The Future Of Desalination In The United Arab Emirates - Research Proposal Example

Chapter 4: Water desalination in UAE 1. UAE water strategy, challenges and opportunities 1.1 The global picture of the water in UAE According to 2012 estimated by the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, some 72% of water that UAE residents use emanates from groundwater supplies. On the other hand, an estimated 21% was found to originate from desalination, while treated water accounted for 7% of the water used in the country (Leijen 2012). The United Nations considers the UAE as a high-risk country in respect to water stress, a phenomenon characterized by imbalance in demand for water and available of water. UAE is considered to be among the largest water consumers in the world. In 2011, the Dubai School of Government reported that the rife opulence and insufficient water conservation measures among UAE residents was the immediate cause of high usage and wastage of water. According to Leijen (2012), the UAE’s per capita water use is nearly 550 litres a person a day, relative to a global national average of 250 litres. On global standards, the UAE is classified in the highest range of water stress. There is also a growing concern that because of the hot climate in the UAE, storing treated wastewater, in spite of being disinfected with chlorine, cannot be stored even for day as bacteria tends to accumulate (Leijen 2012). In a 2013 report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), it was highlighted that Middle East is prone to the most rapid changing environment globally, due to a rapid growth of population and increased pressures on the environment (Fisher 2013). The UNEP study showed that UAE had one of the highest demands for water yet had scare water resources. It further identified UAE as the second to Saudi Arabia on a global scale in terms of producing desalinated water. The UNEP expressed concern that UAE was using up its groundwater supplies at a high rate of 24 times than the capacity for the groundwater to recharge to naturally (Fisher 2013). For instance, the Liwa groundwater supply was showed as bound to become deplete in 40 years. Ironically, water demand is steadily increasing, and is projected to rise to 44% to reach 3.2 thousand million m3 by 2025 (Fisher 2013). From a global outlook, the UAE is situated in Arabian Peninsula, in a highly arid climate zone. The zone receives low rainfall, which averages 100mm annually. It also has high temperatures that vary between 46°C and 50°C, particularly during summer. The high rate of evaporation, which exceeds 2000 mm annually, also contributes to significant loss of precipitation, by up to 75% -- which gets lost through evaporation. As indicated in the figure below, the Middle East region, where UAE is situated, is highly arid zone in the world, hence faced significant water stress (See figure 1). Figure 1: Water scarcity across the world, including the Middle East (Parneet et al. 2016, p.2). In the review, Parneet et al. (2016, p.2) explained that historically, power and water usage has drastically been high in the country because of the arid desert climate, which demonstrates high temperatures in addition to high levels of humidity. Current estimates reveal that some 65% of the energy used in UAE is channelled toward addressing the significantly essential demands, such as air conditioning of homes to cool them, and production of water through desalination. 1.2 Water Availability and Demand While there is a high demand for water in the UAE, the inadequacy of distribution channels is a challenge to direct supply and demand mechanism. This leads to huge amounts of treated waste-water to go into waste once again. Because of inadequate distribution channels, these large consumers are forced to purchase treated sewage from the municipality or opt for desalinated water, which is subsidised by the government, hence is cheaper for consumers. For these reason, the UAE policy on water supply and demand has primarily focused on water desalination. In a 2011 report by the Dubai School of Government, it was revealed that apart from increased water supply through desalination, the political discourse had turned its focus on emphasising water management. This is because UAE is still at risk of increase water stress in future because of high population growth, ever-increasing water consumption and a shift of focus toward irrigation (Leijen 2012). The UAE experiences a swift rise in population leading to an ever-growing demand for water. The sum water demand in the country was approximated to 4.5 billion m3 in 2009. According to Szabo (2011), since the first census as undertaken in UAE in 1968, the country’s population has risen almost 40 times (See figure 2 below). Figure 2: Illustration of growth in GDP in correspoendence with population growth in UAE from 1973-2009 (Szabo 2011). On regional basis, the population of Dubai is said to have increased to 1.643 million. This means implies that averagely, the yearly population growth rate witnessed since 1975 was 6.3%. Between 2000 and 2010, the population of Dubai increased to more than 1.9 million