Dubai announces it will reuse 100% of its water by 2030

Dubai will reuse 100 per cent of its water by 2030. This has been revealed by Dubai Municipality (DM), who is spearheading the emirate’s water reclamation programme.

The city will also curb desalinated water and related power consumption by 30 per cent to accelerate its green economy vision. Currently, the emirate reuses 90 per cent of its water, saving more than Dh2 billion annually.

“Dubai’s leadership recognised at an early stage that water conservation is crucial to ensuring sustainable development,” said Dawoud Al Hajri, Director General of DM. “Today, the recycling of water resources has evolved to form a key part of Dubai Municipality’s efforts to realise the leadership’s vision to turn the emirate into a green economy hub.”

Apart from safeguarding vital groundwater resources, water recycling also saves the electricity needed for energy-intensive desalination, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“As Dubai sets its sights on becoming one of the most sustainable cities in the world, we continue to launch new initiatives to raise water reuse rates and progressively diminish the city’s reliance on desalination and precious groundwater,” added Al Hajri.

Uses of recycled water

Today, Dubai uses reclaimed water to irrigate green spaces and landscaping. Stretching approximately 2,400 kilometres, this network covers most areas of the city, including public gardens and green spaces, as well as landscaped areas in property developments. On average, about 22 million cubic metres of reclaimed water is used monthly for irrigation purposes in the city.

Apart from this, recycled water is used for multiple purposes ranging from central cooling to firefighting. In 2022, over 6 million cubic metres of reclaimed water was used in central cooling stations, resulting in cost savings of approximately Dh7.1 million. Using recycled water in operations like central cooling stations has helped reduce costs and lead to further reductions in power consumption and carbon emissions.

Reclaimed water is also used in physical treatment processes such as washing operations in sewage treatment plants and pumping stations. Further, it is used in firefighting operations as an eco-friendlier alternative to desalinated water.

Five decades of work

For the last five decades, DM has been working tirelessly on its water reclamation programme that is fast becoming a global model for excellence. Dubai embarked on this journey in 1969 when the emirate’s first wastewater treatment plant was built in Al Khawaneej. As the city underwent rapid urban expansion, demand for wastewater treatment and recycled water surged.

In 1981, a new plant was established in Warsan and in 2006, the Jebel Ali plant was founded to raise the city's water recycling capacity to approximately 560,000 cubic metres daily. That is enough water to fill more than 22 Olympic sized swimming pools. Since then, further refurbishments to both the plants have significantly increased the capacity of the emirate to treat wastewater.

Between 1980 and 2022, Dubai produced over 4.5 billion cubic metres of reclaimed water. By 2030, Dubai aims to double its production of recycled water to over 8 billion cubic metres.

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