Mohamed M. Al Mulla, PhD

Director of Water Resources Department

2nd Arab Water Forum

Cairo, 20-23 November 2011

UAE State of the Water Report

Introduction

- Geography

- Governance

- Climate

- Environment

- Agriculture

Current Water Resources Situation in UAE

- Water Resources

- Hydrological cycle

- Water Scarcity

- Water Demand

- Water Supply

- Ground Water

- Surface Water

- Water Harvesting

- Groundwater Recharge By Dams

- Desalinated water

- Treated Wastewater

Content

Content Water Resources Management in UAE

- Access to drinking water and sanitation

- Future Water Demand

- climate Change Impact on Water Resources

- Water Resources Information System

- Water Security and Management

- Water Demand Management

- Water Conservation Strategy

Summary

Geography

United Arab Emirates (UAE) is located in Southwest Asia

towards the south-eastern area of the Arabian Peninsula,

the UAE is a federation of seven Emirates – Abu Dhabi,

Dubai, Sharjah, Umm al-Quwain, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah

and Fujairah - that span approximately 83,600 square

kilometers. The UAE’s coastlines form the south and south-

eastern shores of the Arabian Gulf and part of the western

shores of the Gulf of Oman.

The UAE’s population increased by about 75% between

1995 and 2005, the year when the last census was

conducted. the population is increased to 5.06 million by

the end of 2009. The overwhelming majority of population

growth is associated with non-nationals coming to the

country on temporary work assignments.

In 2007, the UAE’s GDP reached nearly 730 billion dirhams (about US$ 200 billion), up from almost 242

billion dirhams in 2000 and 157 billion dirhams in 1995. The national economy is well diversified and has

experienced robust growth in recent years, with GDP growing at an average real annual rate of 11.2% for

the past several years.

Governance

The UAE’s government is a constitutionally-based federal system. The political system comprises

several intricately connected governing bodies that include the Supreme Council, the Council of

Ministers, the Federal National Council and the Federal Judiciary.

The relationship between the federal and emirate governments is established in the Constitution,

which allows for a degree of flexibility in the distribution of authority. Each of the seven emirates has

its own local government. Over the past several years, major steps have been taken, both at a

federal and at a local level, to reform the structure of government to enhance responsiveness to the

citizenship and emerging challenges of sustainable development.

An important recent development was the development of a national Government Strategy which

launched in 2007 aiming to establish foundations for a new era of public administration.

Implementation of the strategy has continued to make progress resulting in the enhancement of

collaboration between the federal and emirate-level authorities. The national policy agenda has

been followed by several local initiatives such as Plan Abu Dhabi 2030 a major development

initiative of Abu Dhabi that will guide planning decisions for the next quarter of a century.

UAE has an arid to hyber-arid climate with high temperatures and infrequent

irregular low rainfall.

Mean max. temp. reaches > 40 °C in summer

High relative humidity (reaches > 97%)

Average daily evaporation 8.2 mm

Average daily sunshine 9.8 hours

Average annual mean rainfall is around 120 mm

Climate

Environment

UAE recognized the importance of conserving environmental resources as an important foundation

to its developmental policies for present and future generations. The UAE is endowed with a variety

of important terrestrial, coastal, and marine ecosystems.

In addition to national legislation that targets environmental issues, the UAE is a party to several

regional and international conventions and protocols, with the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol

taking place in 2005.

Other resent notable developments include the following:

Tighter controls over the country's quarrying industry: new regulations introduced by the

Ministry of Environment and Water cover air quality guidelines, noise, health and safety

practices and the impact on the environment of areas adjacent to quarry sites and their

associated rock crushers;

More protected areas: for example, areas of the Hajar Mountains are being prepared for

designation as protected areas, the mountains are home to much of the UAE's endangered

wildlife and provide key habitats.

Agriculture

UAE has been able to develop a

thriving agricultural industry despite

its highly arid condition.

Modern irrigation techniques and

water from groundwater aquifers

wastewater treatment plants and

from desalination plants have made

it possible for large areas to be

cultivated.

There are currently more than

100,000 hectares of cultivated land,

producing a range of crops

including vegetables fruit and

fodder.