from the initial 826000 (Szabo 2011). There are concerns that if the high water demand remains unchecked, it could growth by 123% by 2030 (Radan 2016). The Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) has also raised concern that the demand for water in Dubai has overwhelmed the natural supply, as the total water consumed is nearly 26 times the water produced naturally. This implies that if alternative water supply, such as through desalination, would not exist, Dubai’s groundwater resources stand to become deplete in 24 years (Radan 2016). Indeed, after the first-ever desalination plant was set up in Abu Dhabi in 1960, water desalination water has provided a viable alternative to water stress in the country (Radan 2016). Leijen (2012) pointed out that among the largest consumers of water in UAE include cooling plants, public parks, palaces, and golf courses. However, in a related earlier study, Wait (2008, p.2) indicated that water consumption in the country is divided into three categories: private households, industries, and agriculture. Private households accounts for nearly 24% of the water consumed in the country. Among the biggest contributors to water consumption, according to Wait (2008), include the widespread use of air conditioning systems due to the high temperatures across the year. They consume huge quantities of water through chilled water pumps. Additionally, UAE has the highest consumption rate of bottled water per capita, estimated 285 as litres annually. The bottles are mostly filled with desalinated water, which is estimated to costs nearly 11.8 billion AED per year. Additionally, nearly 3 litres of water is needed to make a litre of bottled water. There is also a concern on the high misuse of water in UAE, including watering gardens and landscape irrigation, which is estimated at 15 litres of water per m2 daily (Wait 2008, p.2). The agricultural sector accounts for two-thirds of the total water consumed in UAE. Because of the speedy population growth in the country, there has been an upsurge in demand for food, leading to greater stress on water resources. Among the highest water wastages is through poor irrigation efficiency. While it nearly15 litres of water is required to water 1 m2 of land a day, 30% of the water gets lost to evaporation (Wait 2008, p.2). In 2008, the industrial sector in UAE accounted for some 9% of total water consumed in UAE. Most of the water is applied in cooling and flushing impurities from machinery, which ultimately transforms into run-offs, which pollute environments that are in close proximity. As of 2015, the industrial and household sector together consumes some 1.4 billion cubic metres annually. This accounts for nearly 90% of the total water demanded for domestic use in the country (Gornall 2015). Overall, rise in demand for water in the country is at variance with the average precipitation of 11.9 each year. Due to the lack of extensive surface water supplies, in addition to the country’s inadequate and groundwater resources that recharge slowly and are close to exhaustion, the country has turned to desalination processes to generate the water for private households and agricultural use (Wait 2008, p.2). Additionally, while the entire UAE holds abundant oil and gas resources, a majority of the resources are found in Abu Dhabi. Because of the federal governance structure, resources held in one emirate do not necessarily translate into their accessibility of the resources to the other emirates. Because of irregular distribution of energy resources in the country, the six emirates apart from Abu Dhabi have started to integrate less traditional means electricity supply necessary for generation of desalinated water, such as turbine electricity plants, coal gasification, and coal‐fired electricity power plants (Wait 2008, p.2). 1.3 Growth of Desalination in UAE Rapid growth of desalination began after the seven emirates merged, leading to the birth of the UAE during the early 1970’s. During the initial stages, the desalination plants had an overall capacity of nearly 29,000 m3 /d. This has grown to nearly 9.4 million m3 /d. In just about 4 decades, the country has transformed into a major producer. UAE currently generates nearly 10% of the worlds’ desalination capacity. As showed in the figure below, in 2003, UAE witnessed a sharp increase in desalination as well as population. Despite the recession of 2009, there was a resolute rise in desalination (Al Hashemi et al. 2014). Figure 3: Population growth in UAE between 1968 and 2011 (Al Hashemi et al. 2014). UAE has witnessed significant rise in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This has been attributed to its free trading zones that have also ensured remarkable growth of the labour market, which had made UAE a highly attractive destination for expatriates. These have contributed to the rapid population growth witnessed between 1992 and 2014 (See figure 4)(Parneet et al. 2016, p.5). Figure 4: UAE population growth relative to increase in GDP (Parneet et al. 2016) Parneet et al. (2016) also pointed out that the water consumption has also increased due to a rise in the