It has long been a cliché to say that water is the new oil. The term ‘blue gold’ is an increasingly common phrase in environmental circles, and whilst the last half century has been about scouring the deserts of the Middle East for oil, the future may well involve a more translucent bullion.
The World Health Organisation already estimates that 1.2 billion people worldwide do not currently have access to fresh water. Global consumption of this vital resource has doubled since World War II, and by 2030, when government statistics say Abu Dhabi’s population will have tripled, it is set to rise by another 25 per cent, according to a recent report by Zurich-based investment firm S.A.M.
Global warming will also have a role to play, say some scientists. However, unlike oil, the amount of water on earth (an estimated 326 quintillion gallons) will not diminish. What will change, though, is its location. For poorer countries, the effects would be drastic; but equally, for arid nations like the UAE, where water scarcity is already an issue, concern is just as high.
97.5 per cent of the water found on Earth is saltwater, undrinkable unless processed via a technique known as desalinisation. It is an energy-intensive affair; the privilege of wealthy and oil-rich countries like the UAE, which many argue has longstanding environmental concerns, not least from the carbon dioxide expelled during the process.
But with little or no available fresh surface or groundwater (water drawn from underground tributaries) in the Emirates, it is also a necessity, and it is no surprise that in 2007 the Middle East was said to account for 75% of the world’s water desalinisation.
The facts are damning. The UAE is the third largest per capita water consumer in the world, behind the U.S. and Canada, confirms Dr Mohammed Dawood, Manager of Natural Resources at the Emirates Environment Agency (EAD). Figures from 2004 estimated that water consumption would rise by 44 per cent by 2025, as the population expanded. ‘You have too much demand and you have to increase the supply, and that relies on building up non-traditional sources such as desalinisation,’ explains Dr Dawood.
The production capacity of the Abu Dhabi Water and Electric Authority’s desalinisation plants now stands at a monster 684 MIGD (million imperial gallons per day). In 2008, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi consumed an average of 397.92 MIGD from June to August, and 379.11 MIGD from November to December. But perhaps surprisingly, 70 per cent of the UAE’s supply actually comes from indigenous groundwater.
This is inevitably brackish (meaning it contains mild salinity) and may only be used for agriculture and green areas, meaning that desalination plants are the only hope for producing our own fresh water. It comes at a high ecological cost, though.
‘Desalination plants are important in the region as they provide a basic need to the population, industry and agriculture,’ says Habiba Al Marashi, Chairperson of the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG). ‘On the other hand, desalination of seawater is not without environmental concerns. In thermal desalination plants, seawater feed is heated to extreme temperatures, mixed with chemicals and desalted to produce potable desalinated water.
The wastewater generated from this process, which is called ‘brine water’, is released back into the sea without any treatment, posing a potential threat to the marine ecosystem due to its high concentration of salts and high temperature.’
It is a concern shared by Rima Jabado, Marine Director of the Emirates Marine Environment Group. ‘There is no doubt that releasing salted brine into the ocean from desalination plants has a direct impact on the quality of the water and the different marine flora and fauna in the area,’ she agrees. ‘The main concern is whether many [of the species] will be tolerant of high salt concentrations over extended periods of time.’ She urges stringent monitoring; it’s something which EAD is already working on, claims Dr Dawood.
‘EAD monitors this, and we know that on a local scale, there are some problems, and we are working on how to solve them,’ he told us.
But the answers are not immediately forthcoming. Blending the waste brine with seawater to minimise temperature and salinity before disposal is one solution, using renewable resources such as solar power to create hybrid facilities and cut down on consumption are other options, as is using more recycled water and adopting more controversial alternative sources such as nuclear power.
But these are all under testing, Dr Dawood affirms, with no commercial application yet confirmed. Another solution is reverse osmosis, which uses a third as much energy to effect the same process as thermal desalinisation, but there remains only one plant in the UAE capable of this, in Fujeirah, the other plants are old and their systems unable to be adapted.
The other approach is preventative: to minimise the impact of a growing population upon current water resources. Education is key to the agenda of Habiba Al Marashi, for whom efforts to spotlight water conservation in the UAE ‘still lack the sufficient momentum and focus to create public attention’. The EEG works with schools and teachers to educate local children, but monitoring agriculture is just as essential, says Dr Dawood, and adopting more salt-tolerant, or dry-tolerant species and better irrigation is vital.
He suggests that better regulations to both encourage economic water use in the public and discourage waste must also be addressed. For example, an average tap faucet produces 10 to 12 litres of water per minute; the adoption of the 3 to 6 litre faucet would reduce waste significantly.
But in the end, there is no escaping the necessity of desalinisation plants, and when Greenpeace starts giving its backing to projects like the solar-powered plant currently being built in Australia, then it signals a more rational attitude to our coasts. The facts are that the nation’s growing population is set to place an even greater pressure upon an already fragile resource. It is said that in an emergency, the nation has 48 hours worth of water in reserve.
Abu Dhabi’s 2030 plan is addressing how to save water, where to build more desalination plants, and how to reduce their impact, reassures Dr Dawood, but unless we act soon, 48 hours may not be enough.
Water logged
1 Install high efficiency toilets which can use 1.6 gallons or less per flush.
2 Repair dripping faucets by replacing washers. If your faucet is dripping at the rate of one drop per second, you can expect to waste 2,700 gallons per year.
3 A shower may use only 30 litres (depending on how extravagant you are) compared to a bath of 110 litres, but a power shower can use up to 60 litres per minute.
4 Keep a jug or bottle of water in the fridge, this saves running a tap to ensure it is cold enough.
5 Turn the tap off whilst brushing your teeth.
