Perfect timing

As temperatures across the Middle East head towards the summer peak, the reality of the region's harsh environment and lack of fresh water supplies becomes much more apparent.

During eight months of the year, water is taken often for granted, but under the oppressive heat of July and August few can fail to appreciate how valuable a commodity potable water in a desert really is - which makes this the ideal time to hammer home the message to use water wisely, both to residents and businesses alike.

It might appear somewhat of a paradox for a utility company that makes its profits from selling water to consumers to tell its customers to use less. But the fact is that with the rapid rate of development in the region, supplies are tightening and new desalination plants cannot be thrown up fast enough. On top of that, desalting water is an expensive and energy-intensive process, the true cost of which is often not reflected in the price to end-users. So when resources are squandered it is of no benefit to producers, consumers or the environment.

Looking around the region's cities it is easy to spot wastage, such as leaking pipes and misdirected sprinklers spraying streets instead of flowers. (And as an amateur horticulturalist it also irks me to see plants being watered during the heat of the day; they don't like it!)

The growing interest in using treated sewage effluent for irrigation, however, and to a lesser extent for district cooling, along with the inclusion of water recycling systems in new developments is a positive trend in the region that is reducing the volumes of potable water used for non-potable applications.

Utility companies, too, are becoming more alert to the need to reduce system losses, through improved maintenance and repair regimes. Some are even in the process of setting up programmes to educate school children on the benefits of conserving water. But still more can be done.

A sustained and hard-hitting water conservation campaign in the UK during the late 80s resulted in a dramatic shift in domestic and commercial consumption patterns: as someone who dutifully read all the literature, to this day I cannot brush my teeth with the tap running without feeling guilty.

A similar campaign would work wonders here in the arid Middle East, and the next couple of months would be the perfect time to do it.

Elizabeth Bains is the editor of Utilities Middle East.

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