The world celebrates ‘World Water Day’ on 22 March every year to raise awareness on water issues and challenges that threaten international water security, including climate change, population growth, urban growth, and poor water management in some areas. On this day, we at Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) reiterate our commitment to supporting international efforts to find sustainable solutions to reducing water wastage, in adherence with the wise vision and directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
We take this responsibility seriously and work towards enhancing water services as this is critical for our future welfare. DEWA provides water services according to the highest international standards of efficiency, reliability and sustainability, to meet current and future demands in Dubai. Currently DEWA provides 470 million gallons of desalinated water per day, while water network losses decreased to 8% in 2016, compared to 15% in North America.
In adherence with our vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility, we are committed to adopting the latest technological innovations, and the best international practices, in addition to conducting many awareness programmes to encourage the community to adopt a culture of rational water consumption. Our efforts to reduce water consumption over the last 8 years have achieved remarkable results. Cumulative savings have equated to over 6 billion gallons of water, which is enough to fill over 11,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
By celebrating World Water Day, we look forward to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN, especially those relating to the availability of water to all, to ensure food security, wellbeing, and environmental security.