Water consumption pattern in the traditional villas of Abu Dhabi

Abstract

The municipal water consumption in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is extremely high (565 to 920 litre per capita per day (lpcd)), despite of their limited water resources. The residential activities account for about 52% of their expensive desalinated water. In 2013, the total available desalinated water in the Abu Dhabi was about 244,666 million imperial gallons. This high residential water consumption is driven by their high indoor and outdoor water end uses. It was informed by the water authorities that the residential water consumption rates in the Abu Dhabi are particularly high in the traditional villa type detached houses. This study investigated the pattern of water consumptions in medium sized villas and identified the factors affecting their water consumption. The water meter reading data for a consecutive 12 month period were collected from 100 villas located in a residential compound in Abu Dhabi. All villas are uniform in their plot (2050 m2) and building (750 m2) sizes. The villas are connected to the water distribution system by a service connection pipe (Medium Density Polyethylene) of diameter 20 mm, except three villas that have two service connection pipes. In order to verify the collected meter reading data from individual villas, the district area meter (DAM) reading was also collected for the same period. It was found that the supplied water (DAM reading) was approximately 5% more than the accumulated water consumption in all villas. This additional water was used for network flushing, fire demand and lines losses. The average monthly sewer flow (wastewater volume) from all villas were also collected. After collection of the number of people information on villas, it was found that the average per capita water consumption rate is more than 2500 lpcd. The summer (May –August) consumption was found about 5% more than that of other months. The average indoor water consumption rate was estimated approximately 350 lpcd. The regression analysis confirmed that water consumption in the villas is not significantly dependent on the number of people live in villas, which is attributable to the fact that about 85% of water are used for outdoor activities (plantation, car washing, etc.). Finally, it was recommended to reduce the outdoor water consumption by introducing alternative water sources such as the treated sewage effluent and the treated greywater.