New research from the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology has revealed accurate measurements of the UAE's groundwater reserves and the rate at which they are depleting, providing the government with crucial information for the optimal management of the country's freshwater reserves.

Masdar Institute graduate student, Maria del Rocio Gonzalez Sanchez, created the UAE's first ‘water budget', a term that reflects the relationship between all inputs and outputs of water through an area, and discovered that the UAE's groundwater is being pumped out for irrigation at a rate of about 860 billion litres per year, and is depleting at a rate of 0.5 centimetres a year. This is significant, considering that the UAE relies on its groundwater reserves to provide over 50% of the country's freshwater.

"Long-term planning of water related activities requires a good understanding of the various components of the water budget. It's just like managing your finances, you need to know how much money you have in savings, how much your income is, and what your expenses are, so you can manage it all efficiently," said Dr. Taha B.M.J. Ouarda, Professor of Water and Environmental Engineering and Head of the Institute Centre for Water and Environment, iWater.

While groundwater provides over half of the country's freshwater needs, most of it goes towards the agricultural sector for irrigation. Desalination provides around 37% of the UAE's water demand, which is used mostly for industrial and domestic consumption. The remaining portion, around 12%, is reclaimed water, which is used for landscaping irrigation. Since most of the UAE's water comes from groundwater, it is essential to know exactly how much groundwater the UAE currently has and can expect to have in the future.

"This effort to determine all components of the water budget has not been completely assessed in the past. With this research, we can accurately determine the amount of rainfall the UAE is getting, the amount of groundwater we're losing, and desalinated water we're producing, allowing the UAE to develop efficient and optimal water management plans," Dr. Ouarda added.
Source: WAM