Meeting Abu Dhabi's High Water Demands

WaterWorld Middle East 2014 comes to Abu Dhabi in October in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company (ADSSC). Comprising an exhibition floor featuring leading companies in the water and wastewater sector, WaterWorld Middle East is accompanied by a dedicated peer reviewed conference programme, developed by the industry for the industry.

Delegates will have the chance to visit the STEP Visitor Centre in Abu Dhabi and find out more about the multi-billion dirham project

Spurred on by a buoyant economy and population growth, the GCC countries are looking to invest $130 billion over the next decade to meet future demand and introduce new measures to achieve long-term sustainable water and energy supplies.

With Abu Dhabi's population currently forecasted to exceed five million by 2030, demand for potable water is expected to double. Three major desalination projects are currently in the works but increased water demand will mean further capacity is needed.One of these projects is the Al Zawra independent water project that will use reverse osmosis (RO) membranes to produce 136,400 m3/day in the Emirate of Ajman.

A total of 39 million cubic meters per day of desalination capacity is expected to be added between 2010 and 2020 in the Middle East region. This translates into an approximate investment of between USD 45 - 50 billion.

WaterWorld Middle East 2014 will have two conference sessions on desalination: "Thermal Desalination – Energy Optimisation" and also "Membrane Operational Improvements".

Water consumption rates are already high in the Emirate State with current estimations putting unaccounted for distribute desalinated water losses at 20%.

Plans have been set out to use new technologies and reduce this by 10-15% by 2030. Utility Sentry will address this issue in a presentation entitled "Water Losses, Leak Detection and Notification".

Bahrain's Ministry of Works will be presenting at WWME 2014

The ADSSC is undertaking an extensive expansion of its collection network including a strategic tunnel engineering project (STEP). This multi-billion dirham programme of work will deliver collection capacity which is expected to be sufficient to meet growth in the coming decades. It has a planned working life of at least 100 years.

As event partner, ADSSC will be providing a keynote address to open the even and giving an update presentation on STEP. Delegates will also have the opportunity to visit the STEP visitor centre ahead of the event as part of a technical tour, as well as MASDAR city.

Four major wastewater treatment works in Abu Dhabi and in Al Ain have been commissioned to replace and expand the capacity of the existing plants, which are coming to the end of their working lives.

Financed in the same way as the independent water and power production plants, these independent sewage treatment plants can be expanded as needed.

In the past water deficits have been met by adding additional desalination capacity. A cheaper alternative that helps bridge the gap between demand and supply is water reuse. It's can also be a lot cheaper to produce than desalinated water. For example, recovering a cubic meter of wastewater can typically cost between USD 0.15 - 0.20. This compares to USD $1 per cubic meter cost for desalinated water.

Wastewater reuse and water recycling is going to be a major theme of WaterWorld Middle East 2014, with a session on "Wastewater Reuse Technologies", including case studies on MBBR (moving bed biofilm reactor), UV (ultraviolet treatment) and reed bed technology.

A new topic to this year's agenda is Asset Management. John Woodhouse, managing director of the Woodhouse Partnership will be delivery a presentation asset management in utility networks. He wil be joined by David Harris from Oman's Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) and Tim Kay from Black and Veatch.

Abu Dhabi aspires to become one of the most efficient users of water in the world. To find out how, visit WaterWorld Middle East 2014 taking place next month.

WaterWorld Middle East 2014 takes place on October 12-14 at ADNEC in Abu Dhabi. For more information, visit: www.waterworldmiddleeast.com/index.html.