Every Drop Matters: DEWA's Water Conservation Campaign

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has launched a new awareness campaign whose theme is Every Drop Matters, to raise awareness among Dubai residents on the need to rationalise water use. This is done by adopting environmentally-friendly practices and behaviour to reduce wasting water and ensure its sustainability for generations to come. The campaign coincides with World Water Week held in Stockholm, Sweden from 23-28 August 2015 under the theme Water for Development. Every Drop Matters campaign is part of the awareness initiatives and programmes that DEWA launches periodically to encourage all society to use natural resources responsibly. These enhance people’s environmental green practices, thus contributing to establishing a culture of sustainability and supporting the sustainable development of Dubai. “This new awareness campaign supports DEWA’s development plans and strategies to strengthen the foundations of the environmental suitability in Dubai. This supports the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to promote the sustainable and comprehensive development of Dubai. The campaign also supports the Dubai Plan 2021 to make Dubai a smart, integrated, and connected city whose elements are clean, healthy, and sustainable,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA. Al Tayer noted that the campaign stems from DEWA’s realisation of the growing importance of Dubai’s water wealth, especially in light of the ongoing fast-paced urban development. With the lack of drinking water, sources such as rivers and the challenges in groundwater extraction, we provide fresh drinking water as per the highest international standards through desalination. This accounts for 99.5% of water produced in Dubai. He noted that DEWA’s installed capacity is 470 million imperial gallons of desalinated water per day. Al Tayer noted that compared to the industrial and commercial sectors, in 2014 water consumption was highest in the residential sector with 59% of total water use. Commercial customers used 28%, non-commercial buildings used 10%, while industrial customers used 3%. “DEWA’s various initiatives and awareness programmes effectively contribute to supporting the national efforts to achieve a sustainable future for the residents. The efforts achieve savings in water use. DEWA managed to achieve impressive results in reducing water use over the past six years through our various campaigns, with a total saving of over 5.4 billion gallons of water. We will continue to reduce use percentages in the coming years. This will only be achieved through joint efforts and the effective participation of individuals in supporting our efforts to reduce water consumption and ensure its sustainability through responsible use,” concluded Al Tayer.