living standards, in addition to rise in the construction of infrastructure, and urban activities, including development of parks. As of 2011, the UAE possessed some 70 desalination plants. More than half of these were situated in Abu Dhabi, while 18% were in Dubai, with the remaining in other emirates (Szabo 2011). According to the World Bank, advanced desalination technologies contributed to a significant reduction in cost of desalinated water, to as low as $0.80 per cubic meter in 2011, relative to close to $1.00 per cubic metre 5 years earlier. In spite of an increase in the supply of water through desalination, there appears to be also an increased awareness by the policymakers that water management is necessary to develop the economy further. A major landmark was in 2005, after the Ministry of Environment and Water was introduced. Between 2000 and 2010, the significance of water resource management in addition to the decline in the demand for water has been underscored numerously (Szabo 2011). In an earlier research, Al-Omar (2012) observed that seawater desalination signifies the sole source of freshwater in Abu Dhabi. Desalinated water is generated by 5 desalination plants (See figure 5 below). The sum total yearly water generated has increased from 66,772 to 183,560 million gallons from in 1998 to 2010 (Al-Omar 2012). Figure 5: Map of Abu Dhabi showing site of desalination plants and their capacities (Al-Omar 2012). The desalination plants still undergoing expansion of their capacities to allow the expansion of day by day production rate by 2030, as this would contend with the expected increased in the demand for water. On the other hand, the expansion is also seen as having potential adverse environmental effects on marine environment within parts of the Arabian Gulf because of the release of hot brine that is currently undergoing significant environmental stress (Al-Omar 2012). At Delma Island, a fairly small desalination plant was set up. It has a total capacity of 3 MGD, where a single MGD is generated by MED while the remaining is generated by RO, in as well other RO units that certain entities and communities own, such as that of Sir Bani Yas, which contains 2 MSF units that generate some 0.56 MGD (Al-Omar 2012). Figure 6: Increase in capacity for daily production of desalinated water between 1999 and 2010 (Al-Omar 2012). According to Sultan (n.d.), Abu Dhabi’s first desalination plant was MSF, which was set up in 1960 in Abu Dhabi Corniche. It generated 12500 gallons of water a day. The next one was set up in 1968 in Abu Dhabi city generated about 25000 gallons a day. In the same year, additional MSF desalination technologies were set up at Abu Dhabi Power Station. In the 1970s, additional desalination systems were constructed at Abu Dhabi Power Station, even as newer stations were created at Mirfa, Taweelah, and Umm Al Nar. Additional smaller units were installed in the remote regions of Abu Dhabi Emirate, as showed in the table 1 below. Table 1: List of desalination plants in UAE (Sultan nd) Overall, Abu Dhabi’s unit plant ratings have increased progressively from nearly 12500 gallons a day during the 1960s to some12.5 million gallons a day during the 1990s (Sultan n.d.). In 2013, Dubai’s Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) launched another desalination plant in Jebel Ali, called the ‘M Station,’ which had a capacity to generate up to 2,060 MW of desalinated water, as well as to generate some produce 140 million imperial gallons (MIG). At its launch, it became the largest desalination plant in the UAE. The plant consists of 8 MSF units, which each unit generates 17.5 MIG daily. The plant also possesses 6 F-class gas turbines, which each turbine generates 234 MW (Sultan n.d.). 2 The program of desalinization 2.1 Renewable Energy and Desalination projects in UAE A recent study by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) (2015) showed the viability of renewable energy in UAE. The findings indicated that close to a 10% share of renewable energy in the overall mix of energy, had a potential to generate cost-savings of up to US$1.9 billion annually, by 2030. On account of the health and environmental implication, an additional net savings of up to US$3.7 billion may as well be achieved by 2030. Within the context of UAE, IRENA (2015) observed that renewable energy is currently experiencing an increasing trajectory. Much of the efforts have been on solar and wind energy. A historical preview of renewable energy in the country indicates that renewable energy impetus started in the financial year 2008/2009, after the Abu Dhabi set energy targets to attain power production capacity of nearly 1500 MW from renewable energy by 2020. During this time, Dubai proclaimed a target a capacity of nearly 1000 MW, of renewable energy production (IRENA 2015). While there have been reservations over the capacity of hydrocarbon-exporting nations like UAE or Saudi Arabia to produce renewable energy due to overdependence on fossil fuels to support their economies, IRENA (2015) considers UAE’s intend to deploy renewable energy as potentially having a major normalising effect