Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has completed construction of the first stage of the Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) project for desalinated water and has started the operations and testing stage.
According to a WAM report, the ASR project will be able to store up to 6,000 million imperial gallons of water once completed. It is scheduled to be finished by 2025 as a strategic reserve and will be the largest ASR of its kind in the world for the storage of potable water and retrieval in case of emergency.
The project will help secure the emirate with an additional source of potable water strategic reserve of 50MIGD for 90 days in emergencies, while ensuring the quality of the stored water, the report said.
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dewa, said the new project supports DEWA’s efforts to increase the storage capacity of Dubai to reach 7,212 MIG in 2025 when compared to the present storage capacity of 822 MIG.
“We support the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to provide a state-of-the-art, integrated, and resilient infrastructure of electricity and water in Dubai according to the highest standards of availability, reliability, efficiency and safety.
The ASR project increases the sustainable production of water in Dubai. It uses clean solar power to desalinate seawater using the latest Reverse Osmosis (RO) technologies. Excess water is stored in aquifers and pumped back into the water network when needed.
The cost of this innovative integrated model is less than the cost of traditional reservoirs, and is a sustainable, eco-friendly, economical solution. It also emphasises Dubai’s ability to anticipate and shape the future, Al Tayer said.
“This helps to ensure meeting the rapidly growing demand for water across different areas in Dubai for all citizens, residents and visitors. Besides the ASR project, DEWA is working on a 120 MIG reservoir in Al Nakhali and another 60 MIG reservoir in Al Lusaily,” he added.
The production capacity of desalinated water of DEWA is currently 490 MIGD, including 63MIGD using Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) technology. By 2030, SWRO will help expand its production capacity to 303 MIGD, increasing it to 730 MIGD of desalinated water by 2030, the report concluded.
