The Sustainabilist - Water

The Sustainabilist ISSUE 10

For the Love of Water

GOVERNING GREEN

VIEW FROM ABOVE

ISBN 978 - 1978357310

Dubai Launches Yet Another Chapter in its Integrated Energy Strategy

Taking Water Data to New Heights with NASA

THE GAME CHANGER

PAYING IT FORWARD

DEWA Shares Its Lessons Learnt in Being Disruptive

We Retro-Engineered the Typical Utility Bill for Your Benefit

WWW.THESUSTAINABILIST.AE WWW.THESUSTAINABILIST.AE

Issue 10 | October 2018

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t’s time for water. Much has been done for energy over the past decade, and the UAE is teeming with new innovation in this area.

And although the country is making great strides in introducing policies and strategies regarding water demand, there is still more to come.

In this issue we unpack water, our most precious natural resource, not only for the UAE but for the MENA region as a whole.

Eng. Waleed Bin Salman

Chairman Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence

The Sustainabilist Follow Us On

Editorial: www.thesustainabilist.ae/contribute Commercial: getinvolved@thesustainabilist.ae

The Sustainabilist is published by Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence PSC. Articles reprinted in this issue are copyrighted 2018 by Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence PSC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner, in whole or in part, without prior written permission of Dubai Carbon is expressively prohibited.

Printed by: Al Ghurair Printing and Publishing LLC P.O. Box - 5613, Dubai, UAE. Nothing in this magazine shall be taken as technical or advice and DCCE waives any liability with respect to any representations made.The production of this magazine will be offset with local carbon credits.

Last year, the Ministry of Energy & Industry unveiled the UAE Water Security Strategy 2036, which aims to ensure sustainable access to water during both normal and emergency conditions in line with local regulations, standards of the World Health Organisation, and the UAE’s vision to achieve prosperity and sustainability.

Continuing the long term vision of HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the country’s Founding Father, we have made phenomenal progress in, so far, addressing the challenges of the limited availability of water, for example, improvement of irrigation systems, and introducing new irrigation techniques that are more efficient. The UAE is also trailblazing innovation in cloud seeding and artificial rainmaking in the MENA region.

Dubai has also seen significant achievements in its Demand Side Management Strategy, launched in

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Dubai has also seen significant achievements in its Demand Side Management Strategy, launched in 2010, which, under the leadership of the visionary government, is well on its way to reduce electricity and water demand by 30% by 2030.

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Letter from the Editor in Chief

2010, which, under the leadership of the visionary government, is well on its way to reduce electricity and water demand by 30% by 2030.

It is imperative that government and private sectors continue to work together for the sake of water security. Water cooperation at local, regional and global levels is crucial, and new technologies, financing mechanisms, delivery models, standards & policy and regulatory innovations will be required to address the various challenges of the future.

To read the latest digital copy go to: www.theSustainabilist.ae 1

The Sustainabilist | WATER

Contents The Sustainabilist ISSUE 10

For the Love of Water

GOVERNING GREEN Dubai Launches Yet Another Chapter in its Integrated Energy Strategy

VIEW FROM ABOVE Taking Water Data to New Heights with NASA

THE GAME CHANGER

PAYING IT FORWARD

DEWA Shares Its Lessons Learnt in Being Disruptive

We Retro-Engineered theTypical Utility Bill for Your Benefit

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’S LETTER

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FEATURE Combating Positively

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YOUTH DEWA’s Youth Day

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SCHOOL Fairgreen

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NEWS ROOM Latest news

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TOP TIPS Saving Water at Work

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EXPO 2020 DUBAI Water Demand

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CASE STUDY Save the Children

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HIGHLIGHT Interview with HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum

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CASE STUDY Salty Crops

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THE GREEN ECONOMIST Are We Prepared for Day Zero?

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CASE STUDY Dubai Cares

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COVER STORY Interview with HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer

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INTERVIEW Naved Shaikh

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FEATURE Sustainable Consumption

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FEATURE Surge for Water

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I AM THE SUSTAINABILIST Fahad Gergawi

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RESEARCH Look at your Lawn

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FEATURE Water spending

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FEATURE Finding Water

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CASE STUDY FEWA’s Award Winning Al Ghalila

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FEATURE Splitting H from O

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FEATURE Looking at Myths

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PROJECT Middlesex University

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CENTRE FOLD NASA’s ECOSTRESS

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PRODUCT Waterwise

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FEATURE DEWA Water Works

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INDEX

ON THE COVER

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum Chairman Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE)

COVER STORY HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA speaks to The Sustainabilist about the importance of water and cutting-edge projects to secure Dubai’water future.

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First solar-powered petrol station in the UAE

The Sustainabilist | WATER

“DEWA adopts a clear strategy to develop and train national cadres. This includes granting scholarships to students to complete their studies inside and outside the country. Through the DEWA Campus for Occupational and Academic Development, we seek to train and qualify young people scientifically and practically in fields of electrical and mechanical engineering, maintenance and operation,” added Al Tayer.

YOUTH

Global Youth DEWA organised a youth circle on International Youth Day under the theme ‘UAE… Supporter of the World’s Youth.

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ubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (DEWA) Youth Council held a youth circle at ‘Youth x Hub’ in Emirates Towers under the theme ‘UAE…Supporter of the World’s Youth’. It coincided with International Youth Day, which falls annually on 12 August, and this year, was held under the theme ‘Safe Spaces for the Youth’.

DEWA’s youth employees and scholarship students attended the event. The circle is a continuation of the youth circles that are usually organised by DEWA’s Youth Council. It aims to strengthen DEWA’s role in supporting the Government’s efforts to empower young people and provide an effective platform to communicate their voices and listen to their views.

“International Youth Day is an opportunity to affirm DEWA’s commitment to guide our youth by highlighting their role in underpinning the comprehensive sustainable development.

Our plans and initiatives to empower them, build their capacities and unleash their creativity, are inspired by the vision 4

of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

“This vision states that the youth are the hope for the present and the future, as well as being the most valuable resource of the UAE. His Highness once observed, ‘Building the youth is a priority. The UAE’s future is in their hands, and with them, we do not only create a better future, but the better future.’

“At DEWA, we believe that our success is built by our youth. We depend upon them to achieve the number one rank. We are committed to engaging them in shaping the country’s future, with a vision to be at the forefront of organisations to sponsor and support youth. In addition to contributing to the promotion of national identity and good citizenship, DEWA’s Youth Council was launched with the aim of enhancing young people’s engagement in DEWA and society. In this way, we can benefit from their abilities, opinions and ideas,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.

“We are keen to provide a stimulating and positive work environment that embraces the youth and enables them to contribute to DEWA’s vision to become a sustainable and innovative world-class utility. We will continuously support our youth to achieve the UAE Centennial 2071, so that future generations can live happier lives in a better environment, with greater opportunities and more effective global communications,” concluded Al Tayer.

Fatima Al Jokar, Chairperson of DEWA’s Youth Council emphasised the importance of the event. She stated that the youth circle highlighted several significant issues, including the role of the government in providing safe spaces and opportunities for youth in general, and the significance of the UAE being selected as the favoured destination for young Arabs for the seventh year in a row. DEWA constantly supports the various interests of youth through various programmes and projects that meet their requirements.

At the end of the youth circle, the participants thanked DEWA’s management and Youth Council for organising such events that cater to the needs of youth, and provide them with an effective platform that gives voice to their thoughts, discusses topics of interest, and enables them to express their views.

Issue 10 | October 2018

NEWS ROOM WETEX - At the Forefront of Sustainability

Source: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority

UAE to build new power generation and desalination plants by 2023 Samsung Engineering, the South Korean company, has been commissioned to build facilities worth US$526.58 billion in the United Arab Emirates by mid-2023.

The order has been placed by Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company for building a 230 megawatt power plant using waste heat from existing facilities being operated by the company. Samsung will also build a desalination plant that can produce 2,600 cubic metres of fresh water per hour from sea water.

Source: Utilities Middle East

RAK Municipality and Masdar launch “Model Villa Initiative”

Director of Building Labelling

Under the umbrella of the Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Strategy 2040, the RAK Municipality has partnered with Masdar a new initiative to promote the construction of more sustainable residential villas in the emirate. Masdar will be serving as the technical adviser on the initiative which will be launched later in 2018.

ETIHAD ESCO

A local villa will be selected and retrofitted to show how energy savings can be achieved in existing buildings. The results will be available to the public to showcase the commercial benefits of the retrofit to all villa owners.

They will hire, guide and coach employees, manage publicity and engagement, maintain a database of all participants and statuses, and handle the logistics of certifications and labels. The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor’s degree in engineering and a minimum of seven years’ experience in the required fields.

Source: ME Construction News

If interested, please send your CV to: etihad.jobs@etihadesco.com

GREEN J B

The exhibition will be held from 23-25 October at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre under the theme, “At the Forefront of Sustainability”.

The exhibition serves as a platform to connect the best experts, specialists, solution providers, investors, government decision makers, potential business partners and consumers from the private and public sector together.

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The 20th Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (WETEX) organized by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) will be one of the largest specialised exhibitions in the world.

Etihad Energy Services is looking for a professional to help promote energy savings by visualizing the amount of energy that a building consumes. The successful candidate will establish the Building Labelling department, come up with policy and guidelines for energy engineers, create awareness campaigns to promote building labelling, and be responsible for managing the budget for the department.

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The Sustainabilist | WATER

EXPO 2020 DUBAI

Fresh Ideas for Efficient Water Use

Expo 2020 Dubai is developing a holistic approach to minimising its demands on the water supply.

Dina Mustafa Head of Sustainability Operations, Expo 2020 Dubai

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he global water crisis is no secret. And, due to the threefold impact of population increase, dwindling supply and climate change, this crisis is growing increasingly severe.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu

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Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, has stressed that water is now of greater importance to the UAE than oil.

According to the 2017 Water Scarcity Index, monitored by the Ministry of Energy and Industry, the UAE is consuming more than six times the amount of fresh water available in the country.

The Water Security Strategy 2036 aims to tackle the problem, with goals such as reducing total demand for water by 21 per cent and increasing the use of treated

water to 95 per cent. Expo 2020 Dubai is making a similarly robust commitment to addressing the issue, as the World Wildlife Fund estimates that two-thirds of the planet will face water shortages by 2025.

Water will play a vital role before, during and after Expo. It is currently a major asset in day-to-day construction activities, and for six months from 20 October 2020, it will perform diverse functions from hydrating millions of visitors to supporting parks

Issue 10 | October 2018

climate and natural environment. For example, energy-efficient buildings reduce the demand for water in cooling towers, and the planting of native and adaptive species ensures they will be more resistant to drought.

Among the active solutions are the use of low-flow fixtures and fittings in buildings, including taps and flushing controls, to reduce water consumption, and condensate capture systems that convert moisture in the air into water to decrease potable water use.

Smart controls will be used throughout the Expo site, including for metering and irrigation. Ninety per cent of all exterior water networks will be monitored for leak detection.

and gardens. In order to maximise Expo 2020’s water efficiency strategy, we are applying a hierarchy of passive and active solutions that align with Expo 2020’s subtheme of Sustainability.

A key part of this strategy, which also supports the objectives of UAE Vision 2021, involves minimising the use of potable water onsite through a series of ambitious measures.

Passive solutions generally deliver the highest sustainability value in terms of both cost and carbon emissions.

We will achieve this by designing buildings and landscapes on the Expo 2020 site which respond to the local

We also seek to implement innovative solutions in order to create a worldclass sustainability benchmark. This will include the incorporation of management systems for grey water (discharge from basins, showers and appliances) to further minimise the use of potable water in areas such as irrigation and cooling.

Expo is also drawing on the cultural traditions of the UAE and Middle East for inspiration. The Bedouin concept of ‘Mai Sabeel’, in which passersbys are given drinking water as a goodwill gesture, has been woven into the site to guarantee that drinking water is free and easily accessible to all visitors.

We are also celebrating the innovation of local desert cultures by building ‘rain trees’ – mesh structures that take advantage of temperature differences during the day and night to capture fog and dew.

Through this comprehensive framework, we aim to reduce water consumption in

Expo 2020 buildings by 40 per cent compared to Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) baselines.

As the world approaches a global water supply crisis, it is crucial that we strengthen our collaborative approach to address an increasingly complex problem.

We must also recognise the issues associated with large-scale desalination, which uses a massive amount of energy, produces large quantities of mineral waste that threatens agricultural land and further increases the salinity of the sea, making the future supply of potable water even harder to access.

Expo 2020 Dubai, with its theme of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’, offers a unique opportunity to highlight the water crisis and provide a platform for change that adheres to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, a set of 17 global objectives that would ensure a good basic quality of life for everyone.

This opportunity extends far beyond the six months of Expo itself. We are continuing our commitment to sustainability into the legacy phase at District 2020, whose buildings will meet the most rigorous efficiency standards and attain the minimum LEED Gold Certification for water and energy reuse.

As humanity seeks to manage its future resources for generations to come, each of us must start to carefully reconsider how we use water – and how we waste it.

Through these combined strategies, Expo 2020 Dubai will seize the opportunity to deliver water-sensitive sustainable solutions across our programme, and to achieve world-class outcomes.

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The Sustainabilist | WATER

HIGHLIGHT

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum

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Issue 10 | October 2018

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ubai has an ambitious energy and water strategy.

What are the main initiatives that have been put in place to address Dubai’s ambitious energy and water saving targets?

The UAE leadership’s vision aims to make the UAE the best country in the world, this is why we have many strategies in place on the federal and local levels, including UAE Centennial 2071, UAE Vision 2021 and Dubai Plan 2021. Regarding the energy sector in Dubai, we have a holistic approach and we translated that into workable strategies. We are securing our supply by diversifying the energy mix, to include clean energy to provide 7% of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy by 2020, 25% by 2030 and 75% by 2050, in line with the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050.

In addition, we have a clear Demand Side Management Strategy (DSM), which was launched in 2013, that aims to reduce electricity and water demand by 30% by 2030. We are collaborating with key stakeholders in the public and private sectors to achieve our targets.

The strategy comprises of eight main

programmes addressing different aspects of demand for electricity and water in Dubai. Namely; building regulations, building retrofits, district cooling, standards and labels, water reuse and efficient irrigation, outdoor lighting, tariff rates, and Shams Dubai. Each programme has a responsible government entity for execution, a programme owner, and is supervised by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE). These programmes are supported by a series of implementation mechanisms, mainly capability building, awareness improvement, measurement and verification, policies and regulations, and financing.