for renewable energy. The UAE is chiefly dependent on desalination as a source of freshwater. Natural gas powers a majority of the desalination plants in the country, hence contributing to nearly one-third of the greenhouse gas emissions in the country. Initially, the desalination market in the GCC tended to consider strength instead of efficiency. As a result, desalination of water was attained through resource-intensive and costly production processes. For these reasons, the traditional desalination techniques were generally unsustainable (Ballaith (2015). According to Parneet et al. (2016, p.5), UAE has made significant efforts in initiating a number of renewable energy and nuclear energy projects to limit the country’s dependence on fossil fuels. Indeed, the country’s energy profile from 2010 indicates a 100% dependence on fossil fuels, a trend that has been projected to change by 2020, as they will be an increase in the use of renewable and nuclear energy sources (Parneet et al. 2016, p.5). The country had made efforts to invest hugely in a variety of renewable energy projects based in the UAE. As a consequence, the Abu Dhabi government has come up with a policy and strategy that intended to diversify the emirate’s economy, while also decreasing ghg emission. For this reason, several initiatives were launched since 2007 to promote e green energy production (See tabe 2 below) (Parneet et al. 2016, p.5). Table 2: Renewable energy projects in Aby Dhabi alone (Parneet et al. 2016, p.5). According to Ballaith (2015), consumption of energy in the water desalination sector presents a situation, where innovation plays a critical role during the past three decades. In RO technology, innovations have led to reduced energy consumption by nearly 5 kilowatt-hours per cubic meter (kWh/m3), because of an integration of advanced energy recovery devices in addition to the use of innovative membranes capable of operating with greater levels recovery. Despite this, the energy intensity needed even by high-tech desalination plants has been found to be still high, hence representing a major obstacle to allowing for large-scale desalination plants that can be powered economically using renewable energy sources (Ballaith 2015) However, the history of sustainable desalination plants goes back to 1984, when a solar-assisted plan was built and launched in September 1984 at Umm Al Nar, as a result of a research programme between UAE and Japan. However, it was later dismantled in 2002, after it was decommissioned. It generated 80 m3 per day of desalinated water (Galve et al. 2010, p.258-9). Ballaith (2015) explains that the situation has changed during the last decade, as UAE has steered towards ensuring greater levels of sustainability in the production of desalinated water. One major driver for this is the idea that sustainable methods of producing potable water potentially minimizes long-term costs as well as limits emission of ghg gases. Recent trends have showed that UAE is dedicated to the advancement of sustainable industrial-scale, desalination technologies that can meet the country’s future water demand. An example of sustainable water desalination project is Masdar, which as a renewable company that is based in Abu Dhabi. In 2013, the company launched a renewable desalination program focused on developing and demonstrating innovative desalination technologies that will ensure water security as well as decrease energy consumption in the process of desalinating water in order to meet the set targets to cut energy consumption. The objective of Masdar sustainable desalination energy programme is to develop industrial-scale desalination technologies, which are also economically viable, to meet sustainable access to water globally as well as regionally. The program is made up of four key pilot plants situated in Ghantoot, Abu Dhabi (Ballaith 2015). 2.2 Nuclear desalination in UAE In a by the World Nuclear Association (2016), it is indicated that the UAE has embarked on a nuclear power program to construct a nuclear desalination plant at Barakah. The plant is expected to generate nearly 5.6 GWe once it is launched in 2020. Studies on the possibilities of constructing a nuclear desalination plant in UAE have been conducted during the last decade. Among the most vital studies was that commissioned by all the six member states of the GCC in 2006, to determine a peaceable utility of nuclear energy in UAE and Saudi Arabia. In turn, Saudi Arabia has been at the forefront in the implementation of a nuclear facility to power water desalination processes (Blanchard & Kerr 2010). On the other hand, UAE still relies significantly on electricity to produce freshwater through desalination. However, the interest in having the desalination process that are powered by nuclear energy could be argued to have hit a milestone in April 2008, when the made an independent publication of comprehensive policies on nuclear energy. The policy report also projected increased demand for electricity, to more than 40 GWe in 2020, from the initial 15.5 GWe of 2008. The report dismissed the idea of importing coal, because of the associated energy