Water Resources in UAE

Conventional

Water Resources

Non – Conventional

Desalinated Water

Treated wastewater

Surface runoff

Falajes & Springs

Groundwater

Rainfall 100 %

Evaporation 75 %

Runoff 15 %

Recharge 10 %

Hydrological cycle

Water Scarcity

The UAE total renewable freshwater resources is estimated to be less than 150 MCM / Year

Water Demand

1754 1789

478 456

1687

87 60

456

67

1600

131 102

287

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

Agriculture الزراعى Domestic البلدى Amenity والحدائق التخضير Forestry الغابات

بكع

متر

منيو

مل

MC

M

Sector القطاع

Demend األستخدام Groundwater مياه جوفية Desalination مياه محاله Treated wastewater مياه صرف صحى معالجة

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

51% 40%

9%

Groundwater Desalination T. wastewater

Water Supply

In 2009 water was supplied from three main sources:

1. Groundwater supplies about 51%, mostly for irrigation

uses, but some limited quantities are used for potable

uses

2. Desalinated water supplies about 40%, mainly for

potable water uses

3. Treated wastewater supplies about 9%, and mainly

used for irrigating amenity areas and industrial uses

Groundwater

Groundwater is UAE’s main natural water resource. The use of it is primarily for agriculture and

forestry. The total volume of groundwater is large (640 BCM) but only 3% of the groundwater

available, about 20 BCM is fresh.

Groundwater

Over-abstraction of groundwater for

agricultural caused a sharp drop in

water levels in the fresh groundwater

region.

Salt-Water Intrusion from the sea in

coastal regions, lateral movement of

saline water from a nearby sabkha-

dominated areas, or upwelling of saline

water from lower stratigraphic units into

shallow fresh water aquifers

Water Quality Problems such as

the rising of nitrate concentrations in

some areas due to the over-use of

fertilizer and over-irrigation

Traditionally, groundwater was the main source of water for all uses in UAE. Due to the rapid

expansion mainly in the agricultural area several environmental problems have occurred :

Surface Water

The main renewable fresh water resource in the UAE is Wadi runoff which is determined by rainfall

characteristics and the natural terrain. There are 60 surface water catchments defined in the UAE.

The potential average annual surface water flow can range between 23 MCM to 138 MCM per year.

Water Harvesting

To manage the Wadi flows and flash floods, a series of multi-purpose dams were constructed from

the early 1980s. The majority of the dams and barriers is located in the northern mountainous part

of the country where significant flash floods occur. Benefits include increasing groundwater

recharge; protecting people , farms and urban lands from flood damages; storing water to meet

local agricultural water demand; conserving downstream areas from erosion; reducing water losses

to the ocean; and limiting seawater intrusion in coastal areas.

Groundwater Recharge By Dams

117 recharge dams constructed across main Wadies, with total storage capacity of 120 MCM.

The total harvested water behind the dams from 2001 until March 2010 is estimated at 130 MCM.

The recharge efficiency is estimated between 47% to 22% for some dams.

MCM

Total Harvested Water

130 MCM

Desalinated water

At present, desalinated water is the primary source

for potable water use in the UAE. Water desalination

in the country was initiated in 1973, in Abu Dhabi at

an annual production rate of 7 MCM. Desalination

capacity has increased since 2000 in a response to

increasing water demand from economic

development and population growth. The national

desalination capacity is about 1,700 MCM per year.

Both seawater and inland water desalination are

practised. Desalination plants fall into two main

categories: those that are constructed to utilize heat

from thermal power generation known as thermal co-

generation plants (Multi-Stage Flash MSF and

Multiple Effect Distillation MED); and independent

Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants that use electrical

power to force salty water through membranes that

strip salts from the water. Presently, thermal plants in

operation and under planning account for 81% of

desalination capacity and RO accounts for 19% in

UAE.

Distribution of UAE's desalination capacity among the Emirates

Treated Wastewater

Most of the UAE WWTPs are activated sludge

plants with tertiary treatment that consists of sand

filtration and chlorination. The following

conventional treatment methods are used in the

treatment plants:

Activated sludge using surface aerators or

fine bubble diffusers.

Aerated lagoons.

Sequential batch reactors.

Trickling filters.

Aerated submerged media.

Package plants (based on activated sludge).

UASB (up flow anaerobic sludge blanket)

technology.

Wastewater Treatment Systems in Abu Dhabi

UAE Water Conservation Strategy 2010 , MOEW

Treated wastewater is a valuable resource to address water scarcity. Thus, treated wastewater

has an important role to play in water resources management in the UAE. Treated wastewater is

a significant and growing resource in the UAE. To date it has been used primarily for greening of

urban areas. The total amount of treated wastewater produced was 560 MCM in 2009.