Furthermore, the recent Integrated Water Resource Management Strategy, launched at the end of 2017 and activated this year, goes beyond managing demand and looks into the whole water cycle of Dubai, with the intention to capture further opportunities for optimising the use of desalinated water and put more focus on expansion and upgrading the recycled water network across the Emirate. It will create an integrated water sector where every single drop of water serves demand according to needs. We are looking at increasing use of recycled water for district cooling, keeping groundwater as a strategic reserve and bringing the possibility for recycled water use to every building in Dubai.

According to the 2017 annual report of The Regulatory & Supervisory Bureau (RSB) for Electricity and Water in Dubai, the Emirate’s cumulative investments in the energy efficiency market increased to AED500 million in 2017. These projects are expected to achieve 21% savings in electricity, and 31% in water. Since 2014, energy service companies launched energy-efficiency projects worth AED200

million in approximately 2,600 buildings as part of the building retrofit programme.

This is done by implementing measures to increase efficiency in energy and water use.

What are some of the key achievements of the Demand Side Management strategy, implemented in 2013, and what has the impact of the strategy as a whole been so far?

There has been much progress to date in the move towards a green economy, where

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The present value of the cumulative costs of the DSM Strategy implementation up to 2030 is estimated at AED 30 billion, while the present value of savings is estimated at AED 82 billion.

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The Sustainabilist in coversation with the Chairman of Dubai Supreme Council of Energy on Dubai’s pioneering target driven approach, results acheived to date and becoming a global role model.

The Sustainabilist | WATER

economic growth and environmental responsibility are given equal importance in the development of a sustainable future.

Indeed, the green economy is an engine of growth, providing opportunities for both the public and private sector.

In 2017, we managed to save a total of 3.3TWh of electricity and 4.9 billion IG (imperial gallons) of water. These savings correspond to a reduction of 9% and 11% per capita in electricity and water consumption respectively since the commencement of the DSM strategy in 2013. This corresponds to approximately AED 1.1 billion of avoided capital investments for new generation capacity and AED 3.1 billion of avoided operational costs. In the coming years, we look forward to achieving further results through our initiatives and programmes to build capacity and sustain the growth of the energy efficiency market in Dubai.

These important achievements are the result of a combination of efforts from all programme owners, who are committed to yearly targets and a roadmap to 2030, and for whom the DSM Strategy is increasingly becoming part of their core activities.

What are the main points of the Integrated Water Resource Management Strategy, and what are the specific actions that it will initiate?

Over 20 different government, semigovernment and privately-owned entities participated in the development of the strategy by providing strategic and policy inputs to DSCE. The Strategy launches multiple programs around creation of an integrated water sector. The specific initiatives on managing demand for the top three consumption sectors were defined, which are farming, irrigation and the residential sector. Managing water footprint is the primary aim of the 10

Strategy, and after a phase of expanding and upgrading of the treated sewage effluent (TSE) network to a more fitfor-purpose recycled water network, we are looking to develop an improved market for water and create an ecosystem for innovation in the water sector. In this regard, we have looked into global best practices in areas of the world with similar climate and challenges, and in the coming years we expect water to become a very exciting area for sustainability professionals and organizations in Dubai.

The Strategy defines initiatives needed to save over AED 1.8 billion in capital expenditure for desalination capacity, prevents depletion of groundwater aquifers, reduces network leakages,

prevents rising water in urban areas, optimizes delivery of recycled water and reduces reliance on energy intensive technologies. At the same time, use of recycled water is expected to grow by 55%, desalinated water demand to drop by 33% and groundwater use by 30% and for there to be an improved resilience and balance in water supply.

As the demand for energy and water grows with a rapid increase in population, what are the main challenges faced by government entities to keep the momentum of success going?

Energy demand side management is one of the main challenges of the 21st century for the world community, and the high global

Issue 10 | October 2018

demand for energy and water highlights the urgent need to reduce consumption and enhance demand management to ensure environmental sustainability and minimise the waste of our precious resources.

Looking at the near future, with progressively higher saving targets, we understand that greater commitment and increased efforts are critical to sustain our success. General awareness has to improve; capacity building and specialised education will have to become more prevalent. We also need innovative financing mechanisms to meet the next stage of our goals.

Specifically, this would involve, updates

to the green building regulations and expansion of their application to free zones, upgrades to the efficiency standards of some appliances, scale up of retrofit activities, increased penetration of district cooling, broader implementation of LED or another efficient technology in street lights, and adoption of solar photovoltaic (PV) for rooftops.

Specific work will be dedicated to unlock synergies and enable growth of some DSM programmes relying on multiple stakeholders for effective implementation, such as District Cooling and Water Reuse and Efficient Irrigation. In parallel, efforts will be deployed to build financing enablers and enhance the existing systems and processes for monitoring and

evaluating DSM energy savings.

What is the approach towards creating awareness about best sustainable practices, and water & energy saving goals in Dubai?

Awareness improvement is a key enabler to the achievement of the DSM targets.

Behavioural changes can only happen when people and organisations are aware of their energy consumption and of the measures and practices they can adopt to reduce their consumption.

A key mechanism broadly adopted is the principle of governing by example, whereby the government takes the first steps in a new initiative and builds success cases to develop a market which the private 11

The Sustainabilist | WATER

sector can leverage in subsequent phases.

For example, the implementation of the Dubai Green Building Regulations and Specifications 2010 was made mandatory for government buildings only in the initial years. Also, with the objective of ensuring integration of efforts and eliminating duplications, the DSM Integrated Awareness Strategy (IAS) 2022 was developed as a joint and collaborative effort between all DSM programme owners under the guidance and direction of a dedicated committee, the DSM Integrated Outreach and Awareness Committee (IOAC).

The DSM IAS 2022 will be fully activated in 2018, and this includes new and existing programme-specific initiatives, as well as a number of joint priority initiatives.

What do savings in water and electricity, and the net benefits of the DSM strategy mean for Dubai’s economy?

In the current economy, the DSM Strategy plays an important part in the sustainable growth of Dubai. It is generating real savings, improving awareness, building DSM capabilities in Dubai, and developing the energy-efficiency market. Optimising energy demand is a strategic priority for Dubai given its dependency on 12

energy imports and economic growth. It moderates the need for next generation capacity and frees up resources for strategic investments. At the same time, DSM supports the growth of a green economy and hence the creation of green jobs. It also aligns with smart city objectives through the employment of smart technology, and contributes to a safer environment by reducing carbon emissions.

The present value of the cumulative costs of the DSM Strategy implementation up to 2030 is estimated at AED 30 billion, while the present value of savings is estimated at AED 82 billion. This gives the DSM plan a Positive Net Economic Impact of Net Present Value of AED 52 billion.

In addition to its direct benefits, the DSM Strategy brings several indirect benefits to Dubai, for example, environmental conservation, positive impact on residents’ health, job creation, reinvestment of saved resources, and attraction of investments resulting from a more sustainable and efficient city.

With all the valuable socio-economic and financial benefits, the Dubai Government is strongly committed to addressing any

challenges the DSM Strategy may face along the way.

As Dubai plans on becoming a leader of energy efficiency on a global scale, what are some of the programmes that Dubai is already setting an example in?

The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy aims at making Dubai a role model in energy sustainability by implementing cost effective electricity and water demand saving programmes, and developing a green service market.

The DSM Strategy is already showing robust results. Green Mobility Initiative has started to transform the transport sector and the Integrated Water Resource Management Strategy completes the strategy framework for governing main areas of critical infrastructure.

We are pleased to report that Dubai is continuing to move in the right direction.

Our holistic approach to the energy sector, covering issues such as energy security, energy efficiency, energy sustainability and its rational use, will transform Dubai into an international hub for clean energy and green economy, becoming the city with the lowest carbon footprint in the world.

Carbon neutral currency Collaboratively working towards the new standard in global carbon transaction Watch this space for more & share your thoughts at tellusyourstory@dcce.ae

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#THEGREENECONOMIST

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What Happens if We Hit Day Zero?

“Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.” - Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

By Ivano Iannelli CEO, Dubai Carbon

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t’s early 2018, and the City of Cape Town, one of Africa’s most affluent metropolises, is on the cusp of one of the most dramatic urban water crises in history. The world watches as the South African government issues a warning that the city will be counting down to ‘Day Zero”, projected for mid-April, where all taps will be turned off to residences and businesses, and people would be forced to get their water from communal water collection points.

Somewhere between a record drought, mismanagement of resources, political instability and climate change, this city was faced with a worrying reality: the point of no return. “We WILL run out of water by the end of April unless everyone reduces their water usage to less than 50 litres per person per day,” said Patricia de Lille, Cape Town’s mayor.

After months of warnings and efforts to get citizens to comply with increasing water restrictions, the message had finally sunk in. The threat of Day Zero prompted water stockpiling and panic, caused a drop in tourism bookings, and raised feint concerns of civil unrest.

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Since then human efforts combined with some much-needed rainfall, Day Zero was pushed to July, and then eventually to an unknown date in 2019. The threat is still imminent, but has served as a wakeup call to not only Capetonians but South Africans everywhere to pay close attention to water conservation.

Paulo, Southern California are all on high alert, with serious water restrictions having been implemented at one point or another.

An apocalyptic shutdown of this magnitude in such a cosmopolitan city seems unimaginable in real life, but as overdevelopment, population growth, and climate change upset the balance between water use and supply around the world, it’s more and more likely we’ll see more of these threats rise.

The solution to all of this?

In 1995, World Bank Vice President Ismail Serageldin predicted that «The wars of the next century will be fought over water» and he was not wrong.

We’ve already witnessed droughts of recent years causing a spike in famine and unrest in rural nations around the Arabian Sea, from Iran to Somalia and Sudan. But water crises are also threatening the large metropolises of the world. Mexico City, parts of India, Melbourne, Jakarta, Sao

Should the world run out of H20 the scramble to secure access to fresh, clean drinking water will be ruthless.

Water-use agreements have become common around the globe -- during the 20th century, 145 water treaties were signed in the Middle East and Asia, where water is at its scarcest.

Technology is already, and will continue to play a significant role in ensuring an adequate water supply. New, more efficient drip-irrigation systems, desalination and bioengineered crops will all see dramatic changes in how we use water.

But the most important is how we as humans perceive the value of water.

Could raising the price of utility water or restricting water to only public utility -- instead of for sale for profit be the answer?

Issue 10 | October 2018

COVER STORY

Save Water, Save the World

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), speaks to The Sustainabilist about the importance of water and DEWA’s cutting-edge projects to secure Dubai’s water future.

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ith water insecurity on the rise globally, what are some of the strategies the government of Dubai has put in place regarding water demand?

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is one of the best utilities in the world, based on its abilities to supply electricity and water to the highest standards, and represent the UAE, which was ranked first in the world in getting electricity, as per the World Bank’s Doing Business 2018 report.

DEWA’s total installed capacity is 470 million gallons of desalinated water. In 2017, the average daily water 15

The Sustainabilist | WATER

Quite simply, DEWA has ensured robust water security for Dubai and is not resting on its laurels but is also preparing for future water demand. By 2030, DEWA intends to produce 100% of its desalinated water production from a mix of clean energy technologies that uses both renewable energy and waste heat. This will allow Dubai to exceed global targets to use clean energy to desalinate water. DEWA’s clean production capacity will be 305 million imperial gallons (IG) of desalinated water per day by 2030. This means that we will be able to produce 750 million gallons of desalinated water per day by 2030.

DEWA has launched an innovative initiative involving a geophysical and hydro-geological field study and digging exploration and monitoring wells to study the possibility of injecting and storing desalinated water from solar-powered reverse osmosis plants into an aquifer and being able to pump it back into the water network when needed. The project is based on the latest innovative technologies to achieve operational efficiency in the water network. Studies have shown that it is possible to store 6,000 million gallons of water that can be retrieved when needed. This technology is more cost-effective than the conventional way of storing water in concrete reservoirs.

To ensure added capacity, DEWA will also build two water reservoirs. One will be in Al Nakhli, with a storage capacity of 120 16

million gallons of desalinated water. The other will be in Al Lusaily, with a storage capacity of 60 million gallons, to increase the storage capacity of Dubai to 1,010 million gallons. The project includes the design of the reservoirs according to the latest standards of sustainability, and supervision of the implementation of the project at the two sites. The construction and operation of both reservoirs will be complete in 2020. This will increase

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DEWA will build the first hydroelectric power station in the GCC, which will be ready within 5 years to produce 250MW.

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consumption in Dubai reached around 322 million gallons, while average consumption during the peak summer times reached 362 million gallons per day.

When it comes to water losses, DEWA recorded 7.1% in unaccounted for water in 2017, compared with an average of 15% for top utilities in the US and Europe.

DEWA’s total storage capacity to 1,010 million gallons, compared to the current capacity of 830 million gallons.

DEWA will build the first hydroelectric power station in the GCC, which will be ready within 5 years to produce 250MW. This supports the Hatta Comprehensive Development Plan, launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime

Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to develop the region, as a world-class environmental tourist destination.

The pumped storage hydroelectric power station will generate electricity by making use of the existing water stored in the Hatta dam. The project will provide other services including irrigation, flood control, and storing fresh drinking water.

DEWA is expanding its smart grid for

Issue 10 | October 2018

its water network and has awarded a contract to supply and commission a smart water distribution project to improve operational efficiencies. The smart water management system can read main smart meters and compare them with other individual smart meters in the local area, and monitor consumption on a 24/7 basis. If there is a defect or leak, this will be detected by the smart monitoring system at the control centre, making it easier for operators in the control room to

isolate sections with large leakages. This helps reduce water losses and enhances the efficiency and reliability of the water distribution network.

What are some of the challenges that a city like Dubai faces when it comes to water demand, and what are some of the key projects DEWA is taking in solving these issues?

DEWA has made significant progress on the supply, extension and commissioning

of the AED 185 million 30 km major Jebel Ali – Al Hebab water pipeline.

As of February 2018, 21.2km, 69% of the project is complete. The project includes the extension of 30km of 1,200-millimetre-diameter Glass Reinforced Epoxy (GRE) main water pipelines, to increase water flow along the Jebel Ali to Al Hebab Road to meet increasing demand of water in Nakhali, Al Aweer, Al Qudra, and Dubai International Endurance City, and projects along Al 17

The Sustainabilist | WATER

DEWA is making progress on the extension of 25km of major water transmission pipelines across various parts of Dubai. This project includes the extension of GRE main water pipelines, and remote control and monitoring systems. Approximately 23.4km has been done since February 2018, which is 93% of the project. The project will be completed by October 2018.