and environmental security implications. The renewable sources were also expected to supply up to 7% of the required power by 2020 (World Nuclear Association 2016). On the other hand, nuclear power was considered an economically viable and environmentally friendly option, which would ensure a considerable base-load contribution to the country’s competitive and economy as well as generate sustainable energy and ensure security (Mantero et al. 2014). As a result, Barakah was selected as a site for the nuclear plant. In a later study by Naizghi et al. (2014), the researcher highlighted a need to utilise nuclear desalination, with the view of overcoming the harmful and non-renewable utility of fossil fuels used at the numerous desalination plants in the country. Technically, as UAE lacked renewable sources of fresh water, Naizghi et al. (2014) argues that the country considered it necessary to develop its nuclear desalination capacity to generate supply of potable water sustainably. In his view, these are the reasons UAE considered to invest in nuclear power, which are expected to start operating in 2020 (World Nuclear Association 2016). Therefore, and as required by the IAEA, the UAE formed Nuclear Energy Program Implementation Organization that would over Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), which was then provided with a funding of $100 million, to assess and execute nuclear power plants in the country (World Nuclear Association 2016). 2.3 Desalination and future water security in UAE In 2015, the amount of desalinated water was about 1.7 billion cubic metres. This made the country the second largest producer of desalinated water globally after Saudi Arabia, which generated some 2.02 billion cubic metres. The amount was the highest ever to be produced in the country. This was credited to the construction of more desalination plants, or expansion of the smaller ones to cater to the growing demand for water (Gornall 2015). This was nearly the amount of desalinated water generated in 2000. However, there is a growing concern that water gap UAE could expand significantly by 2030, in the event of an absence of large desalination projects that can address the rapidly increasing consumption, because of rapid increased in the country’s population. In the wider GCC countries, it is estimated that the region, which experienced a water supply gap of nearly15 billion cubic metres in 2008 may in 2030 experience an increased deficit of nearly 35 billion cubic metres. According to Gornall (2015), the high consumption of water in the UAE is blamed on the hot climate, the rapidly increasing population, as well as poor water management strategies lead to significant wastage of water. The 2014 Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi indicated that the consumption of desalinated water in Abu Dhabi has doubled to 1.126 billion cubic metres in 2013 from 667 million cubic metres in 2005. It is also indicated that in the next 5 years, the total desalination capacity of the GCC countries may rise by up to 40%, from 18.18 million, as of 2015, to some 25 million cubic metres per day. References Al Hashemi, R, Zerreen, S., Al Raisi, A., Marzooqi, A. & Hasan, S 2014, "A Review of Desalination Trends in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries," International Interdisciplinary Journal of Scientific Research, vol 1 no 2, pp.72-96 Al-Omar, M 2012, "The Role of Desalinated Water in Integrated Water Resource Management in Abu Dhabi Emirate-UAE," The Online Journal of Science and Technology, vol 2, iss 4, pp.90-96 Ballaith, K 2015, "Desalination Innovation In The UAE," Water Online, viewed 30 Aug 2016, Blanchard, C & Kerr, P 2010, "The United Arab Emirates Nuclear Program and Proposed U.S. Nuclear Cooperation," Congressional Research Service, 7-5700 Dakkak, A 2015, "Water Management in UAE," EcoMENA, viewed 30 Aug 2016, Emirates247 2012, UAE is world’s second largest desalination producer, viewed 30 Aug 2016, Fisher, A 2013, "Beware, the UAE is running out of water resources," Khaleej Times, viewed 28 Aug 2016, Galve, J, Rodriguez, S, Delyannis, E, Bele, V & Kumar, S 2010, Solar Energy Conversion And Photoenergy Systems: Thermal Systems and Desalination Plants-Volume II, EOLSS Publications Gornall, J 2015, "A shocking way to make fresh water could be the UAE’s answer to desalination," The National, viewed 30 Aug 2016. IRENA 2015, “Renewable Energy Prospects: United Arab Emirates Remap 2030 analysis,” The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), viewed 29 Aug 2016, < http://www.irena.org/remap/irena_remap_uae_report_2015.pdf> Leijen, M 2012, "UAE’s water problem: why waste, waste water?" Emirates 24/7, viewed 30 Aug 2016, Mantero, G, Lomonaco, G & Marotta, R 2014, "Nuclear Desalination: An Alternative Solution to the Water Shortage," Global Journal of Energy Technology Research Updates, 2014, 1, 57-70 Masdar 2016, Renewable energy desalination, viewed 29 Aug 2016, Mellino, C 2016, "Abu Dhabi Desalination Plant to be Powered by Off-Grid Rooftop Solar," EcoWatch, viewed 30 Aug 2016, Naizghi, M, Tesfay, W & Fathm H 2014, "Nuclear desalination and its viability for UAE," Nuclear