Anoop K. Menon
The water challenges facing our region requires all sectors to play their part in ensuring that our already scarce and expensive water resources are utilised in the most efficient manner. The region’s rapid urbanisation has resulted in the building sector emerging as a major water consumer. In Dubai, for example, the biggest consumer of potable water is the residential sector (60%), while the next big consumer is the commercial sector (25%). Hence, the building sector can play an important role in ensuring the efficient use of water in our cities.
To identify water-saving opportunities, it is important that facility managers and engineers understand how and where water is used within the building. Experts advocate the creation of a baseline for water demand by reviewing past utility bills (longer the review period, the better) as the starting point. By dividing gross water consumption by an appropriate performance measure, the facility can obtain a single measure to compare water savings. Many cities in the US and Europe allow submetering to obtain an accurate picture of individual consumption. In the UAE, though, the concept seems to have made inroads only into the privatised District Cooling sector. Benchmarking can be a useful tool to compare performance with the best in the field. For example, at Dubai International Academic City Phase 3, which is the first and the largest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified academic facility in the Middle East, domestic water consumption was successfully benchmarked against the US EPA standard and past DIAC consumption levels.
After fixing the different sources and levels of water demand, options for reducing the demand can be investigated. This includes water efficiency, recycling and re-use, though water efficiency is, perhaps, the most cost effective of the three and should be embarked on first. A good example is the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi’s (EAD) campaign to install aerators in every tap in every home, school, mosque, government and commercial building in Abu Dhabi. Aerators reduce water use by combining air with water as it comes out of the tap. In the case of Abu Dhabi, these devices, which cost just under Dh7 each, will be installed free-of-charge. EAD hopes to save 75 billion litres per year (equivalent to the output of a large desalination plant) across Abu Dhabi through this initiative.
While evaluating the different water-saving options, it is important to understand the relative capital and operational costs for each option, their direct and indirect benefits and the maximum payback period. In Europe and US, grants; subsidies; rebate programmes from water utilities, municipalities or governments and industry-funded initiatives have helped reduce the payback period. But payback also depends on behavioural aspects with regard to water use, especially when the relatively low cost of water in the region obscures the ‘true cost of business-as-usual water consumption’ and, therefore, the value of increased efficiency. Hence, it is important to bring about behavioural change through awareness drives, education, incentives and training.
Anoop K. Menon