Another project is rolling out an additional 46 kilometres. As of March 2018, approximately 27km, which is 60% of the project, is complete. The project includes the extension of a GRE main water larger pipe, to increase water flow between Emirates and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, and from Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road along the Jebel Ali to Al Hebab Road to Al Qudra. The project also extends the main water pipeline at Al Lusaily up to between Al Ain Road at Jebel Ali and the Al Hebab Road, and several other pipelines from Mushrif station (headed towards Al Warqa) and Al Khaleej Road. This is intended to provide water using gravity in case of emergency, and provide Al Reem, and other future projects on both sides of Al Qudra street with water.

The project also contributes to increasing water flow in Al Warqa and Palm Deira, to support existing and future projects.

The water transmission networks are managed with remote-controlled valves in the control centre, which contributes to the isolation of the faults in the shortest possible time, and reduce the loss of water in the network. The project also includes two sites to connect the main transmission pipelines along the Jebel Ali to Al Hebab Road, and the Dubai to Hatta Road, to 18

increase water supply at Al Nakhali. The Project is expected to be completed by February 2019.

DEWA has increased the capacity of the water pumping station in Dubai’s Al Yalayis 5 to 36 million gallons of water daily at a cost of AED 45,516 million to meet the growing need for water across Dubai. The project was for the supply

“

By 2030, DEWA intends to produce 100% of its desalinated water production from a mix of clean energy technologies that uses both renewable energy and waste heat.

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Ain road. The project is expected to be completed by December 2018.

and installation of the new water pumps, including testing, commissioning and additional electro-mechanical work.

What role does the private sector play in these strategies, and will we see an increase in partnerships between government and private entities in

future projects?

DEWA has already successfully applied the Independent Power Producer model for the ongoing development of the various phases of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, and as we look to roll out additional water production facilities, this is an option for consideration.

DEWA also organises the Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (WETEX) every year and encourages all water companies from around the world to be present at the largest specialised exhibition of its kind in the MENA region.

There, they can meet professionals from the public and private sectors who focus on water, energy and related technologies.

Senior government officials from across the Middle East and around the world attend this event, including Ministers, Heads of Government, Institutions, and International Diplomatic Delegations.

What is DEWA’s approach to public awareness and education in water conservation?

DEWA has a robust programme to encourage the citizens and residents of Dubai to avoid wastage of water and ensure they only use as much electricity and water as they need. We have residential campaigns, along with an extensive outreach to education institutions with the Conservation Award, which has been held for 12 years now in cooperation with the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) and the Ministry of Education. This has achieved considerable success touching the lives of over 353,000 students.

The savings achieved by educational institutions during this period amounted to 249GWh of electricity, and 1.5 billion gallons of water. These savings contributed to the reduction of 133,000

Issue 10 | October 2018

tonnes of carbon emissions and cumulative savings in electricity and water are equivalent to approximately AED 168 million.

in rural and poor urban areas cannot develop and prosper if they are forced to spend hours each day to find and transport clean water.

Who are the biggest culprits in water wastage, and have there been, or will there be any incentives put in place for residences or corporations to optimize their water usage?

We focus more on positive reinforcement and recognising and rewarding homes and organisations that work to minimise their electricity and water use and encourage others to follow. Currently, we are running a programme called ‘My Sustainable Living’ where customers will receive statistics on how much electricity and water they are using in comparison with average similar homes in their area.

This helps customers to gauge their usage and also make use of best practices in conservation to help them reduce their electricity and water use.

In an effort to find sustainable solutions to global water shortages, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, established the UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia) as a non-profit organisation, under the umbrella of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation. Suqia is looking at permanent and sustainable solutions for water scarcity around the world, searching for new and innovative technological solutions, such as solar-powered water desalination and filtration, for communities that suffer from scarce or contaminated drinking water.

With major cities like Cape Town and Christchurch on high alert about cutting water consumption in times of drought, could you tell us about the UAE’s desalination programme and how innovations in this field could help to curb catastrophe?

DEWA manages water issues by sourcing potable water using desalination to ensure that Dubai continues to have an uninterrupted supply of potable water for its citizens and residents. However, according to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 6, over 40% of the global population is affected by water scarcity and this number is projected to rise. Access to safe and reliable water is the need and foundation of any developing community, yet 663 million people worldwide lack access to safe water according to World Health Organization (WHO). Communities

Are there any new technologies that you are particularly excited about, that you feel will impact this sector in any way?

DEWA is cooperating with Suqia to research and develop the desalination and purification of water using solar power. Its current projects include: a portable photovoltaic reverse osmosis (PVRO) unit operated by solar panels, which can produce 7.7 cubic metres of water per day, and a larger scale, PVRO unit with a water storage and production capacity of 50 cubic metres per day.

This unit is located at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. This technology is less-energy-intensive compared with Multi-Stage Flash distillation, and more suitable in tandem with clean energy technologies such as solar power.

What role will smart technology play in the future?

One of DEWA’s major initiatives is its

smart meter initiative with the rollout of smart meters for customers across Dubai for electricity and water use. Our customers can use our smart meters to check how much electricity and water they are using. The smart meters can send Smart Water Alerts to DEWA’s customers of any suspected water leaks in their properties if water consumption is higher than normal.

As part of our smart meter initiative, DEWA has also awarded a project to supply and commission a smart water distribution project. The project will monitor and control remote data collection of the water distribution network in Dubai. This is part of DEWA’s strategic plan to enhance the operational efficiency of its water network, and meet growing demand for its services.

The project includes state-of-the-art technology, and a training programme for technicians to manage the system with a total cost of AED 65.4 million.

The project is expected to be completed in two years.

The smart water management system can read main smart meters and compare them with other meters in the local area, and monitor consumption on a 24/7 basis. If there is a defect or leak, this will be detected by the smart monitoring system at the control centre, making it easier for operators in the control room to isolate places with large leakages. This helps reduce water losses in distribution networks, and informs maintenance teams where to repair the damage. It also enhances the efficiency of the water distribution network, increases its reliability, and ensures the continuity and stability of water supply in Dubai 24/7.

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The Sustainabilist | WATER

FEATURE

Investing the Way to Sustainable Water Consumption Driven by policies issued by DSCE and implemented by a number of public and private entities, the size of investment into the building energy retrofits in Dubai has grown to AED 500 million in 2017. With the recent launch of the Integrated Water Resource Management Strategy, DSCE aims to apply a similar approach to the water cycle of the Emirate.

By Eng. Faisal Rashid DSM Director, DSCE

Increasing the focus on water

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Launched in December 2017, the Dubai Integrated Water Resource Strategy aims to achieve maximum overall cycle efficiency for all uses of water in Dubai, and integrates desalinated water, recycled water, groundwater and storm water management, both on supply and on the demand side. The horizon of the strategy is the next 20 years with an outlook to 2050, integrating the four water resources into an integrated value chain.

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rd 2018 | October October 2017 Issue 01Issue | 2310

Principles of the Strategy are to use every drop of available water resources, balance the supply mix through fit for purpose treatment and integrate institutional governance of the sector, through a welldefined and detailed roadmap of actions to be taken by different government entities. We ensured that a wide circle of public and private entities participate in development of this strategy, creating a consultative and inclusive environment with an open discussion on challenges and ways to move forward.

The expected outcome of the Strategy is reduction of use of desalinated water through demand optimisation, but the even more important point is increasing the use of recycled water. Unlike many cities around the world, Dubai has a whole treatment cycle and puts used water to good re-use. Government investment into this strategy will help in ensuring sufficient desalination capacity, preservation of groundwater aquifers and

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The horizon of the strategy is the next 20 years with an outlook to 2050, integrating the four water resources into an integrated value chain.

increase of use of energy less intensive technologies, for example, for irrigation.

Expected investments of AED 200 million for the additional actions compared to business-as-usual network maintenance and expansion are expected to be returned in less than 9 years after way will be paved for further involvement of the private sector.

Home Consumption Efficient irrigation is critical for home gardens, where all too often we see purchase price of a system as main criteria for owners and tenants, instead of looking at lifecycle cost. Understanding the difference between high pressure water outlet instead of drip method irrigation for example makes a huge difference in terms liter of water per m2. We are supporting undertakings on awareness outreach programs and home counselling programmes to educate consumers on efficient irrigation.

Spreading the message To create more awareness about this, the general public will most likely be aware of the “My Energy My Responsibility” campaign which addresses multiple aspects of domestic electricity and water use. Beyond that, we are working with other government entities such as Dubai Municipality and DEWA on expansion of the recycled water network to all buildings in Dubai, increasing share of recycled water use in district cooling and promoting water conservation in retrofit projects wherever possible.

A lot of work has been done by, for example, Etihad ESCO for mosques in Dubai, and we see many positive examples from private ESCOs, and invite

them to showcase their achievements in water conservation to us so we can promote them as well.

Entities such as DEWA, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Carbon Center of Excellence and Taqati are reaching out local communities in Dubai through spreading media water conservation messages, and carrying out “my energy my responsibility” programme, visiting single households for EE education purposes and using social media effectively to raise level of awareness.

Moreover, we expect a five year electricity and water awareness programme strategy to be finalized soon, with defined audience, objectives, targets and ownership of actions, including development of water saving rules and guidelines that can be shared in public forum via website and other communication platforms to ensure all targeted user are reached.

The Strategy launches 6 programs for water in Dubai Creation of integrated water sector Expansion and diversification of water resource use Development of the water market Management of water footprint Creating an ecosystem for innovation in the water sector Managing demand of top three consumption sectors (farming, irrigation, residential) 21

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The Sustainabilist | WATER

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Investment has always been part of Dubai’s DNA; its progress and success.

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Issue 10 | October 2018

I AM THE SUSTAINABILIST

Fahad Gergawi CEO of Dubai FDI

W

hat is your connection with sustainability and sustainable business, and how did you first start approaching this sector?

It all started in 2010. It was a different mindset back then, Dubai was teeming with opportunities, and this presented a great possibility to increase the different economic verticals that Dubai looked at and to add a new economic sector.

So it started with us looking at purely creating an ecosystem, and our basic strategy was to create awareness for green technologies, attract companies to setup here, and create a wider market.

Following this we managed to influence the government to push through the green economy federal law initiative, which also encouraged programmes between private and government sectors, attracting more companies and openness to this sector.

Today we see this sector as an important component of the city. One of the largest green technology projects is Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park, and the establishment of the World Green Economy Summit and Organisation these are real achievements for us. Green technologies will be part of the future of investment - and the advancement of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, for example, AI , 3D printing IoT, etc - all that will be part of it too.

Tell us about the Hamdan Centre for the Future of Investment (HCFI).

As we continue to think along these lines, we looked at developing a government agency to lead this type of investment.

Investment has always been part of Dubai’s DNA; its progress and success. Dubai has always attracted investment from different parts of the world, and we are part of the global investment community. As partners of the World Investment Promotion Agency (having progressed all the way to vice presidency), we recognised some gaps in investment attraction and so we started looking at what new ideas and strategies would attract more businesses - and for us it was sustainability.

That’s how the HCFI came about - to identify and develop this notion behind sustainable investment. And happily, this led to His Highness announcing the first thought leadership on Sustainable FDI. We took it to the UN meeting, and the World Economic Forum meeting, and it was very well received. Because the global investment community lacked new direction, we knew this had the potential to bring about real change. And it did.

Is the future of foreign direct investment, sustainability?

I think it is growing and will continue to grow in the years to come. Sustainability, in terms of investment, is essentially linked to clean technologies, and clean technologies are part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Right now this movement is under formation and it’ll take a few years for us to finally, really

see it take effect, but this link is being recognised around the world, and here in the UAE, it’s already being addressed on a federal level.

The UAE government was the first to announce a special vehicle for all of this - with the establishment of the Supreme Federal Council’s Strategy of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Transformation.

We also see it with the instatement of the Minister of AI. In Dubai we’ve progressed to a smart government, with the Dubai strategy for blockchain by 2020, and another for 3D printing. All this new technology and advancement has sustainability built into it.

This will be a shift in human interaction of daily life, globally. In the future these technologies will reduce a lot of costs and resources, and will be helpful to utilise better resources around the world. And Dubai is pioneering this mindset.

What’s the impact of international cooperation on these types of projects?

I think there are a few ways it’ll have an impact. The first is; companies that are more sustainable will get better funding, or lending. Secondly, when you look at global economies like the state of California, which is the sixth largest economy in the world, and our agreement with the city of Los Angeles; access to their technological advancements, especially in clean and green tech will add a lot to what we do here in Dubai. It’ll give startups opportunites to expand to the Middle East and vice versa. It’ll reflect on trade, on finance, technology, on logistics.

We’re looking more and more at global startups. Of course we’d like to attract ones that will hopefully become unicorns, but if not, still add to the city’s diverse community and ecosystem.

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The Sustainabilist | WATER

FEATURE

What Am I Spending?

How much of your salary is going to household utilities, and how can you save on these high costs?

A

ccording to financial advisers, you shouldn’t be spending more than 30% of your monthly salary on housing expenses. A monthly rent which consists of no more than 30% of a person’s income is considered to be affordable. But does this rule really apply to UAE residents?

Rent According to a study by Propertyfinder, individuals and families with a lower income ranging from AED 8,000 and AED 15,000 spend between 37% and 52% of their monthly salaries on housing expenses. The percentage is at the highest when it comes to families with children, and it is far off the 30% rule.

Households earning between AED 15,000 and AED 25,000 a month, tend to spend between 34% and 49% of their monthly incomes, where families with children spend noticeably higher than singles or families without children.

Residents earning between AED 20,000 and AED 35,000 are the closest to the 24

rule of thumb, as they spend between 27% and 33% of their monthly incomes on their homes.

Residents at the higher end of the job market earning from AED 50,000 and above tend to spend between 18% and 33% of their income on rent depending on their marital status. Singles definitely spend less at 18% while families of 2 kids spend 33%.

Utilities When signing for DEWA connection in Dubai a new tenant will have to deposit nearly AED 2,000 for a villa, AED 1,000 for an apartment, and AED 110 for the connection.

