DUBAI: The Abu Dhabi government said on Monday that it was facing massive water shortages. The government report for the world's top water consumer, said that if action was not taken in the immediate future, water resources could run out in the coming decades. It also called on residents in the United Arab Emirates capital to reduce their consumption rates to combat the problem. According to Emirates 24/7, the UAE's average water consumption is some 500 liters daily, “nearly 82 per cent above the global average individual demand.” Overall water demand in the wealthy Gulf country was some 4.5 billion cubic meters in 2010. This is expected to double to nine bcm in 2030 “because of high consumption and population growth,” the government report added. The Abu Dhabi Environment Authority (ADEA) said in comments published by the news agency that “domestic water consumption in Abu Dhabi surpasses natural water supply by nearly 26 times … this means that ground resources will totally be depleted within the next 20 to 40 years.” 2010 water consumption surpassed greatly the total water supply for 2009, which was estimated at around 3.36 million total cubic meters. “Failure to manage the use of water will boost demand by 122 per cent in 2030 and in the absence of sufficient ground resources, desalination plants could fail to meet that demand,” the report said. UAE has around 70 major water desalination plants. The report noted that desalination plants are not only high energy consumers but are also harmful to the environment. The report said “these plants usually treat highly saline water in extremely hot weather conditions a large quantities of chemicals are disposed of into the sea during the process…this is directly affecting sea creatures and putting the already fragile ecological system in the Gulf under pressure.” Environmental activists in the country, however, believe that campaigns can be a help to reduce the overall consumption rates. “What we need are efforts to reduce the reliance on water and establish more eco-friendly solutions,” said environmental advocate Munir Abdulaziz, a Emirati working with local government officials to create awareness. “We are a small country that uses way more than we need because that is how we have done things in the past, but this is a smart country and through campaigns we can ensure we have water for the next generation,” he told Bikyamasr.com. BM
ShortURL: http://goo.gl/BHLKi Tags: Abu Dhabi, featured, Shortages, Water Section: Environment, Going Green, Latest News, United Arab Emirates
