Water conservation begins at home, Dubai tells residents

Dubai - The campaign, launched by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), coincides with the World Water Week.

By Wam

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Published: Tue 18 Aug 2015, 12:00 AM

Last updated: Tue 18 Aug 2015, 2:51 PM

A new campaign called 'Every Drop Matters' is urging Dubai residents to rationalise water use by adopting environment-friendly practices.
The campaign, launched by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), coincides with the World Water Week, which will be held in Stockholm, Sweden, from August 23-28.
"This new awareness campaign supports Dewa's development plans and strategies to strengthen the foundations of environmental suitability in Dubai. This supports the directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to promote sustainable and comprehensive development of Dubai.
"The campaign also supports Dubai Plan 2021 to make Dubai a smart, integrated and connected city whose elements are clean, healthy and sustainable," said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dewa.
Al Tayer noted that the campaign stems from Dewa's realisation of the growing importance of Dubai's water wealth, especially in light of the "fast-paced urban development". "With the lack of drinking water sources such as rivers and challenges in groundwater extraction, we provide fresh drinking water as per the highest international standards through desalination. This accounts for 99.5 per cent of water produced in Dubai," he said.
He noted that Dewa's capacity is 470 million gallons of desalinated water per day.
In 2014, water consumption was highest in the residential sector, accounting for 59 per cent. Commercial customers used 28 per cent, non-commercial buildings used 10 per cent and while industrial customers, 3 per cent, he added.
"Dewa's initiatives and awareness programmes effectively contribute to supporting the national efforts to achieve a sustainable future for the residents.
"The Dewa managed to achieve impressive results in reducing water use over the past six years through our various campaigns, with a total saving of over 5.4 billion gallons of water. We will continue to reduce (water) use ... in the coming years. This will only be achieved through joint efforts and the effective participation of individuals in supporting our efforts to reduce water consumption and ensure its sustainability through responsible use," he added.


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