A four bedroom villa without a swimming pool, will have an average monthly bill of AED 1,800 for utilities, based on average consumption of water, sewerage, electricity and housing fee.

For a couple living in a one-bedroom apartment with a salary of AED 20,000 to AED 25,000, the average utility spend in

Dubai is AED 700 a month.

For a two-bedroom apartment, the bill could go up to AED 1,200 per month.

Air conditioning makes up almost 70% of Dubai’s electricity consumption.

According to data from FEWA, it’s estimated that there’s an average of 20,000 kilowatt-hours per person annually in the UAE, and that UAE residents use an average of 550 litres of water per day, this is way above the international average of 170-300 litres of water per day.

According to FEWA, It can be noted that the peak water demand steadily increased from 2004 to 2014 in Dubai with a slight decrease in 2011. It is expected that the demand for water in Abu Dhabi will increase up to about 5,000 million litres by 2030.

Average Use As part of the “Waterwise” initiative, the Regulation and Supervision Bureau, carried out a study of medium sized villas

Issue 10 | October 2018

Table 1: Water use for combined monitoring periods in litres per household per day

Parameter

Total use

Domestic use

Landscape

Leakage

Mean ± 95%C.I.

1679 ± 200

882 ± 81

673 ± 147

124 ± 83

Median

2,000

788

284

522

Std. Deviation

1,256

511

924

12

Percent of total for combined monitoring periods

100%

53%

40%

7%

in gated communities located in Abu Dhabi. The average number of household occupants was 5. And the overall average daily indoor water consumption for the group was 168 litres per capita per day.

The average household indoor use excluding leakage is 882 litres per day, with leakage accounting for 7.4% of the total household water use. Shower use for homes in all of the demographic groups was 40 litres per capita per day. Bath tub use had no effect on shower use.

Tap use was very high on both a household (345 litre per household per day) and a per-capita basis (64.1 litres per capita per day).

Irrigation Approximately 20% of households were found to be over-irrigating, using more than 1,200 litre per household per day for watering gardens. Statistics clearly show that home garden irrigation is one of the biggest culprits in home water consumption - and a high bill at the end of the month. It is worth putting an irrigation system into the garden as it is more efficient. The plants around the borders can be watered through a ‘drip irrigation system‘. Drip irrigation delivers water slowly immediately above, on or below the surface of the soil. This minimizes water loss due to runoff, wind and evaporation.

Gardeners watering the garden manually

tend to use much more water than irrigation system and they can only come at certain times of the day which may not be the most efficient time to water the garden. Whereas the irrigation system can be set to come on at cooler times of the day so the water does not evaporate.

Table 2: Average water end-use consumption per household for combined monitoring periods

End use

Average (litres per household per day)

Total

1,679

Domestic

882

Landscape

673

Bathtub

14

Clothes washer

111

Dishwasher

3

Tap

345

Leak

124

Other

2

Shower

213

Toilet

195

Watering by hand or using movable sprinklers connected to a hose can often lead to spotty, uneven lawns. Lawns will need to be mowed every 1-2 weeks.

Saving Water Decreasing water consumption in the home isn’t as difficult as it seems, according to VertEco Founder, David King. “It does not require any significant changes in behaviour. Simply installing a few devices, and being more mindful of how you use water could result in savings of more than 50%,” he says.

Here’s a look at an average four bedroom household.

Showering: How much you use per week: 11,760 litres -> Fit a 9 litre/min flow regulator to your shower and start saving.

How much you can save: 4704 litres (40%) Wash Basin Washing Hands: How much you use per week: 1400 litres -> Fit a 3.8 litre/min (1.0 gpm) to your wash basin faucet and start saving How much you can save: 868 litres (62%) 25

The Sustainabilist | WATER

CASE STUDY

The Art of Desalination The Federal Electricity and Water Authority is bolstering its award-winning Sea Water Reverse Osmosis desalination arsenal at its Ghalila Desalination Facility in Ras Al Khaimah.

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EWA, which supplies water and electricity to the northern emirates Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, and Umm al Quwain, in addition to Dhaid area, recognises that access to clean, safe, and reliable sources of potable water are a priority today.

Desalinating seawater, as with other water treatment technology, needs the use of energy to produce water. In fact, seawater desalination requires more electrical energy than most of other water treatment

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methods. This was the catalyst for FEWA to use the selected technique in order to minimize the power consumptions in Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) technology.

The technology has been considered as the one that would make desalination much more attainable to the world’s water scarce areas.

uses the latest RO technology to improve water desalination efficiency. This plant is the largest SWRO installation in the Arabian Gulf, and the main highlight of this plant is reduced power consumption i.e. saving of energy, reducing carbon footprint, increasing the efficiency of operation and maintenance performance, thereby contributing to economic and environmental sustainability.

Ghalilah, a water production plant with a capacity of 15 MIGD SWRO, was tested and commissioned in 2015. The plant

In 2016, FEWA’s Ghalilah 15 MIGD received the “Distinction Global Water Awards/Desalination Plant of the Year”.

Issue 10 | October 2018

Dubai Carbon

Thus, SWRO was chosen as the state-ofthe-art seawater desalination technology to improve performance, efficiency, save energy and lower water production cost in a sustainable manner considering environmental concern and sustainable development. It is worth to state that the most important features about Ghalilah 15 MIG are the low plant in power consumption (3.14kWh/m3). The low consumption in the plant can be referred to the use of latest technologies which helps to reduce the power consumption namely: pressure exchanger and Variable Frequency Drive (VFD).

FEWA has built its expertise in RO desalination plants since 1977 when the first RO Burairat- Ras Al-Khaimah was commissioned.

FEWA has a set of strategic objectives along with initiatives that are identified for every strategic cycle (3-5 years), and strives to meet the increase in water demand in order to achieve the main strategic objective which is “Efficient Management of Water Demand to Ensure Provision of Customer Needs”.

Water demand grows annually at a rate of 5%. The Generation & Production Directorate develops the infrastructure of production, following a mechanism that focuses on increasing the quantity of water while maintaining its quality through investing in Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) projects. As previously

mentioned, ‘Desalination’ is considered as a strategic option to meet the high demographic growth.

The Ghalilah Facility represents a significant milestone in attaining FEWA’s strategy that is related to producing potable water, while setting new standards for low-energy desalination in the GCC region and the Middle East.

FEWA constantly seeks to improve the quality of processes, products and services through adopting the latest technologies in the SWRO industry.

This latest desalination technology is unique as it rewrites the rules for energy consumption at large-scale desalination installations. The Ghalilah plant operates under 3.14 kWh/m3, an unprecedented figure for full-scale membrane desalination.

The innovative design of the Ghalilah RO Plant has given the envisaged results of saving energy - specific power consumption of similar previous plant is recorded at 3.69 KWh/m3, but the new Ghalilah RO plant Specific Power Consumption is 3.12 KWh/m3. This will save 13 GWh per year and 260 GWh for 20 years. It also results in saving OPEX costs by designing low power consumption plant, resulting in savings of over AED105 million over 20 years.

It also sees a substantial reduction in carbon footprint in the environment, and the quality of water improved to be within the allowable range of World Health Organization(WHO) standards.

Since 2015, Ghalilah Desalination Plant has been producing the designed capacity of 15 MIGD which supplies potable water for the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.

Experienced Marketing Professional We are looking for a dynamic individual with experience in working across multiple marketing programmes. Tasks will include, but not be limited to; external and internal event management and organisation, writing, reviewing and editing award submissions, managing the content of the company website, and working on marketing materials and tools.

Project Manager The ideal candidate will be great with numbers, and be able to establish project budgets and schedules accurately. Must have seven or more years of experience in Distributed Solar, a Bachelor’s degree in engineering – a Master’s is preferable. Bonus points if you have Shams Dubai experience and speak Arabic.

This is a full time position.

GREEN J B

approach that is based on adopting policies and mechanisms that balance production and selling prices in order to achieve efficiency. Its strategy is driven by its mission to provide water services at distinct levels and to manage the increasing demand for desalinated water in order to meet customer needs.

Sales Expert Can you lead Dubai’s transition to renewable energy? Your responsibilities will be to generate leads, take on client meetings, help find sponsorships for the UAE’s leading sustainability publications, present brand new ideas, hit your targets, and be part of making our sales and sponsorships plan happen.

Ideally, you’ll excel under pressure, be ambitious, creative, and be super focused.

If interested, please send your CV to : anofferyoucantrefuse@dcce.ae

The facility contributes to sustainable development and the UAE Vision 2021.

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The Sustainabilist | WATER

FEATURE

Mai Dubai Dispels Myths About Bottled Water

By Mai Dubai

I

s there a difference between mineral water, spring water and bottled drinking water?

Spring and mineral water both originate from underground fresh water reserves and are classified by their total dissolved solid content. Natural mineral water must naturally contain 250mg/l trace minerals while bottled drinking water must contain 100mg/l - 600mg/l.

Regardless of the source, all water must comply with stringent regulations before being sold. Part of the regulations are packaging requirements which emphasize that even naturally sourced water will need to be called “Bottled Water� based upon the specific processes and 28

the technologies used in filtration, sanitization and bottling to name a few.

Where does UAE’s bottled water come from?

Since the UAE is an arid country with little rainfall, fresh water supplies are extremely limited. To sustain its growing population, DEWA uses the latest desalination technologies to supply potable water. Most if not all local bottled water companies further purify this supply to the purest form of H2O before adding their blend of essential minerals. The technologies and processes the water companies implement, coupled with internal quality

standards differentiate one water brand from another. Mai Dubai uses the latest and most advanced equipment in the industry. Bottled natural mineral and spring waters are typically imported from European countries having natural fresh water resources.

How often is bottled water tested?

Mai Dubai has invested in the latest water treatment technologies which incorporate online sensors to continually monitor and trend critical parameters. In addition, our onsite laboratory conducts a series of sensory chemical and microbiological testing on our finished products before they are released for sale. Mai Dubai

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Issue 10 | October 2018

I have heard it is dangerous to drink bottled water that has been left in a car or that has been frozen, is that true?

This is another myth. However, it is not recommended to leave any food product including bottled water in extreme heat for a prolonged exposure. Our recommended storage instructions are listed on our packaging – store in a cool dry place away from direct sunlight. Freezing water poses no health risk but may affect the visual packaging presentation of the bottle.

How long can bottled water remain in storage?

As per Gulf Standard for bottled drinking water GSO 1025:2014 the expiry is one year from production. We use one-year expiry on all our products except our returnable bottle which we limit to 3 months to ensure prompt return of empty bottles.

How quickly should bottled water be consumed after opening?

The water is fully preserved while sealed but there is no defined limit once opened. This is dependent on individual customer use, storage conditions and portion size.

We offer a range of product sizes from single serve 100ml to 5Gallon to suit customer consumption/usage. Typically, smaller PET sizes are consumed within the day they are opened but 5Gallon bottles are generally consumed within a week. We also recently launched Mai Dubai glass in 2 sizes; 330 ml and 750 ml.

Does bottled water vary nutritionally?

The total mineral content of bottle drinking water is typically 100-200mg/l.

Although there is some nutritional value in the trace minerals, water’s essential role as part of a healthy diet is hydration. Since our launch in 2014 we have not changed our “recipe”, the mineral content of Mai Dubai is uniquely balanced overall, with specifically good content of calcium and magnesium and a low level of sodium Why does bottled water vary in taste?

Each company selects its own recipe of essential minerals as displayed on the product label. The balance selected contributes to slightly different mouthfeel.

Mai Dubai is typically known via the feedback of many of its consumers to have a smooth and light taste Is bottled water more environmentally friendly than other soft drinks?

Yes, bottled water has a much smaller environmental foot print compared to other bottled beverages. Sugary carbonated drinks require significantly

more energy and water to produce. The packaging is also much heavier compared to light weighted water bottles.

Can you recycle the plastic bottles?

Yes, all Mai Dubai bottles, caps and outer packaging are 100% recyclable.

Can I reuse my plastic bottle?

Our PET bottles are designed for single serve only and not suitable for washing between uses.

Executive Director ETIHAD ESCO TAQATI is looking for an Executive Director to lead the organisation with ultimate responsibility to the successful implementation of the DSM Strategy across Dubai and its Freezones. You will liaise with senior management of stakeholders and programme owners to ensure smooth implementation and reporting of the strategy, oversee the implementation of the DSM

GREEN J B

products are also randomly sampled and validated by local food control authorities and auditing bodies such as ESMA and NSF.

Awareness Strategy, and Capacity Building Programme.

You will drive the realisation of TAQATI’s vision and mission, and represent DSCE, Etihad and TAQATI at national, regional and international events and panels on the strategies. You’ll manage and develop TAQATI’s internal capabilities, budget, and partnerships and ensure all KPIs are met.

If interested, please send your CV to : etihad.jobs@etihadesco.com

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CHARGE AHEAD

D R I V E

C L E A N

Issue 10 | October 2018

What is the benefit of it being mounted on the ISS? There are many advantages to being mounted on the ISS. The ISS provides power, cooling, and bandwidth to transfer our data back to earth. Additionally, the ISS has a precessing orbit, which means that when we return back to the same spot on the earth, it is at a different time of day.

Polar orbiters have overpasses at the same time every day, and so ECOSTRESS fills a large gap by providing measurements throughout the diurnal cycle, at high resolution.

CENTRE FOLD

In Conversation With A Space Botanist

The instrument was launched from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a SpaceX’s cargo resupply mission.

Kerry Cawse-Nicholson, a South African scientist at JPL, and one of the leads on the ECOSTRESS project discusses the impact that it’ll have on the future.

Plants cool themselves by releasing water through small pores called stomata, in a mechanism called transpiration, which is similar to human perspiration.

Senior Environmental Engineer UAE Nationals (Graduate) DEWA

Monitoring plants from space: this could seem like a crazy notion to some.

Could you shed some light on the benefits of studying ecosystems from above, rather than doing scientific testing on the ground?

Studying ecosystems on the ground is a vital part of the research, but due to resource constraints (time, labour, equipment), it is often only possible to cover a small geographical area.

ECOSTRESS covers a 400km x 400km area in less than a second, and revisits that same area every 1-5 days.

Remote sensing gives us access to much more data, over many different ecosystems, enabling us to understand how plants respond to heat and water stress on a global scale.

We are looking for a professional to maintain, update and review the environment management system at corporate level at DEWA. You’ll be required to enhance environmental activities with the objectives of pollution prevention, management of natural resources and preventing damage to the environment. You will also need to conduct environmentrelated training to increase the awareness level of DEWA Staff.

