The UAE has achieved advancement in the treatment of wastewater and its use for agricultural purposes, as part of its efforts to promote environmental sustainability and limit the depletion of natural water resources.
The country is launching a new era in these efforts through a series of major projects, such as a strategic sewage tunnel in Abu Dhabi and a major sewage project in Dubai.
The "UAE Numbers 2018 Report" issued by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority, FCSA, highlight a 32 percent rise in the use of treated wastewater from 2012 to 2017. The report points out that around 67 percent of treated water is used for agricultural irrigation.
The strategic sewage tunnel in Abu Dhabi is one of the emirate’s major future infrastructure projects, which will enable it to keeps pace with its residential, urban and economic development.
The project offers sustainable solutions to gathering and transferring sewage water from Abu Dhabi Island, the mainland and surrounding islands to sewage water treatment plants in Al Wathba.
The tunnel is one of the longest sloping sewage tunnels in the world, which begins at a depth of 24 metres in Al Mushrif and ends in the treatment plants in Al Wathba at a depth of 90 metres, spanning a total length of 41 kilometres and with a total capacity of 1,000,900 cubic metres per day.
The sewage project in Dubai, which was announced in 2015, is a flexible and integrated system that aims to keep up with the emirate’s expected future population growth. The project, which is expected to cost around AED12 billion, will help eliminate bad smells caused by industrial plants.
In 2016, Dubai launched the second stage of the sewage water treatment plant in Jabal Ali, at a cost of AED1.3 billion. The plant was also supplied with the latest tools, advanced facilities and modern technologies related to sewage water treatment, and the total cost will reach AED2.849 billion.
The plant’s daily capacity will be around 675,000 cubic metres, instead of the current 300,000 cubic metres per day. The plant will serve 1.35 million people, without the need for expansions until 2025.
In 2012, Sharjah launched its largest sewage treatment plant, also known as "A3," according to the highest international standards and at a cost of AED60 million, as well as sewage tank website project costing AED1 million.
The A3 plant utilises the best modern technologies in its design and has three times the capacity of the old plant that was in the same location.
In November 2017, the Sharjah Research Academy, the University of Sharjah, and the Sharjah City Municipality signed a joint cooperation agreement, to conduct research on the need for additional treatment and the reuse of sewage water treated at the plant in Al Saja’a.
In 2009, Ajman launched its first sewage plant that currently treats 50 percent of its sewage water, which is used for irrigation.