Today's Edition
SAEED AHMAD (ABU DHABI)
The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure has succeeded in promptly tackling the harmful impacts of weather fluctuations during 2023, including high levels of precipitation, through harnessing monitoring and surveillance technology to implement periodic and urgent maintenance to dams and Aflaj, which are traditional water systems, to increase their efficiency and sustainability.
The Ministry, in coordination with federal and local authorities, oversees 103 dams, barriers, and lakes in various regions across the UAE, with a storage capacity of 80 million cubic metres (mcm), constructed based on needs and in line with the highest safety standards to protect lives and properties.
Dams generally contribute to harvesting rainwater and enhancing groundwater reserves, which are considered one of the most important natural resources. They are also in line with the UAE’s forward-looking outlook to increase underground water levels, protect residential areas adjacent to mountainous areas, and limit the impact of crises and disasters resulting from weather fluctuations.
Sustainable Development
The UAE has paid great attention to dam projects as they help protect from the risks associated with heavy precipitation, including flooding and erosion, in addition to improving the quantity and quality of groundwater through increasing recharge rates.
Dams also constitute a key pillar of the UAE Water Security Strategy 2036 and sustainable development goals, which aim to ensure sustainable access to water during both normal and emergency conditions. It also aims to achieve prosperity and sustainability, in a manner that contributes to the wellbeing and prosperity of society and the sustainability of the growth of the national economy.
The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure is working on preparing a detailed study on the dams in the country, evaluating their needs for expansion and development through comparing the current storage capacity to annual rainfall levels. It aims to turn challenges resulting from rainfall into real development opportunities, through making use of rainwater and transforming dams into artificial lakes and the areas surrounding them into green spaces for the purpose of developing the tourism environment and supporting the UAE’s objectives in this vital area.
The Ministry operates artificial intelligence technologies to monitor the flow of rainwater, floods and torrents in valleys instantaneously and automatically. It also uses modern technology to calculate the speed, amount and depth of waterflow with great precision.
The results are sent to the control and monitoring unit at the Ministry, which uses the data in decision-making processes. The UAE is the first in the Middle East region to employ such technologies.