You will be responsible for updating and maintaining DEWA’s environmental documents and procedures to assure full compliance with all the regulators and BSC requirements, reviews and inspections, participation in forums and conferences such as the QHSE Forum, preparing the material and conducting environmental management and sustainability training, and carry out any other tasks as assigned by the reporting manager.

Desired qualifications: Bachelor of Science in Environmental Management (Minimum 1 year experience) If interested, please send your CV to: emiratization.comm@dewa.gov.ae

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GREEN J B

I

n June, NASA successfully installed its ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on the Space Station (ECOSTRESS) on the International Space Station. ECOSTRESS is NASA’s newest Earth-observing mission, designed to measure the temperature of plants from space, enabling researchers to determine how much water plants use and to study how droughts affect plant health.

What is evapotranspiration?

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Kerry Cawse-Nicholson, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) tells The Sustainabilist about NASA’s newest Earth-observing mission that could impact the way we gather data about the Earth’s water crisis.

The Sustainabilist | WATER

When plants are water- or heat-stressed, they close their stomata to preserve water. However, this also means that they can no longer photosynthesise.

Evapotranspiration (ET) is the combination of evaporation from the soil and transpiration from the plants, and ET levels drop before plants turn brown, giving an early warning of drought or other stress.

Are you working in partnership with specific researchers, and who will have access to the data that ECOSTRESS gathers?

NASA has an open data policy, and so the public will have access to the data via the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC). The data will be accessible approximately 6 months from the end of the in-orbit checkout, which began on August 20th, 2018.

What regions are you covering?

ECOSTRESS proposed coverage over the Continental United States, and several key biomes around the world. ECOSTRESS is acquiring more data than was originally proposed, and we hope to process the entire dataset if/when resources become available.

As ECOSTRESS is mainly monitoring plants, but could there be a chance of research done over desert areas like the Middle East in the future?

ECOSTRESS is even more important over water-scarce countries! If we can use ET to study plant stress and its role in agriculture, then agricultural users can maximize crop yield while minimizing water use. While primarily a plant monitoring mission, ECOSTRESS also 32

has other applications, including the understanding of urban heat, which is particularly important in high-temperature cities in the Middle East.

Could you give us an idea of any preliminary findings?

ECOSTRESS is mounted on the International Space Station, which gives us the advantage of data acquisitions at different times of day. Only one month into Science Operations mode, we have already seen diurnal temperature change in cities, at a high level of detail. Prior to ECOSTRESS, thermal satellites were able to achieve high resolution with infrequent visits, or frequent coverage at low resolution, and ECOSTRESS is able to provide both.

Where are we in terms of scientific research on the world’s water crisis? Is there enough collaboration between countries, between governments and the private sector, and will we see any improvements, or in the very least, some possible solutions?

ECOSTRESS is collaborating with the United States Department of Agriculture in order to develop agricultural applications, and we have also collaborated with SpaceX for our launch atop a Falcon-9 rocket. This cross-platform collaboration is encouraging, and allows us to utilize a multi-talented team. There is always room for more collaboration, but I believe we are making positive steps towards this end.

What do you find most exciting about the ECOSTRESS project?

It is so exciting to be able to produce a tangible product with direct applications

to water resources. Water is limited in many parts of the world, and with a growing global population, managing consumptive water use will become an essential part of food-production.

Have there been any significant challenges?

There are always challenges in sending something into space safely, and having it work in a high-radiation environment, especially for a cost-capped mission like ECOSTRESS. However, we have a hardworking and innovative team, and we are acquiring science quality data.

How do you see the future of ECOSTRESS? Could it be developed into something bigger?

The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Space Studies board recently released the 2017 Decadal Survey, which gives insight into key application areas for the coming decade.

An understanding of Earth’s surface biology and geology was called out as a designated observable, and we believe that the technology used to develop ECOSTRESS will be important in meeting the desired applications needs as specified in the Decadal Survey.

With the rise in private sector participation of space technology and exploration, do you think we will we see more scientific collaboration, or could it potentially turn into a competition?

I think that competition is good, because it drives us to build on others’ successes, and to push ourselves further. But we are already seeing the desire for collaboration, and there are valuable partnerships to be explored.

The Sustainabilist | WATER

FEATURE

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The Water Works

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority has a world-class water network and is continuously improving it to ensure a brighter future.

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ater, electricity and transportation services will need huge investments worldwide, to meet the increasing demand. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is working to support the objectives of the UAE Centennial 2071, the UAE Vision 2021, and the Dubai Plan 2021 to secure a happy future and a better life for future generations, and elevate the UAE to become one of the best countries in the world. DEWA will invest over AED 81 billion for the next five years, to meet growing demand for electricity and water in Dubai. Today, DEWA has a strong infrastructure, which can generate 10,400 MW of electricity and 470 million imperial gallons of desalinated water per 34

day (MIGD) to meet the ever-increasing demand in Dubai. This will support the growth of a green economy and create a competitive advantage for the UAE in clean energy and energy-efficiency technologies.

DEWA has created world-class achievements with its electricity and water networks. DEWA achieved the lowest Customer Minutes Lost per year (CML) in the world at 2.68 minutes, compared to 15 minutes recorded by leading utilities in the European Union and the USA. DEWA reduced losses in power transmission and distribution networks to 3.3%, and water network losses decreased to 7.1%, compared to 15% in North America. By 2030, DEWA intends to produce 100%

of its desalinated water production from a mix of clean energy technologies that uses both renewable energy and waste heat.

This will allow Dubai to exceed global targets in use of clean energy to desalinate water. DEWA’s clean production capacity will be 305 million imperial gallons of desalinated water per day by 2030. This means that we will be able to produce 750 million gallons of desalinated water per day by 2030, compared to our current capacity of 470 million gallons per day.

DEWA is working on a range of projects and initiatives to expand the capacity and efficiency of its water network.

DEWA has launched an innovative initiative involving a geophysical and

Issue 10 | October 2018

hydro-geological field study and digging exploration and monitoring wells to study the possibility of injecting and storing desalinated water from solarpowered reverse osmosis plants into subterranean water basins and being able to pump it back into the water network when needed. The project is based on the latest innovative technologies to achieve operational efficiency in the water network. Studies have shown that it is possible to store 5,100 million gallons of water that can be retrieved when needed.

This technology is more cost-effective than the conventional way of storing water in concrete reservoirs.

Hatta Dam DEWA is contributing to the Hatta Comprehensive Development Plan launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to boost the area’s social and economic attractiveness as a world-class environmental tourist destination. DEWA will build the first hydroelectric power station in the GCC, which will be ready within five years to produce 250 MW. The pumped storage hydroelectric power station will generate electricity by making use of the existing water stored in the Hatta reservoir. The project will provide other services including irrigation, flood control, and storage of drinking water.

Smart water DEWA is expanding its smart grid for its water network and has awarded an AED 654 million contract to supply and commission a smart water distribution project to improve operational efficiencies. The smart water management system can read main smart meters and compare them with other meters in the local area, and monitor consumption on a 24/7 basis. If there is a defect or leak, this

will be detected by the smart monitoring system at the control centre, making it easier for operators in the control room to isolate places with large leakages. This helps reduce water losses and enhances the efficiency and reliability of the water distribution network.

Expanding capacity DEWA is also increasing its water storage capacity to ensure increased water security and has awarded a consultancy project worth AED 6.3 million to design and construct two water reservoirs. One will be in Al Nakhali, with a storage capacity of 120 million gallons of desalinated water. The other will be in Al Lusaily, with a storage capacity of 60 million gallons, to increase the storage capacity of Dubai to 1,010 million gallons. The project includes the design of the reservoirs according to the latest standards of sustainability, and supervision of the implementation of the project at the two sites. The construction and operation of both reservoirs will be completed in 2020. This will increase DEWA’s total storage capacity to 1,010 million gallons, compared to the current capacity of 830 million gallons.

Transmission projects DEWA has made significant progress on the supply, installation and commissioning of the AED 185 million 35 km major Jebel Ali–Al Hebab water pipeline. As of June 2018, 25 km which is 83% of the project was completed.

The project includes the extension of 35 km of 1,200-millimetre-diameter Glass Reinforced Epoxy (GRE) main water pipelines, to increase water flow along the Jebel Ali to Al Hebab road to meet increasing demand of water in Al Nakhali, Al Aweer, Al Qudra, and Dubai International Endurance City, and projects along the Al Ain road.

DEWA is making progress on the extension of 25 km of major water transmission pipelines across various parts of Dubai. This AED 170 million project includes the extension of GRE main water pipelines, and remote control and monitoring systems. Approximately 23.5 km has been done since June 2018, which is 93% of the project. The project will be completed by December 2018.

Another AED 260 million project is rolling out 43.5 km. As of June 2018, approximately 29.4 km, which is 67.5% of the project, is complete. The project includes the extension of a GRE main water larger pipe, to increase water flow between Emirates road and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed road, and from Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed road along the Jebel Ali to Al Hebab road to Al Qudra. The project also extends the main water pipeline at Al Lusaily up to between Al Ain road at Jebel Ali and the Al Hebab road, and several other pipelines from Mushrif station (headed towards Al Warqa) and Al Khaleej road. This is intended to provide water using gravity in case of emergency, and provide Al Reem, and other future projects on both sides of Al Qudra street with water. The project also contributes to increasing water flow in Al Warqa and Palm Deira, to support existing and future projects. The water transmission networks are managed with remote-controlled valves in the control centre, which contributes to the isolation of the faults in the shortest possible time, and reduce the loss of water in the network. The project also includes two sites to connect the main transmission pipelines along the Jebel Ali to Al Hebab road, and the Dubai to Hatta road, to increase water supply at Al Nakhali.

According to the planned programme, the project is expected to be completed by December 2018.

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The Sustainabilist | WATER

FEATURE

Why We Need a Net Positive Approach to Combat Global Water Scarcity

By Ibrahim Al-Zu’bi Chief Sustainability Officer, Majid Al Futtaim - Holding

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ater, the source of all life, is becoming a scarce resource in many parts of the world. Its fast depletion is an undeniable and pressing challenge that places a substantial burden on the longterm sustainability of our planet. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the challenge is even more acute. With 7% of the global population and only 1.5% of its renewable water supply, MENA is the world’s most water-scarce region. We are now forced to act and implement innovative solutions that yield concrete results and can pave the way for a more sustainable approach globally.

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At this point, the reality is that relying on being “less harmful” is no longer sufficient especially when we are faced with water depletion at alarming rates; especially in the Middle East. The path to water security lies in adopting a Net Positive approach that puts more back into the environment than is taken out. Net positive goes a step beyond conservation to contribute towards expanding water resources.

sector is particularly well positioned to play a pivotal part in this realm. That’s because private organisations possess greater capabilities to invest, innovate and impact change at a faster pace.

Furthermore, water shortages pose a real risk to companies’ operational sustainability, making it imperative to address the challenge and future proof business. It is therefore our responsibility to lead the charge.

This goal requires collective efforts from all stakeholders. Governments, corporations and citizens each have a shared interest and role in safeguarding water resources for future generations and economies. However, the private

Net positive is a nascent approach globally and is in its infancy regionally.

As a matter of fact, Majid Al Futtaim is the only organisation in the Middle East that has devised a strategy with a commitment to becoming net positive in carbon and

Issue 10 | October 2018

water by 2040. While the road to net positive carries numerous challenges, in my view there are four key actions that leaders can take today to progress towards this goal.

1. Quantify the impact of business on water scarcity Examining the impact of business operations on water is a crucial first step in setting measurable targets and defining net positive milestones. Forum for the future outlines several principles to guide the development of measurement tools, including transparency, consistency, completeness, data sharing and the use of tried and tested methods. For businesses, these tools vary depending on numerous factors that start with identifying the areas of operation with the highest levels of water consumption. At Majid Al Futtaim, our primary consumption stems from clean water sources such as mains supply and ground source extraction. Accordingly, we’ve established a framework to quantify, monitor and reduce our operational water footprint in these domains.

2. Harness technology to optimise water consumption Installing water efficient technologies enables businesses to reduce consumption before impacts are offset elsewhere. In recent years, innovations such as smart sensors, data analytics software and remote-controlled motors and pumps have significantly improved the way we manage water. Additionally, advanced onsite water treatment and recycling plants enable businesses to enhance water optimisation measures.

As part of Majid Al Futtaim’s Sustainable Building Policy, our developments incorporate numerous innovations designed to limit the use of water across our assets. Hilton Garden Inn Dubai,

Mall of the Emirates, for instance, uses flow restrictors, efficient toilet flushing systems, and a grey water collection and treatment plant that supplies water to cooling towers, all of which contribute to reducing the overall water demand.

The impact is significant: the water intensity of the hotel for Q3 2016 to Q2 2017 was 26% lower than the average for Majid Al Futtaim – Properties hotels over the same period, and 31% lower compared against the 2014 baseline for these same hotels.

3.Recycle wastewater According to recent estimates by the World Bank, 82% of MENA’s wastewater is currently not being recycled. While this puts an increasing strain on resources, it presents the region with a significant opportunity to reduce its heavy reliance on nonrenewable fossil groundwater, particularly for nonpotable uses. For private sector players, the long-term financial benefits of recycling wastewater are undeniable, as confirmed by data from the Global Water Intelligence, showing that companies have spent more than US$84bn worldwide on conserving, managing and obtaining water since 2011. More importantly, the costs for water-intensive companies continue to rise, especially in locations vulnerable to water shortages.

Majid Al Futtaim’s indoor snow resort Ski Dubai provides a great example of how we’re harnessing technology in this realm. Excess snow is recycled to enhance the cooling capacity of the chilled water system for air conditioning, while the condensate from the air handling units is recycled to the evaporative condenser towers, thus significantly reducing both water and energy consumption.

Similarly, all the water needed for irrigating the landscaped gardens at City Centre Me’aisem is supplied by an onsite treatment plant that recycles water from the mall’s washrooms.

4. Develop projects for positive contribution At its core, being net positive in water use means creating water that is more accessible and of better-quality than is consumed across business operations or the value chain. This can be achieved following reductions in water impact, through external projects that result in a positive contribution. For instance, an organisation that recycles more water than it consumes from mains supplies is considered net positive.

At Majid Al Futtaim, we’re exploring numerous projects with applications in this area including large scale rain harvesting systems and solar powered desalination plants. By 2040, we will have started to produce water through these projects.

