The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority launched a plan to deliver recycled water to more than 1,600 farms in the emirate, in cooperation with its strategic partners. Department of Energy – Abu Dhabi, Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, Taqa Company, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain Distribution Companies, and Abu Dhabi Sustainable Water Solutions Company.
The Emirate of Abu Dhabi’s plan to expand the use of recycled water in agriculture is consistent with comprehensive sustainability goals. Recycled water is one of the necessary solutions to reduce the depletion of groundwater resources, and it can be exploited in various development fields, including the field of agriculture, to ensure the sustainability of agricultural production and reduce the depletion of natural water resources.
Within the framework of this plan, TAQA and its subsidiaries established water transmission lines to transport and distribute about 150,000 cubic meters per day to the farms located in the Al-Khatm, Al-Khazna and Al-Nahda areas, with the aim of securing their needs for recycled water, by providing about 73 cubic meters per day for each farm, which is equivalent to 16,500 gallons. of water.
The plan to use recycled water in agriculture eliminates the need for consuming large quantities of groundwater, and therefore it is expected that groundwater withdrawal from about 4,850 wells in the Al-Khatm and Al-Khazna areas will stop, which will contribute to preserving non-renewable water resources, achieving optimal exploitation of water resources, and supporting the sustainability of the sector. Agriculture in Abu Dhabi.
The project is in line with the objectives of the UAE Water Security Strategy 2036, which aims to reduce the total demand for water resources by 21%, reduce the water scarcity index by 3 degrees, and increase the reuse rate of treated water to 95%, to ensure the sustainability of secure water supplies for all residential and commercial uses. Governmental, industrial and agricultural.
The project also falls within the framework of implementing the recycled water policy in Abu Dhabi, which aims to achieve the maximum benefit from recycled water, in addition to its contribution to rationalizing the use of groundwater in agriculture, and achieving integrated management and sustainable development of available water resources.
Engineer Mubarak Ali Al Qasili Al Mansouri, Executive Director of the Agricultural Affairs Sector at the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, said: “Recycled water is a non-traditional renewable water source, and the Authority seeks to expand its use on farms out of its keenness to achieve the strategic goal, by promoting the adoption of agricultural practices and systems.” Sustainable, as the agricultural sector still depends on groundwater by 81.4%, expensive desalinated sea water by 18%, and recycled water by 0.6%, which requires expanding the use of recycled water to reduce groundwater depletion and reduce the consumption of desalinated seawater. ».
He explained that the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority has succeeded, in cooperation with its partners since 2012, in implementing a project to irrigate 143 farms in the Al Nahda area with recycled water instead of groundwater, as these farms obtain their needs of recycled water from the Mafraq station, and then it is treated for the next stage. Advanced in the additional purification station in Al-Nahda, through which about 12,000 cubic meters are distributed daily to these farms.
Al Mansouri confirmed that the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority implements a system to monitor the quality and safety of recycled water before distributing it to farms, and pointed out that the application of recycled water technology in irrigating farms occurred after conducting studies to ensure its quality and safety, including a study conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ( FAO) to evaluate the quality of water used in Al-Nahda farms. The study proved that the triple-treated water is suitable for growing many agricultural crops.
Engineer Ahmed Mohammed Al Rumaithi, Undersecretary of the Department of Energy in Abu Dhabi, said: “The water file is one of the strategic priorities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, in light of the great interest in providing reliable water services and enhancing the security of supplies in the future.”
Al Rumaithi stressed that the Department of Energy in Abu Dhabi has made many efforts to ensure the sustainability and efficiency of water use, and has issued many regulations and policies aimed at making the most of recycled water and supporting national efforts aimed at preserving water resources.
Al-Rumaithi explained that the amount of recycled water produced in 2022 amounts to about 323.6 million cubic metres, and the Department of Energy seeks to optimally exploit this type of water by expanding the scope of its use, undertaking many initiatives, and following up on infrastructure projects that aim to exploit the surplus of recycled water. . He is currently studying the expansion of supplying farms in order to achieve optimal exploitation of water resources in Abu Dhabi.
Engineer Faisal Al Hammadi, Acting Executive Director of the Environmental Quality Sector at the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, said: “The project of transporting, distributing and reusing treated wastewater will have positive environmental and economic impacts, the most important of which is stopping the discharge of treated water into the Musaffah Canal, allowing it to be cleaned and disinfected.” Nearly three million cubic meters of sediment were removed. The project will ensure the cessation of the use of groundwater in about 1,600 farms and forests in the Al-Khatm and Al-Khazna areas, in quantities reaching 250,000 cubic meters per day, which contributes to achieving the government’s plans to rationalize the use of groundwater in agriculture, and achieving integrated management and sustainable development of available water resources.”
Al Hammadi added: “In 2019, the Environment Agency issued the executive regulations regarding the regulation of groundwater in the emirate. The regulations stipulate that the Authority shall take into account, when studying applications submitted to it to extract and use groundwater, the availability of suitable alternative water sources, such as desalinated water and recycled water, to preserve groundwater resources and use them sustainably. The Authority also issued a decision specifying the areas prohibited from drilling new water wells, to prevent depletion or deterioration of the quality of groundwater there and to rationalize its exploitation.”
Al Hammadi explained that the Authority’s role is to coordinate with the relevant authorities in relevant fields, as the Authority’s work team provides technical advice in the areas of developing standards for reusing recycled water for irrigation and agricultural purposes, in order to reduce pressure on groundwater sources. The Authority, in coordination with strategic partners, prepared an integrated plan for the integrated management of water resources in the emirate, taking into account the preservation of groundwater in quantity and quality, and the necessity of replacing it with alternative resources such as treated wastewater to preserve groundwater as a strategic reserve for future generations.
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