Water substitutes - Khaleej Times
Certain features of the municipal supply in the UAE mean that if there is a breakdown in one part of the system there is no buffer. First most municipal water here is pumped. There are few water towers that could supply by gravity feed. Thus, if a supply line breaks (or the electricity that runs the pumps goes out) the water flow stops. Or, if a desalination plant breakdown the flow of water into system cannot match the demands on the system. Some buyers are unable to carry out their plans to purchase municipal water: i.e., there is a shortage.
With a less reliable/resilient system you would expect to see consumers taking precautions and holding reserves of their own. That's exactly what we see in the UAE.
The lady said her enquiries with the emergency section at the Federal Electricity and Water Authority only drew different replies. "One day, we were told that the desalination plant was not working, and the very next day, the excuse was that the pipe feeding Al Zahra areas had broken. Both times, I was assured that supply would be resumed by 5am the next morning," she said, adding that when the waiting game took a bad turn, they decided to buy water from tankers till the problem was solved.Why did she have a 900 gallon tank to begin with if her house is connected to the municipal water line? Was it because the municipal water supply is so unreliable that it is prudent to have large quantities on hand?
"I had to fill the water tanks for our daily use. I bought 900 gallons, which is the capacity of the water tanks in my house. I was shocked when the company charged me Dh120. The supplier justified the increase in price from just Dh70 they used to charge on normal days for the same quantity, stating that the extra cost was on account of transportation of water from Jebel Ali in Dubai," she said, adding: "Since I was desperate for water, I agreed to the price."
Certain features of the municipal supply in the UAE mean that if there is a breakdown in one part of the system there is no buffer. First most municipal water here is pumped. There are few water towers that could supply by gravity feed. Thus, if a supply line breaks (or the electricity that runs the pumps goes out) the water flow stops. Or, if a desalination plant breakdown the flow of water into system cannot match the demands on the system. Some buyers are unable to carry out their plans to purchase municipal water: i.e., there is a shortage.
With a less reliable/resilient system you would expect to see consumers taking precautions and holding reserves of their own. That's exactly what we see in the UAE.
posted by John B. Chilton at 4/03/2005 08:27:00 PM
1 Comments:
Dear Desert Island Boy:
I very much appreciate the insights you have provided. Such quality writing in a comment section is to be much admired.
It sounds as if the water pressure issue is taken care of in the (U.S.) systems I am familiar with by a distributed system of elevated water towers owned by the water company (usually the municipality). In tall buildings that are above the height of water towers the building owners have a top floor water tank that serves the building in order to maintain water pressure.
What desert island boy says is true. In many places in the Emirates residences have rooftop water tanks. Municipal water towers do exist, but casual observation suggests there is less capacity than you see in the U.S. Hence, the incentive for each household to have a private rooftop tank.
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