Water Management Policy Memo

City of Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Leigh Ann Llarena

City Planning 119
Charisma Acey
December 14, 2018
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University of California, Berkeley

City Planning 119/ Fall 2019- Planning for Sustainability

Date: December 14, 2018

Memorandum for: Marita Peters
Executive Director, UAE of Surge’s United Arab Emirates Chapter
From: Leigh Ann Llarena
Subject: Implementing UAE Water Security Strategy 2036 and Dubai Electricity
and Water Authority’s Corporate Governance & Strategy Dubai, UAE-
Issue: Local Water Management

Purpose
Dubai, the “city of the future”, is known for its innovations, modern architecture and

home to the world’s tallest building known as the Burj Khalifa. As the largest city in the United

Arab Emirates of about 2,504,000 residents in 2016, its numbers are only projected to grow

throughout the years (“Dubai Population 2018 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs),” n.d.). Water

management is encouraged to be one of the city’s top priority in ensuring accessibility and

sustainability of the most vulnerable populations in the city, especially, being situated in an

interesting and arid landscape.

Summary of Findings
1. Dubai has a growing migrant worker population living in labour camps with improper

water sources.

2. Desalination plants are the main source of water in Dubai. These plants are expensive

to maintain. Furthermore, it has larger environmental implications to the surrounding

areas.

Recommendations:
1. Highlight the methodology of assessing feedback from various stakeholders.
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2. Improve transparency of advertisement methods, distribution of information

regarding the plans, and integrating the public’s voices into the planning and evaluation

processes.

3. Outreach and form partnerships to improve water distribution and treatment in

vulnerable, low-income communities (e.g. labour camps).

Introduction

Water is one of our basic necessities in order to live. The United Arab Emirates (UAE)

obtain its potable water from groundwater sources and desalination plants to meet the needs

of rural and urban areas of the country. As of 2015, there are about 33 major water

desalination plants in the UAE (“Water Resources in UAE,” n.d.). Maintaining these plants are

costly, in addition, it continues to raise the salinity levels along the coastal areas creating major

impacts to aquatic life and the changing pH levels of the ocean. “Salinity levels has risen to

47,000 parts per million, from 32,000 about 30 years ago. That is enough.. to threaten local

fauna and marine life” (Alderman, 2010). With the livelihood of fishermen being at risk in the

area, the release of carbon from these plants are increasingly contributing to global warming. It

is playing a part in the constant alteration of the environment that humans are constantly

making. Moreover, the growing density of the city has led to an increase of wastewater. Other

alternative sources of water such as wastewater treatment and cloud seeding are viable,

however, they are still relatively new methods for the city.
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The byproduct of desalination plants poses great impacts to our livelihoods,

nevertheless, the distribution and use of water are very competitive. Two main factors that are

increasing water consumption and waste generations are the luxurious lifestyles of UAE

residents and the lack of conservation measures (“Water Challenges in UAE,” n.d.). The demand

for water continues to increase as the use of water is not mitigated. In the figure below, 60% of

water supply resources like (e.g. groundwater, surface water, and non-conventional sources)

are used in agriculture (“Water Use in UAE,” n.d.). There is a huge discrepancy in the amount of

water used in each sector.

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With the city’s fast-growing economy, it is no surprise that many individuals have moved

into the city looking for economic opportunities making it one of the fastest growing cities of

the world. The demographic breakdown of Dubai is 15% native residents and about 85% are

composed of expatriates or a "person living outside of their native country”. Many of these

expatriates are coming from countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Philippines who have

come to Dubai looking for work (“Dubai Population 2018 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs),” n.d.).

Most of them live in labour camps with little to no potable water and sewage treatment.

The planning documents that I have chosen are the Dubai Electricity and Water

Authority (DEWA) Corporate Governance and Strategy Plan and the UAE Water Security

Strategy 2036. DEWA’s local plan highlights the importance of the stakeholders’ satisfaction in

creating a sustainable future for generations to come (“Dubai Electricity & Water

Authority (DEWA) | Corporate Governance & Strategy,” n.d.). In the other hand, the UAE

Water Security Strategy 2036 aims to create a sustainable and continuous access to water for

normal and emergency use. It encompases three action programs, one being the Water

Demand Management program promoting rationalization of individual’s water consumption

and reducing the loss in their water network. The second program is the Water Supply

Management highlighting the use of renewable energy sources and promoting the use of

treated wastewater and water harvesting techniques. Lastly, there is the Water Security

Strategy addressing the highest priority risks affecting the water sector (“News | Media Centre

| Ministry of Energy and Industry in UAE,” n.d.).

Water treatment and management encompasses major equity and sustainability issues

in a growing urban center of Dubai with an increasing need for water. Therefore, it is my
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recommendation that Surge UAE organization consider and enforce the action items

highlighted in the rest of this memorandum below.

Evaluation

The DEWA’s Corporate Governance and Strategy and the UAE Water Security Strategy

2036 possess great potential in improving water management in the city of Dubai. DEWA’s plan

highlights the importance of sustainability for future generations within stakeholders in the

federal and local level (“Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) | Corporate

Governance & Strategy,” n.d.). Their vision plan of the city is quite broad with no concrete

actions of how they would achieve a sustainable city, however, this is a great beginning as it

allows everyone to be on the same page with the trajectory of the city.