In conclusion The Middle East region is at a critical juncture that will define our ability to secure a brighter future for generations to come. The fact that the Middle East remains the world’s most waterstressed geography also presents us with the opportunity to demonstrate resilience and innovation in the face of an ever-growing global challenge.

I am a firm believer in the private sector’s potential to make a substantial impact through net positive. For the rest of the world, our successes will provide prominent examples of how industry can help reverse water scarcity; but we must act collectively with urgency if we are to succeed.

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The Sustainabilist | WATER

SCHOOL

The Green Youth Brigade

How Fairgreen School works to build sustainability into their culture.

By Graeme Scott

T

Founding Director of Fairgreen School

he youth of today is far more educated and ‘aware’ of the plight of our planet. They question the choices that would affect our future in a way we never did.

And so, lies on their tiny shoulders the burden to save this planet from further damage.

Education systems have therefore taken on the responsibility of moulding these young minds to think and work towards greener lifestyle choices. Fairgreen International School in Sustainable City, Dubai, takes this challenge very seriously, and has created a curriculum and a physical structure dedicated to serving – and bettering – the environment.

From the start all the way to high school, the values of sustainability are interwoven across the curriculum with the expectation that students understand and demonstrate what it means to be internationallyminded, responsible and ethical citizens.

This education is instilled very early on.

At the primary level, the younger students will study concepts such as ‘How the World Works’ and ‘Sharing the Planet’.

As they progress to higher levels, they will be introduced to the idea of scientific and technical innovation, globalisation and sustainability. They will examine a 38

range of global issues, like the effects of pollution on resources and humanity, and population migration, the importance of biodiversity, the ethics of technology use, and medical techniques that question the nature of living things.

Big asks from little minds. Nevertheless, our youth is up for the task.

The school’s culture is rooted in the fundamental concepts of urban, economic and environmental sustainability, and a community understanding of sustainable living.

“Our school will act as a sustainability research lab with every angle of its construction designed with the future of our planet in mind,” says Graeme Scott, Founding Director of the school. “Add to that a curriculum that uses sustainability as a context through which to teach new skills and knowledge, and a team (teachers and parents) who are passionate about this subject, and you have a powerful combination. We will develop students who are not only passionate about sustainability, but also mini experts in climate change, sustainable farming, waste management, renewable energy and much more.”

The campus at Fairgreen is solar powered, with multiple solar panels generating energy and creating shade. “In addition, water is recycled, treated and filtered with

usage reduced as the water coming out of our taps is mixed with air to give high pressure but reduced consumption,” says Scott. Heat transfer is also minimised through insulated wall panels. “Our air conditioning is VFR (variable, refrigerant flow), which only directs cooling where it is required. Even the type of paint and the windows have been carefully considered so as to create a pleasant and healthy learning environment.”

Fairgreen’s learning facilities include a bio-dome and a Health, Wellness and Learning Centre (HWLC) led by Stephen Ritz, a world-renowned educator and author of the critically-acclaimed book ‘The Power of a Plant’. The centre is based in one of The Sustainable City’s biodomes and is dedicated to sustainabilityrelated research. It enables students to reach a deeper understanding of good nutrition in relation to their own wellness through organic and sustainable food production technologies, including solarpowered vertical farms, aquaponics, and other urban farming techniques.

The HWLC aims to enable students to formulate a blueprint for wellbeing that will continue to serve them for the rest of their lives, promoting the concept of “farm to table,” selecting local ingredients, cooking at home as a family, avoiding processed foods, and adopting exercise for life.

“It is clear that we need to conserve our planet’s resources a lot more successfully and efficiently than we have done in the past,” says Scott. “Students are ideal global guardians, but we need to equip them with the appropriate knowledge and skills so that they can make a positive and practical difference. Our students and the entire school community will be active advocates of sustainable practices, and we hope that this enthusiasm will spread and create a wave of action and change.”

Issue 10 | October 2018

TOP TIPS

Saving Water at Work

LANDSCAPING Be sustainable and choose droughtresistant local flora that requires minimal water to flourish.

CHAMPION Assign a water champion within the company responsible for creating, implementing and maintaining the individual water conservation program.

AUTOMATE Save your business money on water bills by opting to install automatic water saving equipment (faucets, showerheads etc).

EFFICIENCY Install low water flow devices and ensure they are calibrated to utilise minimum amount of water required.

LEAKS Check all water supply systems for leaks and repair them as soon as possible to avoid gallons of water loss.

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The Sustainabilist | WATER

CASE STUDY

A Word on Wells

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Save the Children is building wells in Uganda to provide access to clean water for children in refugee sites .

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obina, age 9, lives in rural Uganda. Like most girls there, she has to fetch water for her family to survive. Every day, she makes the long journey to collect drinking water from a distant well. And every day, she faces the threat of violence, and even death, along the way.

Ugandan families and communities struggle to access healthcare, education and basic services for their children while preventable diseases, like malaria and diarrhea, take a major toll on children’s health. In the north, Ugandan children face violence, poverty, scant food and dismal humanitarian conditions. And this year, an influx of refugees fleeing famine and hunger, is adding to Uganda’s challenges.

Children in Africa are facing extreme hunger and a devastating food crisis.

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Uganda is now the largest refugee hosting nation in Africa, with over 1 million refugees. There are fears that at the current pace, there will be nearly 1 million child refugees in Uganda by the end of 2017.

Save the Children in Uganda is operating six refugee sites, and the Emergency Health Unit has helped to rapidly scale-up health services to meet refugees’ needs, including the many children have walked days without food, water or rest.

Access to clean water is crucial to the health of children and the well-being of entire communities. Children often walk hours every day, unable to spend time reading and playing, in order to fetch buckets of clean water. Diarrhea, one of the leading causes of child mortality, can be considerably reduced through access to clean water. Plus, if children aren’t

spending their days fetching water, they can learn and play.

St Ann Naddangira is one of the sponsorship-supported schools in Kakiri sub county. The sponsorship program’s interventions in the school have contributed to increased enrolment of children in the school. Enrolment which stood at 292(113 girls, 179 boys) in 2015 rose to 438 (211 girls, 227boys) pupils in 2018. While the increased enrolment is a positive outcome, it has put a strain on the limited resources in the school.

The 10,000 litre capacity water tank at school can only meet the water needs of learners for three weeks in the dry season.

Pupils thus have to fetch water from a shallow well 1.5km away from the school.

This causes delays in class start times.

Additionally, chronic water shortages

Issue 10 | October 2018

2.1 billion people globally lack safe water at home (2015)

pose a health risk to learners given that they negatively impact on the hygiene and sanitation situation in the school.

of those people...

263 million spend more than 30 minutes per round trip collecting water

In an effort to help, Dubai-based restaurant and “social movement”, The London Project, is supporting Save the Children’s initiatives in Uganda.

do not have basic drinking water services

UNIVERSAL AND EQUITABLE ACCESS TO SAFE SANITATION FOR ALL BY 2030

4.5 billion people

globally have no toilets at home that safely manage excreta

A portion of every bottle of water sold at The London Project will go to fund water wells through an existing program managed by Save The Children, globally.

600 million

share a toilet or latrine with other households

of those people...

2.3 billion still do not have basic sanitation services

“Water initiatives have had a deficit in participants, hence the UN estimating a huge shortfall on water by the year 2030; we couldn’t just be a bystander while having the opportunity to involve the community in Dubai and the Middle East, as well as other regions we are expanding to,” he says.

892 million

defecate in the open

Universal and equitable access to safe sanitation for all by 2030

END OPEN DEFECATION

Source: World Health Organization, UNICEF

There was an extensive search for water project that would align to the company ethos, that would make a difference and who would have the logistical means and expertise to optimize the resources we are able to provide. Save the Children was that partner, with a tailored program to this particular purpose, registered in the UAE and truly caring about life changing outcomes,” he concludes.

drink water directly from surface sources, such as streams or lakes

844 million

“The opportunity to help in a region where bottled water sales as common, is huge and untapped, providing the opportunity for those enjoying themselves in Dubai to support communities in a less fortunate situation,” says co-founder Stephen Roche.

“It means having a vehicle to our purpose, partnering with an organization with expertise in social initiatives that make a difference.

159 million

Access to water

and soap for handwashing varies immensely worldwide

Only 1 in 4

people in low-income countries have handwashing facilities with soap and water at home

Only 14%

of people in sub-Saharan Africa have facilities

While 76%

in Western Asia & Northern Africa have facilities

SOAP AND WATER FOR HANDWASHING IN AL HOMES BY 2030

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The Sustainabilist | WATER

CASE STUDY

The Salt of the Crop The International Center for Biosaline Agriculture explains how salt-loving grasses can help tackle salinity and boost forage production in UAE.

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oil and water salinity are a big problem in many parts of the UAE due to intensive desalination, including in agriculture, and seawater intrusion into aquifers. So much so that some farmers prefer to abandon their saltdegraded lands as traditional crops fail. The problem poses challenges to national efforts to enhance food security and self-sufficiency through local production.

Set against this backdrop is a projected increase in demand for fresh water and food as a result of urbanization and population growth. According to the UAE Food Industry Report 2017, a mix of a growing population, increasing tourist numbers and rising incomes will push food consumption in the country to 59.2m tonnes annually by 2025. For example, per capita meat consumption is forecast to reach 79 kg by 2019, ranking the UAE 7th in the world – ahead of Ireland, Australasia and Australia.

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In part to address these multiple challenges, the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) works with local partners to design studies and projects that look for ways to rehabilitate salt-affected areas and make use of saline soil and water resources for food and forage production.

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One way that has been proven to hold a lot of promise is cultivation of halophytic, or salt-loving, plants.

Published recently in Crop & Pasture Science, a three-year study by a team of scientists at ICBA suggests that halophytic grasses, for example, can be a good option for forage production

Issue 10 | October 2018

To see how well halophytic grasses would perform in extreme conditions, the scientists conducted extensive experiments on three abandoned saltdegraded farms in Mezaira’a, Madinat Zayed and Ghayathi in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. When the grasses were planted in the first year of the study, the water salinity level on the farms ranged from 14.1 to 17.4 deciSiemens per meter. The team tested four halophytic perennial forage grass species such as Distichlis spicata, Paspalum vaginatum, Sporobolus virginicus and S. arabicus for yield and water productivity. Harvested three times a year, the grasses produced, on average, dry biomass yields of 32.64 to 40.68 tonnes per hectare. The team also recorded average yields in terms of water productivity at 1.68 to 2.42 kg of dry matter per cubic meter of water, which is much better than previously reported yields for Rhodes grass in less saline conditions.

The results show that these grasses are excellent alternatives for sustainable forage production in salt-affected areas in the UAE. They also confirm previous research on the economic and environmental benefits of using these grasses in integrated forage–livestock systems, particularly in marginal environments with low-quality soil and water resources.

Dr. Khalil Ammar, a principal scientist in hydrogeology and water resources management at ICBA, explains: “They are part of sustainable and inexpensive solutions. They can help improve the

farm’s situation. So we are offering a much better solution that suits the needs of these farms.”

The findings are encouraging for several reasons. First, as fresh water is getting scarcer in the country, as well as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as a whole, farmers should consider alternative types of water for irrigation, including saline water, reject brine and wastewater. By some estimates, agriculture accounts for more than 80 per cent of the MENA’s water withdrawals.

Yet most countries in the region already cannot sustainably meet their water demand. More worryingly, water availability per capita is expected to be halved in the region by 2050.

“Because we are in a water-scarce country, savings are important. Sometimes, it is not easy to find a solution that has many simultaneous benefits, but we should keep trying to bring new crops, forages and varieties of grasses because of their sustainability in the agricultural productivity of the UAE,” Dr. Khalil Ammar comments.

Second, desalination and unsustainable groundwater abstraction are leading to worsening soil and water salinity.

Salinization is a serious issue across the MENA region. According to an FAO report in 2015, 11.2 percent of the region’s soils are affected by various levels of soil salinization. Salt-affected soils vary in extent by country from 10-15 percent in Algeria to over 50 percent in Iraq. In the UAE, 33.6 percent of the area is salinized.

Third, saline soil and water resources are often viewed to have little or no value at all. As they make up a large part of all

available natural resources, it makes sense to use them. Livestock production will need to keep pace with projected growth in demand for meat. This would in turn require more feed and forage production.

So halophytic grasses could be just the job in marginal areas.

The scientists point out that more research is needed before these grasses are adopted by farmers on a large scale in the UAE or other countries in the MENA region. For example, thorough analysis of nutritive quality and chemical composition would help to make a stronger case for their cultivation. But the study shows that there are some little-noticed ways to achieve food security objectives. And more importantly, they are cost-effective and sustainable.

Marketing & PR Manager

ETIHAD ESCO Seeking a Public Relations (PR) Manager to nurture an enviable corporate image by developing and executing effective communication and media relations programs.

Responsibilities would include, but will not be limited to, the development, implementation and evaluation of all internal and external communications, education programs, and conferences.

GREEN J B

and rehabilitation of salt-affected lands in the UAE. What is more, they produce higher yields than some traditional grasses like Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana).

The PR Manager would build media relationships, write and distribute press releases, and codevelop storytelling for the brand.

The ideal candidate would have excellent language skills, a degree in marketing and communications, or at least 5 years of relevant work experience.

If interested, please send your CV to: etihad.jobs@etihadesco.com

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The Sustainabilist | WATER

D

ubai Cares, part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, has partnered with Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor, WSUP, to improve access to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, WASH, facilities in schools in two of Madagascar’s largest cities, Antananarivo and Mahajanga.

The three-year programme, which represents an investment of AED3,846,160 million (US$1,047,001), will benefit 14,250 children and 33,750 community members.

CASE STUDY

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Water Sanitation for Madagascar

46

The new programme aims to construct and rehabilitate WASH facilities in school and health centres to ensure availability of services in 30 schools, including 21 primary and 9 secondary schools. The facilities will meet the minimum quality requirements set by the Ministry of Education in Madagascar. The programme also aims to ensure that these facilities are run and maintained under a financially sustainable management model by facilitating the establishment of a School WASH Committee in each school.

The initiative will provide, in collaboration with the mandated health authorities, hygiene education in schools, communities and health centres, to contribute to sustainable behavioral change. It will also support the schools to go through the various stages required to be officially certified by the Ministry of Education as a ‘WASH friendly school’. It also aims to provide capacity building to local institutions, and to influence policy at the local and national government levels to enable long term systemic change.

