Abu Dhabi, the capital city of United Arab Emirates has launched a campaign to install water saving devices free of charge in every household of the Emirate.
The 'Watersavers' will ensure that the monthly water bills for Abu Dhabi households will drop by an average of dirham 100 dirham ($27.22), officials said on Thursday.
Residents would benefit from the saving after the government completes the campaign and the officials estimate to save 75 billion litres of water annually once all of the capital's 220,000 household have been fitted out.
The campaign, which is being spearheaded by the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, was launched on Thursday.
Under the plan, every tap in the emirate will be fitted with these devices within three years. It will cover every home, school, mosque, government and commercial buildings in the emirate. More than half a million devices would be necessary to complete all buildings, officials said.
Abu Dhabi has one of the highest rates of personal water consumption rates in the world and residents consume an average of up to 550 litres of water per person per day, almost three times as high as the UN benchmark rate of 180 litres.
During the first phase of the campaign, 55,000 homes were expected to be completed within 12 months. "Starting May 27, around 330,000 water-saving devices will be fitted into 55,000 homes," Mohammad Dawoud, Water Resources Scientist and Manager at EAD said.
The water-saving devices consist of an O-ring and mesh gauze and work by mixing air with water, reducing the flow of water from the tap by as much as 60 per cent without noticeable effect to the person consuming the water.
According to estimates, as much as 550 litres could be saved per day per household, amounting to 75 billion litres annually, or as much as 30,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.
"All we are asking people to do is to let the water installers in when they visit their homes," he said. Tenants would be informed of the campaign via house-to-house marketing and an intensive local advertising drive in the district.
