0(120.2)

48.7(119.7)

45.1(113.2)

42.0(107.6)

41.0(105.8)

35.5(95.9)

49(120.2)

Average high °C (°F)

24.0(75.2)

25.4(77.7)

28.2(82.8)

32.9(91.2)

37.6(99.7)

39.5(103.1)

40.8(105.4)

41.3(106.3)

38.9(102)

35.4(95.7)

30.5(86.9)

26.2(79.2)

33.4(92.1)

Daily mean °C (°F)

19(66)

20(68)

22.5(72.5)

26(79)

30.5(86.9)

33(91)

34.5(94.1)

35.5(95.9)

32.5(90.5)

29(84)

24.5(76.1)

21(70)

27.5(81.5)

Average low °C (°F)

14.3(57.7)

15.4(59.7)

17.6(63.7)

20.8(69.4)

24.6(76.3)

27.2(81)

29.9(85.8)

30.2(86.4)

27.5(81.5)

23.9(75)

19.9(67.8)

16.3(61.3)

22.3(72.1)

Record low °C (°F)

6.1(43)

6.9(44.4)

9.0(48.2)

13.4(56.1)

15.1(59.2)

18.2(64.8)

20.4(68.7)

23.1(73.6)

16.5(61.7)

15.0(59)

11.8(53.2)

8.2(46.8)

6.1(43)

Precipitation mm (inches)

18.8(0.74)

25.0(0.984)

22.1(0.87)

7.2(0.283)

0.4(0.016)

0.0(0)

0.8(0.031)

0.0(0)

0.0(0)

1.1(0.043)

2.7(0.106)

16.2(0.638)

94.3(3.711)

Avg. precipitation days

5.4 4.7 5.8 2.6 0.3 0.0 0.5 0.5 0.1 0.2 1.3 3.8 25.2

% humidity 65 65 63 55 53 58 56 57 60 60 61 64 59.8

Mean monthly sunshine hours

254.2 229.6 254.5 294.0 344.1 342.0 322.4 316.2 309.0 303.8 285.0 256.6 3,511.4

Source #1: Dubai Meteorological Office[4]

Source #2: climatebase.ru (extremes, sun),[5], NOAA (humidity, 1974-1991)[6]

Typical Hydrological Cycle for UAE

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100%

75%

15%

Infiltration/groundwater recharge

10%

Water Resources

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/Seasonal floods

Water Resources

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� Seasonal Floods

� The annual contribution of seasonal floods to water resources of the United Arab Emirates, as estimated as the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in 1993, is 125 Mm3.

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Water Resources

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� Al Asam (1994) summarized the advantages of dams in the United Arab Emirates as follows:

� 1. Groundwater recharge.

� 2. Conservation of floodwater lost to the sea or desert.

� 3. Storage surface water for irrigation.

� 4. Preservation of agricultural soil and prevention of soil and plant scourage by floodwater.

� 5. Protection against flood damage.

� 6. Accumulation of silt in artificial reservoirs of these dams and improvement of soil properties.

Water Resources

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� Falajes:

� A falaj is a man made channel or tunnel that intercepts the groundwater table through a single or several wells at the foot slopes of high mountains, then it brings water to the surface through a tunnel that has a slope gentler than the natural hydraulic gradient.

� Of the about 40 operational falajes, most lie in the Eastern Region.

Water Resources

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� Falajes:

Water Resources

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� Falajes:

Water Resources

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� Spring: A spring is a groundwater "outcrop" (Meyboom, 1966) or concentrated groundwater discharge at the ground surface (Todd, 1980)

A) Hot sulfur springs, which are used for bathing, irrigation and for medicinal purposes. The Al-Faydah and Khut springs are hot sulfur springs.

B) Fresh springs, which are used for drinking and agriculture, such as the Al-Wur’ah, Masafi, Masfout, Hatta, and Liwasprings.

Some of these springs were used in the bottled water industry, as is the case of the Hatta and Masafi springs.

Water Resources

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� Ground water: Withdrawn from various aquifers

Water Resources

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� Ground water: It was the main source of water in UAE for all uses

and was extracted through wells.