Moreover, DEWA’s phase six action item in their plan called “Innovate, Improve and

Adapt,” states the continuous effort in “reviewing and updating the plan… where deemed

necessary and finding and adapting existing processes” (“Dubai Electricity & Water

Authority (DEWA) | Corporate Governance & Strategy,” n.d.). This phase indicates the

level of flexibility and open-mindedness of the city’s water management program to improve

and fit the needs of the city based on feedback.

UAE Water Security Strategy 2036 plan includes improving the connectivity of water and

electricity entities across the UAE by building six connecting networks (“The UAE Water Security

Strategy 2036 - The Official Portal of the UAE Government,” n.d.). This would provide 91 litres

of water per person in case of emergency or 30 litres per person in cases of extreme

emergency. Moreover, it would mean that there would be a reduction in carbon dioxide

emissions associated with desalination plants due to utilizing water and electricity together. It
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would be cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and does not put anyone’s livelihood at risk

with the increasing ocean salinity.

However, these plans are incomplete. DEWA’s plan is too general. It does not offer

concrete action items that would imply proper execution of economic, environmental, and

equity issues and interests. The plan is in its preliminary stages. The figure below is a map of the

organization’s plan from bottom up.

UAE’s Water Security Strategy plan is “[promoting] environmental and economic

sustainability in urban water consumption, ​through coordinating and supporting existing efforts

in the country to reduce the loss in the water network...”​(“News | Media Centre | Ministry of

Energy and Industry in UAE,” n.d.)​. Similar to your educational programs that allow youth,

companies, and federate organizations understand the water crisis, UAE has their own efforts

in reducing the water consumption in the country. However, coordinating and supporting
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existing efforts in the country is an injustice to communities that continue to be marginalized.

There needs to be a new initiative in forming new relationships to close the gap of water

service throughout all communities in the city.

Additionally, the UAE plan takes a stance in using “renewable energy sources, expanding

the use of treated wastewater, promoting water harvesting and reducing groundwater

extraction” ​(“News | Media Centre | Ministry of Energy and Industry in UAE,” n.d.)​. The

movement to renewable energy sources is a big step for the UAE as an oil-rich country.

However, the shift to renewable energy poses challenges of convincing the rest of the

population to adopt these techniques. There are “cultural obstacles such as convincing farmers

to use recycle water” that may be a potential pushback to utilizing wastewater treatments and

cloud seeding processes ​(“Water Resources in UAE,” n.d.)​. This discrepancy of knowledge is

where I believe Surge can serve as a major player in dismantling the stigma with renewable

energy. Your ability to educate across different audiences can aid with the receptiveness of the

general public to these new technologies.

Recommendations

1. These two planning documents does not highlight types of methodology for assessing

feedback from various stakeholders, despite stating their importance in improving the

plan. One recommendation I have is to highlight these methods of assessment. I would

urge you to encourage your local and government officers to have transparency

regarding how assessments are made. As a significant player in educating the public

about water conservation, understanding the technicalities of how these plans change

and who is making these changes are important.

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2. My second recommendation is to improve the clarity on how information is

distributed and advertised regarding where the six water to electricity connections will

be placed and if the public’s voices has a stance in that conversation. I encourage you to

bring it to the public’s attention that these plans exist and that their voices matter when

it comes to building the city for them. It starts with education and empowerment.

3. These plans are problematic if it only serves to support existing plans. Dubai has a

huge disparity with how migrant workers living in labour camps located in the

peripherals of the city are obtaining water, compared to wealthy lifestyles of other UAE

residents. Outreaching and forming partnerships to improve water distribution and

treatment in vulnerable, low-income communities like in labour camps is critical in

addressing the water needs of all. Therefore, I would encourage you to promote and

build relationships within Dubai’s growing labour to brainstorm impactful solutions in

ensuring longevity and water access to everyone.

Some factors that may repudiate these recommendations are the questions of funding,

location, and capacity within your organization. “There are estimated about 5,000-6,000

[labour camps] in Dubai” (Haider, n.d.). Being able to establish networks in these communities

may be difficult due to not having enough representatives to cover all of these areas. These

labour camps are “better described as shantytowns, [with] inadequate sewage and ventilation,

substandard drinking water, sleeping facilities and unsanitary food preparations” (Boston & Ma

02115 +1495‑1000, n.d.). Living in these type of conditions is horrendous which makes this

work even more important. Another factor is finding funding to expand educational programs,

outreach efforts, and publicity. It is important to encourage everyone in Dubai and in the UAE
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to conserve water. The average water consumption in the UAE is around 550 litres per person a

day. That is doubled the global average of around 250 litres per person per day (“Water

Challenges in UAE,” n.d.). Moreover, many of these labour workers have their passport

withheld from them by their employment agency indefinitely (“Inside Dubai’s labour camps |

World news | The Guardian,” n.d.). Not only are they living without proper access to water,

their status becomes a human rights issue that needs urgent attention. Surge is a great model

to make that change. We shouldn’t give up. With your values and the government values

aligning, funding can be requested in the government level to start a national campaign and

movement in creating a sustainable and equitable city.

Conclusion

Dubai is a growing city with various economic possibilities. Its growing population

signifies the city’s success in economic development. However, with a growing population

comes with an increase need and demand for water. The needs of expatriates should be

considered as they make up about 85% of the population. The plans are general and bypass

serving the working class. Further examination and evaluation should occur with increasing

transparency with assessment, advertisement, and communication.

No one can do it alone, but together we can.

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Bibliography

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