Through the move, Dubai Cares aims to work closely with its partners at community, municipal and national level

to ensure an effective rollout.

Speaking on the announcement, Abdulla Ahmed Al Shehhi, Chief Operating Officer at Dubai Cares, said, “Our new programme will be implemented in Antananarivo and Mahajanga, where the consequences of poor WASH infrastructure have been devastating for families. Diarrheal as well as cholera diseases are the leading causes of death of children under five, and adequate access to WASH facilities can prevent a significant proportion of such diseases.

The long-lasting benefits of our latest WASH programme will not only provide much-needed WASH facilities across schools, but will also educate communities on how they can enhance their standards of hygiene to prevent illnesses.”

The programme will include a comprehensive operational research component, designed specifically to build the evidence base to support increased and more effective government investment in WASH programmes. The research will rely on identifying implementation and capacity bottlenecks from community all the way up to national level, including outcome evaluation focused on attendance rates and community outreach impacts.

Sylvie Ramanantsoa, Country Programme Manager at WSUP Madagascar, said, “Inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools and local communities can make children too ill to attend classes, or encourage them to drop out of school altogether. This new partnership with Dubai Cares will help WSUP to improve health and educational outcomes for children, by improving facilities and practices in schools and communities, supporting policy change and conducting research to identify best practices.”

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The Sustainabilist | WATER

INTERVIEW

Home Away from Home?

Naved Shaikh, Director of Engineering at Taj Hotel Group tells The Sustainabilist how the group is approaching water conservation.

H

otel companies have both a strong commercial and moral imperative for addressing water use. Cost is a clear factor, and water efficiency could lead to hotels reducing the amount spent if they address these issues. Hotels and resorts have a responsibility to the community they operate in as well, to make sure that the water usage and waste is kept to a minimum.

48

What is the landscape like for water consumption and waste water in hotels around the Middle East? (Are there restrictions, is it regulated, etc?)

To the best of my understanding, most hotels in UAE do not have an onsite wastewater treatment plan. The restrictions and regulations are mostly to do with the discharge of waste water into the municipality waste water line, for that we need to maintain and regularly clean the grease traps in the hotel, which we are currently doing. The hotel was also recognized by Dubai Municipality for this effort.

What are some of the steps Taj is taking to optimize its water consumption and operate on a more sustainable level than usual?

At Taj Dubai, some of the measures we have undertaken are, for example, installation of low flow water aerators on the taps in the guest rooms and Public areas, we’ve implemented the use of tap water in the staff cafeteria.

Reusing water from multimedia sand filter backwash for air-conditioning filter cleaning, resulting in a saving of nearly 1000 ltrs. of water each day.

Created staff awareness about eliminating wastage of fresh water through use of posters and training sessions on a regular

basis. Implementation of daily leak checklist, to identify and rectify any leakages. Adjusted the WC flush water quantity from 6L to 5L, which is just enough for flushing thus saving water.

Automated urinal flush system with sensor operation. Guest room linen reuse program. Use of microfiber cloth for cleaning of guest rooms instead of water. Guest room leftover drinking water collected from each floor is reused to water indoor plants Other sustainable initiatives include, energy saving plan, which was followed shift wise to reduce utility consumption, efficient preventive maintenance program followed for all the guest rooms and plant rooms, ensuring minimum breakdowns and unplanned costs, increase in the waste recycling percentage thereby reducing cost of waste disposal, undertaken a few projects in-house to save the repair and maintenance cost, replaced the existing lights to LED in back of the house areas, the hotel also actively follows a Plastic Elimination and Waste Management Program. No plastic water bottles are used in the staff cafe. The hotel has also been able to eliminate the use of the plastic straws across the property as part of the program.

Issue 10 | October 2018

Do you feel that tourists are becoming more aware of things like water conservation and sustainable practices?

Or do they still view hotels as a kind of free-for-all to let loose?

I would say there is an enhanced level of understanding for sustainability among certain guests mostly from the Europeans countries as they do participate in our linen reuse programs the most. In general with the recent focus on plastic reduction in International news we are also starting to see an active interest from guest visiting our F&B outlets.

How can visitors be made more aware, and prompted into action, and what is your approach to this?

We have created awareness among guests by placing linen reuse cards for water conservation in the guest rooms. We have also shared our best sustainable practices and created awareness via the electronic screens inside guest rooms and elevators.

How much investment goes into technology and engineering to address sustainable practices like water and waste in a hotel?

I would say water saving and waste elimination does not cost much. It only requires an investment of time and education to control and recycle waste;

What technological advancements (if any) are being made and used in this space?

Reusing water from multimedia filter backwashing for air-conditioning filter cleaning, all tank levels are been monitored via advanced building management system to avoid overflow, water pressure restrictors are used in taps and shower.

How big of a role does innovation in sustainability practices play in the future of hotel operation?

I believe innovation is important as far as the future of hotel operation is concerned, we would expect to have more technological advancements in hotel equipment and fittings such as energy efficient lighting, HVAC , plumbing and sanitary fittings. Ideally the hotel should initially be designed keeping in mind the sustainable aspect, any design alterations post building are likely to be less efficient and more costly to do. Sometimes more than the actual innovative product, I believe it’s the training and awareness on sustainability which is more vital and leads

to change and improvement.

Is Taj aligned with any SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and are you partnered or working with any government/private entity on projects?

Taj has partnered with a company named “EarthCheck” based out of Australia. We have an ongoing certification program for all hotels. Taj Dubai is part of it and is currently at EarthCheck Silver certified status.

Earlier this year the City of Cape Town came dangerously close to running out of water. Hotels were told to minimise water consumption and waste water as much as possible, and guests were asked not to use the bath. The city saw tourism drop during this time. What, in your opinion, must hotels do to avoid situations like this in the future, and what is the responsibility of hotel groups in terms of retaining guests, but also serving the community around them?

Such kind of emergencies should be dealt with utter responsibility. We have an ongoing Incident management and business continuity plan to cover all such types of emergency situations which includes assistance from the nearby hotels and community.

Senior Electrical Engineer UAE Nationals (Graduate) DEWA

GREEN J B

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For example a basic investment for reducing waste by setting up a recycling station would be around AED 30 to 35 K with color coded bins.

We are looking for a professional to support department activities including tendering, execution of renewable, sustainable and energy diversification projects. You will have to ensure effective execution of departmental projects such as Clean Coal Power Generation, Solar Power, IPP projects, coordinate with contractors, subcontractors, designers, third parties, government / semi-government authorities / entities and agencies for project-related matters when required.

You’ll also be required to prepare reports and progress updates for senior management review and feedback, carry out all assigned operational activities related to project initiation, be involved in site visits and feasibility studies, promote and ensure adherence to quality standards, ensure non-disclosure of confidential information, adhere to DEWA safety standards, and carry out any other tasks as assigned by the reporting manager.

Desired qualifications: Bachelor in Electrical Engineering If interested, please send your CV to emiratization.comm@dewa.gov.ae

49

The Sustainabilist | WATER

FEATURE

Speaking Up for Water

By Linda Merieau

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Director of Education Programmes, Surge for Water

Do we truly understand how important water is for Earth and human life?

W

ater is the most precious resource we have. We cannot survive, let alone thrive, without it. Yet, we often don’t give it much thought and continue living as if we will never run out of this indispensable commodity. The recent events in Cape Town, South Africa has brought the issue more in focus. Surge has been working in the UAE on influencing behaviors and shifting mindsets to inspire change in water consumption levels. We are a voice for water. We recognize that changing attitudes and ultimately behaviors takes time, energy and motivation. That is why we’ve designed programs that utilize active learning, foster empathy and showcase successes to drive positive action.

Surge is helping to reframe the Global Water Crisis as a local issue that concerns each and every one of us. We live in one of the world’s most water scarce nations yet we remain at the high end of the consumption meter. Our work focuses 50

on educating people about our Water Footprint and the Water-Food-Energy Nexus as important concepts to underpin a realization that water saving opportunities are everywhere.

Individuals and businesses play an important role in achieving better water resource management. We challenge people to go beyond the obvious shorter shower to think outside the box about saving ‘virtual’ water. This is actually very real water that has been either used up or contaminated in the process of growing food or manufacturing things. This hidden water represents up to 90% of our Water Footprint. It is therefore critical that we consider the water used by goods we consume and business practices to make mindful choices that save water.

Water stewardship needs leadership in all sectors of society. The UAE government has set the bar with the 2036 Water Security Strategy. The call is to reduce our demand for water by 21%. This

requires everyone in the UAE, whether you are a member of a household, a community or a business, to rethink all the ways you consume water. Surge aims to spur a movement for sustainable living where individuals model water conscious behaviors, both at home and at work.

Water IS everything and water is IN everything.

Water is required to grow everything we need to nourish our bodies. Agriculture accounts for some 70% of the world’s water use. Wasted food, which the FAO estimates at some 30% of annual production, means A LOT of wasted water. Emirates airlines feeds a lot of people. They have recently announced a decision to build the world’s largest vertical farming facility at the point of transformation which would use 99% less water than outdoor fields. The decision makes sense for a lot of reasons – including food security, less food loss, lower CO2 emissions from food transport

Issue 10 | October 2018

“

and the positive effect for the world’s water resources. Consumers and foodrelated businesses can and must act.

All the goods we purchase needed water to grow raw materials and for manufacturing.

The humble plastic bag took 4 litres of water. That might not seem like much.

Yet, our world is hooked on convenience and we go through some 5 trillion singleuse plastic bags a year consuming 20 trillion litres of water annually. Re-usable bags are just one simple solution to reduce the quantity of water extracted from this planet we call Home.

Water keeps our modern buildings and households running too. Fresh water used for cooking, flushing the toilet, washing and cleaning enters our homes and hotels and is quickly rejected back for

treatment – loaded with impurities and potentially harmful chemicals. Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), operating in this highly water-stressed region, is another company showing water leadership. One example cited in their 2018 White Paper explains that the use of water efficient technologies and practices at the Hilton Garden Inn Dubai Mall of the Emirates has resulted in a water intensity 26% lower than average when compared to MAF group hotels in the same 2016/17 period.

Everyone is needed to achieve the UAE’s goals and the Global Goals.

At Surge, we bring together awareness, education and empathy so individuals can recognize the knock-on effect of their decisions and consumption choices on the world’s water supplies. We expose people to water challenges in the UAE and around the world to inspire change.Our corporate challenge - the H2O Games - stimulates new ideas around sustainability and innovations for water conservation. Teams of employees compete in fun, thought-

provoking contests covering the WaterFood-Energy nexus, the Water Footprint and Water Treatment. Participants experience Water Access issues through a relay race and the teams act out a Zero Water Future scenario. Our program empowers individuals to make change and builds buy-in for corporate water conservation efforts among staff or other stakeholders. One corporate who hosted the H2O Games challenged several of their clients to join them on this water journey.

Surge has been helping to shape the mindset of our future leaders over the last five years. In primary schools, our program ‘Water: The Global Passport’ allows children to experience the world’s water challenges and understand their own water footprint. Corporate partners and their employee volunteers helped us reach over 4,000 children last year, 85% of whom made at least one change in their water use habits.

Surge is speaking up for water. Will you?

Chief Operating Officer (COO) - UAE National

ETIHAD ESCO Seeking a Chief Operating Officer to provide the leadership, management and vision necessary to ensure that Etihad Energy Services has the proper operational controls, administrative and reporting procedures in place to effectively grow the organisation and to ensure financial strength and operating efficiency. The position accomplishes this through a respectful, constructive and energetic style. The executive will be responsible for the strategic development, operational & financial performance of the company.

GREEN J B

“

...our world is hooked on convenience and we go through some 5 trillion singleuse plastic bags a year consuming 20 trillion litres of water annually.

The ideal candidate will have a Master’s degree in business or related field, have at least 9 years of strong business development/operational experience in a senior management role, and have excellent communication skills in English and Arabic.

If interested, please send your CV to etihad.jobs@etihadesco.com

51

The Sustainabilist | WATER

Palms 300 l/m2

Shrubs Pool

6 l/m2

0.3% daily evaporation

Flower beds/ ground cover

Trees

14 l/m2

Grass 30 l/m2

52

6 l/m2

rd 2018 Issue 10 |23October October 2017

Now it’s your turn to calculate...

RESEARCH

Calculate your H2O Consumption Description

Unit

Quantity

X Iitres/ m2 per day

Litres to IG

Grass

m2

30

/4.5

Ground cover

6

/4.5

Shrubs

m2 No.

6

/4.5

Trees

No

14

/4.5

Palm tree

No

300

/4.5

Total daily water consumption (IG )

Total monthly landscape water consumption (IG) Daily pool evaporation

Pool volume m3 X 0.3% daily X 220 (conversion to IG)

Average daily household water consumption per person (IG)

No. of people

x 44

Total monthly water consumption per person (IG) x 30 ( Landscape + Pool + Household )

*IG =imperial gallons *Note: 5%VAT is applicable on these tariffs

Consumption/month (IG*)

Slab tariff ( fils/ IG*)

G

0-6000

3.5

Y

6001-12000

4.0

O

12001 & above

4.6

Fuel Surcharge for water

0.6 fils / IG

Source: Landscape Water Efficiency Guide

53

The Sustainabilist | WATER

FEATURE

H2... Oh? Water scarcity is a real and imminent threat, and as a topic of discussion, will only continue to crop up.

T

he plight of Cape Town and its water shortage will not be an isolated case, and is only an example of what experts the world over have warned about for years.

Cape Town is being made an example of, and is serving as a cautionary tale.

Many factors have contributed to the city’s crisis besides years of drought -- government instability and lack of planning, investment and leadership, lack of awareness and public responsibility, and the air of “business as usual”.

Other cities on the verge of crisis are scrambling to manage the situation, but is it all reactionary? Lack of strategy and management could see yet another city fall to taps running dry.

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The World Economic Forum describes water as the “ultimate systems challenge”. It is a unique resource that is the bedrock of all growth drivers. It connects all economic sectors from agricultural production, energy generation, to industry and manufacturing. And a delicate balance exists between them all. A decision to allocate more water to any one sector implies that less water will be available for other economic uses, public water supply and other social services, or environmental protection.

54

Despite covering about 70% of the Earth’s surface, water, especially drinking water, is not as plentiful as one

might think. Only 3% of it is fresh.