and Renewable Energies for the 21st century, viewed 28 Aug 2016, < https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264826087_Nuclear_Desalination_and_its_Viability_for_UAE> Parneet, P, Kulaib, A, & Nuhu, B 2016, “A Review of the Water and Energy Sectors and the Use of a Nexus Approach in Abu Dhabi," International Journal of Environ. Res. Public Health, 13, 364 Radan, S 2016, "Abu Dhabi water demand to grow by 123% by 2030," Khaleej Times, viewed 28 Aug 2016, Sultan, H n.d., "Desalination Plants in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi," History, Development And Management Of Water Resources, Vol 2, pp.1-8 Szabo, S 2011, "The Water Challenge in the UAE," Dubai School of Government, December 2011 Wait, I 2008, “Changing Perceptions: Water Quality and Demand in the United Arab Emirates,” 13th IWRA World Water Congress World Nuclear Association 2016, Nuclear Power in the United Arab Emirates, viewed 28 Aug 2016, Read More

Figure 1: Water scarcity across the world, including the Middle East (Parneet et al. 2016, p.2). In the review, Parneet et al. (2016, p.2) explained that historically, power and water usage has drastically been high in the country because of the arid desert climate, which demonstrates high temperatures in addition to high levels of humidity. Current estimates reveal that some 65% of the energy used in UAE is channelled toward addressing the significantly essential demands, such as air conditioning of homes to cool them, and production of water through desalination. 1.2 Water Availability and Demand While there is a high demand for water in the UAE, the inadequacy of distribution channels is a challenge to direct supply and demand mechanism.

This leads to huge amounts of treated waste-water to go into waste once again. Because of inadequate distribution channels, these large consumers are forced to purchase treated sewage from the municipality or opt for desalinated water, which is subsidised by the government, hence is cheaper for consumers. For these reason, the UAE policy on water supply and demand has primarily focused on water desalination. In a 2011 report by the Dubai School of Government, it was revealed that apart from increased water supply through desalination, the political discourse had turned its focus on emphasising water management.

This is because UAE is still at risk of increase water stress in future because of high population growth, ever-increasing water consumption and a shift of focus toward irrigation (Leijen 2012). The UAE experiences a swift rise in population leading to an ever-growing demand for water. The sum water demand in the country was approximated to 4.5 billion m3 in 2009. According to Szabo (2011), since the first census as undertaken in UAE in 1968, the country’s population has risen almost 40 times (See figure 2 below).

Figure 2: Illustration of growth in GDP in correspoendence with population growth in UAE from 1973-2009 (Szabo 2011). On regional basis, the population of Dubai is said to have increased to 1.643 million. This means implies that averagely, the yearly population growth rate witnessed since 1975 was 6.3%. Between 2000 and 2010, the population of Dubai increased to more than 1.9 million from the initial 826000 (Szabo 2011). There are concerns that if the high water demand remains unchecked, it could growth by 123% by 2030 (Radan 2016).

The Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) has also raised concern that the demand for water in Dubai has overwhelmed the natural supply, as the total water consumed is nearly 26 times the water produced naturally. This implies that if alternative water supply, such as through desalination, would not exist, Dubai’s groundwater resources stand to become deplete in 24 years (Radan 2016). Indeed, after the first-ever desalination plant was set up in Abu Dhabi in 1960, water desalination water has provided a viable alternative to water stress in the country (Radan 2016).

Leijen (2012) pointed out that among the largest consumers of water in UAE include cooling plants, public parks, palaces, and golf courses. However, in a related earlier study, Wait (2008, p.2) indicated that water consumption in the country is divided into three categories: private households, industries, and agriculture. Private households accounts for nearly 24% of the water consumed in the country. Among the biggest contributors to water consumption, according to Wait (2008), include the widespread use of air conditioning systems due to the high temperatures across the year.

They consume huge quantities of water through chilled water pumps. Additionally, UAE has the highest consumption rate of bottled water per capita, estimated 285 as litres annually. The bottles are mostly filled with desalinated water, which is estimated to costs nearly 11.8 billion AED per year. Additionally, nearly 3 litres of water is needed to make a litre of bottled water. There is also a concern on the high misuse of water in UAE, including watering gardens and landscape irrigation, which is estimated at 15 litres of water per m2 daily (Wait 2008, p.2).

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