Water Resources

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� Ground water:

Water Resources

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� Ground water

Water Resources

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Summary

Water Scarcity

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� UAE total renewable fresh water resources is estimated to be less than 150 MCM/Year

Water Demand

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� The UAE total water demand in 2009 was estimated to be 4.5 BCM

Water Supply

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Future Water Demand

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Climatic Change Impact

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� Source: Gary R Fuelner, Rainfall and climate records from Sharjah Airport: Historical data for the study of recent climatic periodicity in the U.A.E.

Climatic Change Impact

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� Under a changing climate, the vulnerability of water resources in the UAE will likely worsen.

� Given climate projections suggesting the future possibility of lower rainfall levels, surface runoff could decrease, further reducing both surface and ground water availability.

Summary: Reasons for Water Shortage

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� Rapid increase in water demands in the various water consumption sectors to cope with the booming economy and industrial development

� The average annual precipitation over UAE and the Abu Dhabi Emirate has reached its lowest levels during the last 10 years.

� Deterioration of groundwater both quantitatively and qualitatively due to the excessive pumping mainly for agriculture purposes along with the extensive use of chemicals and fertilizers in agriculture.

� Slow transfer of technologies from applied research to practice, due to poor coordination and poor networking among stakeholders.

� Absence of integrated water resources management approach and practices. Long-term strategies for water planning, management and conservation are not in place.

� Low water use efficiency and high water losses in the water distribution systems.

� Shortage of available funds for water development and conservation projects

� Difficulties in changing the unfavorable social habits and attitudes towards water uses and conservation. This is mainly due to poor public awareness programs in the Emirate.

Source: Water resources of Abu-Dhabi UAE

Summary: Water Resources Challenges

and way forward

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� The lack of the renewable freshwater resources in Emirate constitutes a major deterrent to its sustainable development. On the other hand, growing population, rising standard of living, and expanding opportunities exert increasing demands for varied needs for freshwater in the Emirate. Notwithstanding these severe shortages, water continues to be used unwisely, wasted and polluted.

� Insufficient water at the right place at the right time with the right quality requires, more than ever before, improved management, efficient utilization, and increased conservation of limited freshwater resources in the Emirate.

� These demands can only be met if water resources are conserved, planned and properly managed.

Source: Water resources of Abu-Dhabi UAE

Water Conservation Initiative

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� A national water conservation strategy in UAE has been launched in 2010 focusing on water demand management measures in all water consumption sectors. It provides framework to sustainably manage the UAE’s water resources over the period to 2021.

� A variety of water conservation measures are being implemented throughout the UAE, especially in the agricultural sector where plant suitability, crop replacement and drip irrigation techniques are being promoted to save water.

� Public awareness campaigns are also underway in Emirates such as Abu Dhabi to educate the general public about the importance of water conservation.

Reading AssignmentOUR INITIATIVES FOR WATER CONSERVATION.pdf

Water Conservation Initiative

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� Enlist the steps to be taken to improve water conservation

� Domestic Water Use__________________________________________

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Water Conservation Initiative

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� Enlist the steps to be taken to improve water conservation

� Industrial Water Use__________________________________________

� __________________________________________

� __________________________________________

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Water Conservation Initiative

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� Enlist the steps to be taken to improve water conservation

� Agriculture Water Use__________________________________________

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Concept of virtual water/water footprint

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� The water footprint of a product (a commodity, good or service) is the volume of freshwater used to produce the product, measured at the place where the product was actually made.

� It refers to the amount of water used in the various steps of the production chain.

http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/home

Concept of virtual water/water footprint

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� Learn more: http://water.heroesoftheuae.ae/en/section/fun-facts/virtual-water-calculator

Concept of virtual water/water footprint

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What about virtual water trade?

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� Virtual water trade refers to the idea that when goods and services are exchanged, so is virtual water.

� When a country imports one tonne of wheat instead of producing it domestically, it is saving about 1,300 cubic meters of real indigenous water.

� If this country is water-scarce, the water that is 'saved' can be used towards other ends. If the exporting country is water-scarce, however, it has exported 1,300 cubic meters of virtual water since the real water used to grow the wheat will no longer be available for other purposes.

Thank you

� Questions….

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