Pattern of Water Use at the United Arab Emirates University

Yaqein Ahmed,Latifa Ebrahim,Tareefa S Alsumaiti,Rauda Abdulla,M M Yagoub

doi:10.3390/w11122652

Abstract

In this study, indoor water use at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) was assessed for three years (2016, 2017, and 2018). A geographic information system (GIS) was employed to determine where water use is high within the university, when and why water is used, who uses it, and how to minimize its usage. Diverse data were employed to elucidate the broad patterns of university water use. It was assumed that water use is directly proportional to the number of students and is lower during winter. The relationship between water use and number of students in academic buildings was modeled using least squares regression. The results indicate a low correlation between water use and the number of students, possibly due to the centralized usage of academic buildings and movement of students between them. The hypothesis of activity-driven consumption indicated that most water use occurred in residential buildings (47.5%), averaging 81.7 L per person per day (LPD). This value is lower than the metrics for dormitories in the United States (121 LPD) and Europe (143 LPD). A survey of 412 students revealed that half the respondents were not aware of water issues. Most of them (87%) preferred to drink bottled water and were not willing to use gray water for flushing (56%) or urinals (60%). The findings of this study will improve the understanding of university water use which will facilitate the development of effective water conservation policies and the establishment of such practices among the next generation.

Highlights

In its 2021 vision, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) identified water as an area that requires further research, as water is a basic human need and the country spends millions of dollars every year desalinating and transporting water to its various cities and villages [1]
Water challenges in the UAE include the severe scarcity of groundwater reserves, high salinity levels in the existing groundwater, high cost of producing drinking water, limited re-use of water, and limited collection and treatment of wastewater outside the urban areas [2]
Since females constitute around 81% of the total population, the data that could be collected reflect the general trend of water use at the university

Summary

Introduction

In its 2021 vision, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) identified water as an area that requires further research, as water is a basic human need and the country spends millions of dollars every year desalinating and transporting water to its various cities and villages [1]. The water scarcity in the UAE has forced the water departments to rely on desalination. Most of the potable water in the country (42% of the total water requirement) comes from some 70 major desalination plants [4]. More details about the impacts of desalination plants related to brine discharge, air pollution, noise, and land use planning were provided by References [1,5]

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Conclusion