The General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Endowments Authority (GAIAE), in co-operation with the Foundation for the Future, has installed specialised electronic devices to reduce water consumption by 70 percent at mosques across the UAE.
The electronic faucets were supplied and installed by the foundation with a guarantee for 10 years. The initiative comes in response to the Year of Giving campaign.
Dr. Mohammed Mattar Al Kaabi, Chairman of the GAIAE, said that the authority would work with the foundation, as one of the partners supporting its projects and initiatives.
A practical experiment was carried out in one of the mosques, with a capacity of 500 worshippers. The installed 42 electronic taps showed that a single tap saved more than 70 percent of the water consumed, he added.
Before the device was installed, the consumption was eight cubic metres of water and after the installation, the consumption was only two cubic metres, Al Kaabi said.
The foundation has begun installing these taps at the mosques in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra and would later move to the northern regions, he added. The 4,300 mosques are scheduled to replace their taps before November.
Al-Kaabi explained that the initiative of installing these taps would be an important achievement at the mosques, and would further encourage the community, housewives and residential areas to adopt a culture of positive water consumption.
The Foundation for the Future stated that the interest in consuming water rationally and not wasting it has become a necessity because it is a wealth that must be preserved.
In accordance with the State policy to achieve the sustainable development, in co-operation with the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Endowments, the initiative aims at reaching the global minimum per capita water consumption rate and achieving unprecedented world records.