Over one billion people lack access to water and another 2.7 billion find it scarce for at least one month of the year.

A 2014 survey of the world’s 500 largest cities estimates that one in four are in a situation of “water stress” According to UN-endorsed projections, global demand for fresh water will exceed supply by 40% in 2030, thanks to a combination of climate change, human action and population growth.

In the UAE, population growth and urbanization are spurring domestic and industrial water needs to escalate at rates with which available water resources cannot keep pace.

The policy of food self-sufficiency, which aims to increase the UAE’s own food production for domestic consumption, also imposes constraints on the allocation of water resources among various sectors.

To address these challenges, the UAE government has put into place several wide-spread strategies that seek to affect change and attain ambitious goals within the next decade.

Meanwhile, contrary to the UAE, the cities facing serious water shortages around the world are not in waterscarce areas, including Cape Town, and normally do experience significant

Issue 10 | October 2018

Bangalore’s government is struggling with a rapid rise in population, pollution and poorly maintained, old infrastructure. Cairo is also dealing with huge amounts of agricultural and industrial waste being dumped in the Nile - the city’s main water source. Moscow’s pollution problem is particularly worrying with official regulatory bodies admitting that 35% to 60% of total drinking water reserves in Russia do not meet sanitary standards.

In Jakarta, the digging of illegal wells is rampant and results in draining the underground aquifers, almost literally deflating them. According to the World Bank, because of this about 40% of Jakarta now lies below sea level.

Possibly most surprisingly are global hubs like London, Tokyo and Miami, whose populations are inflating at an alarming rate, causing strain on the already bulging water networks.

According to the Greater London Authority, the city is pushing close to capacity and is likely to have supply problems by 2025 and “serious shortages” by 2040. Home to more than 30 million people, Tokyo has a water system that depends 70% on surface water (rivers, lakes, and melted

“

snow), and could be hit hard should they experience a year or two of drought.

As for Miami, rising sea levels are the biggest threat. An early 20th Century project to drain nearby swamps had an unforeseen result; water from the Atlantic Ocean contaminated the Biscayne Aquifer, the city’s main source of freshwater, and because the city has experienced faster rates of sea level rise, water is breaching underground defence barriers installed in recent decades.

It’s plain to see that whether people live in a lush, rainy region, or in an arid desert, water is a concern across the board, and needs to be high on the agenda of every governing body.

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For cities like São Paulo and Mexico City, government inefficiencies play a large role. Brazil’s government has been criticised by the UN for having a lack of planning, and Mexico imports as much as 40% of its water from distant sources but has no large-scale operation for recycling wastewater. Water losses because of problems in the pipe network are also estimated at 40%.

Possibly most surprisingly are global hubs like London, Tokyo and Miami, whose populations are inflating at an alarming rate, causing strain on the already bulging water networks.

“

amounts of rainfall. So why are they on the brink of disaster?

55

The Sustainabilist | WATER

FEATURE

Splitting H from O

As renewable energy sources continue their global success story, the demand for integrating them into the current energy and industry landscape has seen a sharp rise in the UAE.

T

hyssenkrupp now offers a key technology for renewables integration: industrial scale water electrolysis for large projects. By splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, this technology delivers “green” hydrogen, a clean, CO2-free energy carrier. The only inputs needed are water and renewable electricity from wind, hydro power or photovoltaics. “Green” hydrogen production is ideal for long-term energy storage, hydrogen mobility and other applications, making optimal use of renewable energy sources.

Based on worldwide leading electrolysis technologies, experts from Thyssenkrupp

56

have developed a solution which makes large-scale hydrogen production from electricity economically attractive. The advanced water electrolysis features a well-proven cell design paired with an especially large active cell area of 2.7 m2.

By further optimizing the proven “ZeroGap” electrolysis technology (leaving virtually no gap between membrane and electrodes), very high efficiencies of more than 82% are achieved.

There is a strong need to ensure large scale chemical projects in the UAE do not exceed budgets and are sustainable in nature. With thyssenkrupp advanced water electrolysis, production of hydrogen,

ammonia, methanol and synthetic natural gas (SNG) is now completely ‘economic’ and ‘sustainable.’ This solution further boosts the production of chemical plants in the region giving a push to sustainability in urban mobility and longterm energy storage in the UAE. Sami Pelkonen, CEO of the Electrolysis & Polymers Technologies business unit at thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions: “With our water electrolysis process, we have successfully brought a technology significance for the energy transition.

We are now able to offer our customers a wealth of sustainable solutions which will help to bridge the gap between renewable

Issue 10 | October 2018

leading electrolysis technologies. To date, the Group company thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers has successfully completed more than 600 electrochemical plants worldwide.

energy production and consumption.

Green hydrogen as a clean, CO2-free starting point can be used in a variety of ways: for energy storage, mobility, and the production of sustainable chemicals.”

New, cost-efficient plant type for “green” hydrogen projects To make deployment of large hydrogen projects as easy as possible, the thyssenkrupp technology is available in pre-fabricated, skid mounted standard modules. They easily add up to the desired project size, potentially into the hundreds of megawatt range. The patented design is based on thyssenkrupp’s well proven,

Within the Carbon2Chem® project, one of the global flagship projects for carbon-neutral value chains, the advanced alkaline water electrolysis by thyssenkrupp was already commissioned successfully. It will provide the necessary hydrogen for producing chemicals from steel plant flue gas.

Turning energy into sustainable chemicals

As a specialist in chemical plant engineering and construction, thyssenkrupp can realize additional value chains, e.g. for “green” methanol, which can enable carbon recycling to generate sustainable fuel.

Further “power-to-gas” solutions include methanation for the production of synthetic natural gas (SNG). As the starting point for all these solutions, water electrolysis by thyssenkrupp can help to convert today›s carbonbased industry into a more sustainable, climate-friendly one.

Senior Mechanical Engineer UAE Nationals (Graduate) DEWA The professional in this position will support department activities and special projects related to sustainable & renewable energy, energy diversification such as clean coal power electricity generation projects, solar power projects with respect to tendring, resource planning, financial planning, and supervision of site work. You will have to ensure effective execution of departmental projects, coordinate with contractors, subcontractors, designers, third parties, government / semi-government authorities / entities and agencies for project-related matters when required. You’ll also be required to prepare reports and progress updates for senior management review and feedback, carry out all assigned operational activities related to project initiation, be involved in site visits and feasibility studies, promote and ensure adherence to quality standards, ensure nondisclosure of confidential information, adhere to DEWA safety standards, and carry out any other tasks as assigned by the reporting manager.

GREEN J B

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“Based on decades of experience in developing and building electrolysis plants, we have designed our product to meet our client’s most important demands: easy to deliver and install, highly efficient, with minimized investment and operation cost. And we have an industrial-scale supply chain of 600 MW per year already in place”, says Roland Käppner, Head of Energy Storage and Hydrogen at thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers.

Hydrogen is not only a clean energy carrier, be it for long-term energy storage in the gas grid, or for clean fuels e.g. for fuel cell mobility. When produced from renewable energy, it can make the production of key chemicals sustainable. One good example is “green” ammonia: With the water electrolysis technology and its worldclass ammonia process, thyssenkrupp can deliver integrated plants which can produce ammonia from nothing but water, air and sunlight or wind. The ammonia can be further processed into fertilizers.

Desired qualifications: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Minimum 1 year experience in power generation, plant construction, operation and maintenance.)

If interested, please send your CV to emiratization.comm@dewa.gov.ae

57

The Sustainabilist | WATER

PROJECT

Inspiring a New Generation of Sustainable Storytellers

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This year Media students at Middlesex University Dubai will embark on a new program in support of climate action and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, led by lecturer and Climate Reality Leader, Stephen King.

W

hat is the most important sustainable project you can think of? Solar power? Artificially intelligent climate monitoring? Plastic eating mould? Vertical farming maybe.

What about sustainable storytelling?

It was just a little over 30 years ago that former Vice President of the United States, Al Gore, presented the dangers of climate change for the first time. In the decades since, and despite some peak periods of interest - mostly around the annual ‘COP’ meetings - the dangers have not yet been fully appreciated and today, despite worldwide awareness following President Trump’s withdrawing the US from the much-celebrated Paris Agreement, interest is at risk of waning once again.

There are a number of reasons for this.

Firstly that people find difficulty in analyzing future problems. This is even more so when a concept doesn’t have a fixed goal, or when the data surrounding it is complex.

58

Second, our sources of information, i.e. the mainstream media, are commercial businesses who have investors or shareholders that need to be satisfied. They rely on sensational and simple stories to attract the viewers or readers that bring in the advertisers. Climate change is more than 30 years old and even though a picture of a polar bear on a depleted ice fragment is shocking, we have seen so many similar images that the public at large have become desensitised to the problem. And even with 99% of scientists available to provide content, climate warnings no-longer sell as many newspapers as they used to.

Finally new technologies do not necessarily help us to understand the issues at hand.

Fake news is has become a global problem, with social networking sites becoming the new political battlegrounds where ideologies compete using sophisticated data and behavioral analysis. This is not to mention the impact that mobile news has had on our attention levels.

Sustainability is a rolling stone and its momentum depends on the interest of those

of us exerting our energy. Although this energy may begin within us, it ultimately needs to be recharged and inspired by others. And this is where the importance of storytelling and sustainable storytellers comes in.

The continuing battles in climate change are to sustain public interest, and to grow knowledge and understanding of the issues involved. Especially as the US nears a new election cycle. This needs alternative thinking in how organizations engage with the public on these issues.

Conferences, White Papers, the traditional media, and even Hollywood movies have all been attempted with varying, and declining levels of success. We need new ideas for communication even as we seek new devices for cleaning our oceans, or materials for replacing carrier bags.

As well as promoting the sustainability mainstream of science, technology, engineering and maths within our schools, we also need to encourage innovations in our creative industries.

In order to keep the public excited about sustainability issues, we need to inspire creative thinkers with the mission to deliver the stories that will support the businesses that are having a direct effect on the challenges of modern society.

At Middlesex University Dubai we have taken nearly 200 media students on a journey of self discovery and empowerment inspired by the UN’s Global Goals in the last three years. Other organizations such as the Dubai Lynx and entertainment giant, MBC, are also helping to mould the communications leaders of tomorrow. Many of whom, we hope, will eventually become the cheerleaders of a sustainable future.

Issue 10 | October 2018

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CEO (KSA) - UAE National

ETIHAD ESCO

GREEN J B

Seeking a Chief Operating Officer to provide the leadership, management and vision necessary to ensure that Etihad Energy Services has the proper operational controls, administrative and reporting procedures in place to effectively grow the organisation and to ensure financial strength and operating efficiency.

The position accomplishes this through a respectful, constructive and energetic style. The executive will be responsible for the strategic development, operational & financial performance of the company. ] The ideal candidate will have a Master’s degree in business or related field, have at least 9 years of strong business development/ operational experience in a senior management role, and have excellent communication skills in English and Arabic.

PRODUCT

No Aqua for Autos

W

aterWise is the UAE’s first waterless car wash service, using the greenest available products and operational services to create an unrivaled eco-friendly car wash operation. It’s unique all-weather cleaning product is completely biodegradable causing no harm to the environment. No water is needed at any step to wash a car.

Founded by Rishi and Sanuj Kohli, brothers born and brought up in Kenya, they witnessed a massive amount of poverty and lack of clean water for drinking and basic hygiene, let alone for household and car cleaning. They went on to found several projects to deal with

these issues. Waterwise is their main initiative, but they also run the LEME Group, specialising in low energy LED lighting across the MEA region. They’re also involved in solar projects in Africa.

This year WaterWise teamed up with a UK-based company specializing in the latest in waterless technology for cleaning vehicles, all the products are also 100% environmentally safe and have no effluent impact on the environment.

The solution is sprayed on the car surface with our unique Waterless solution, the paint work is then wiped

If interested, please send your CV to: etihad.jobs@etihadesco.com

with our recycled microfiber cloth then buffs to a highly polished shine.

In technical jargon, the solution works by using hi-tech ingredients that include cleaning chemicals and polymer protect ants combined into one superconvenient product. This completely eliminates the need for water, soap, hoses, chamois, buckets and waxes when cleaning your car. The solution contains a special blend of trade-secret surfactants, which lift-up and suspend the dirt from the surface, where it is swept away with the proper toweling without shimmering, smearing or scratching the bodywork.

59

The Sustainabilist | WATER

INDEX

Available Surface Water Available Surface Water per capita and year 2010

Middle of the Road [m3/year/cap] <500

absolute water scarcity

<1000

water scarcity

<1700

water stress

<2500 >2500

Available Surface Water per capita and year 2050

Middle of the Road [m3/year/cap] <500

absolute water scarcity

<1000

water scarcity

<1700

water stress

<2500 >2500

Water per capita [m3/year/cap]

2010

2050 optimum and worst case

2050 (% of 2010) between best, middle & worst case scenarios

Bahrain

450

120-250

27-56%

Jordan

550

220-230

40-42%

Oman

720

570-720

79%-100%

Saudi Arabia

1020

400-690

39%-68%

Pakistan

1250

600-860

48%-69%

United Arab Emirates

1420

600-1220

42%-86%

Singapore

1680

1340-1400

80%-83%

China

1690

1720-1920

102%-114%

Source : Working Paper, Water Futures and Solution, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis

60

YOU BRING THE ATTITUDE, WE BRING THE KNOW-HOW.

Why should you consider a sustainability report?

IT’s time to:

IDENTIFY

MEASURE

Make your achievements count

Define your long-term vision

MANAGE

CHANGE

Build resilience into your core business model

Adopt world leading best practices

Dubai Carbon is the ‘go-to’ thought leader with the ability to connect the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to the GRI Reporting Framework.

Dubai Carbon provides tailor-made solutions to accelerate sustainable change. Our collaborative framework allows you to kick-start your sustainability reporting journey in the point most suitable for your internal capacity and experience.

•

Differentiate: Harness sustainability as a true business benefit and differentiate from competitors.

•

Save time & money: On-going management and reporting makes life easier and far less expensive.

•

Develop together: Create a culture that encourages new ideas and innovations.

Share and learn about best practices within the company, customers and peer groups.

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Attract top talent: Strong sustainability programs are a great way to attract, engage and retain talent.

Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence PJSC PO Box 333992, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Phone +971 4 322 9853 Facsimile +971 4 385 4295 Email info@dcce.ae www.dcce.ae