Access to Drinking Water and Sanitation

Future Water Demand

UAE Water Conservation Strategy, 2010 , MOEW

Assuming current demand patterns and rates continue, the UAE’s total annual water demand is

expected to double by 2030 from 4.4 BCM in 2008.

The sector of predicted greatest increase is in urban demand such (household, industrial,

commercial, institutions and public facilities resulting from population and industrial/commercial

growth. Conversely, water demand for agricultural and forestry is expected to decrease relative to

current values as a result of depleting groundwater resources, unless Treated wastewater or

desalinated water resources are used as substitutes.

Climate Change Impact on Water - 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 groundwater availability.

- UAE has undertaken regional climatic modeling

analysis, as well as vulnerability and adaptation study for

water resources. A key finding of the water resource

vulnerability study is that the combination of future

population growth, irrigation requirements, and economic

activity and business-as-usual water resource

management will lead to future water demand far in

excess of current supplies.

- The essential recommendation was to develop a

strategy to reduce per capita water consumption by about

50% from current levels, with resulting level of per capita

water consumption maintained through the year 2050.

Water Security and Management Water resources are the most critical natural resource for the UAE and a focus of policy scrutiny.

Issued by the 31st GCC Summit which wound up in UAE (7/12/2010), the Abu Dhabi Water

Declaration stressed the importance of linking between the guarantee of water security and

diversification of energy and food security sources as vital prerequisite and key strategic priority for

the future of the GCC states.

Sustainable and integrated development and management of water resources requires water policy

reforms with emphasis on supply and demand management measures and improvement of the legal

and institutional provisions. UAE has developed a number of initiatives to enhance its water security

level include the following:

- A National Water Conservation Strategy has been lunched in 2010 focusing on water demand

management measures in all water consumption sectors.

- To increase the strategic water reserve an Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) project is

established. The aim of the project is to develop sufficient capacity of domestic water supply to

serve Abu Dhabi city and the surrounding area for up to 90 days at a daily rate of up to 40MIGD.

The water would be reserved for use in case of emergency.

- Investments on new water projects including desalination, wastewater and dams construction

projects. UAE's investments on water projects have increased by 20 per cent from US$11.62

billion in 2007 to US$14bn in 2008.

Water Resources Information System

– importing/exporting/storing all water resources

related data (geology, geomorphology,

Topography & DEM, Climate, soil types,

Hydrogeology, groundwater salinity, water table

levels, land use, economical activities,

desalination plants, and TSW) into/from/in the

central database

– The database has more advanced tools, like

complex querying, borehole log plotting, 3D

interpolation and visualization, and time series

charting, reporting and different types of

visualization.

– GIS capability and spatial analysis

– Linked to Water Budget Model

The system has been developed using HydroGeoanalyst & Manager software. Database Structure

allows :

Water Demand Management The UAE Water Conservation Strategy is a major

achievement in the realization of the Government’s vision to

secure sustainable water resource development for future

generations. The implementation of the strategy will be

sustained through close coordination between all water sector

related partners.

The strategy aimed to achieve the following objectives:

1. Provide an updated and integrated assessment of

UAE’s water resources and their use;

2. Provide an understanding of what governs water

demand, allocation and use;

3. Identify options to improve the efficiency of water use,

reduce costs and improve the environment;

4. Make recommendations to strengthen Federal policy,

laws and capacity to comprehensively oversee sound

water resources management and use; and

5. Enhance water security and protect surface and

groundwater resources, marine, and the environment.

Water Conservation Strategy The Strategy provides a framework to sustainably manage the UAE’s water resources over the

period to 2021. In order to implement the Strategy, the following eight initiatives should be

implemented:

1 : Develop legislation, standards and Federal mechanisms for integrated water resources

management

2 : Better manage natural water resources and enhance strategic reserve

3 : Develop national agricultural policy aimed at water conservation and increasing value to the

economy

4 : Manage efficiently desalinated water from a comprehensive and national perspective

5 : Rationalize water consumption to be within the global daily per capita water consumption rate

6 : Review and develop water pricing and subsidy policies

7 : Better manage effluent and reclaimed water

8 : Capacity building and strengthening of local expertise on the concepts of integrated water

resources management

Summary

- The UAE has an arid to hyber-arid climate

- In 2009 , UAE total water demand was estimated to be 4.5 BCM . Water supplied by groundwater

(51%) , desalination (40%) and treated wastewater (9%)

- UAE total annual water demand is expected to double by 2030

- Water resources are the most critical natural resource for the UAE

- UAE Water Conservation Strategy is a major tool towards securing sustainable water resource

development

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