Blog number 2

Dubai Groundwater: 

SheikhMohammad Al Maktoum created Dubai out of scratch. The discovery for water resources remained ambiguous. How did a multibillion-dollar city manage to create the water supply in the middle of nowhere? The costs of initial investments were extremely high, but higher risk yields greater reward. We will study how Dubai’s natural water resources have impacted the changing environment.

Zone of Aeration: 

Dubai has two water purification systems. Natural groundwater recharge produces approximately 300 million cubic meters per year and Brackish groundwater is used for the irrigation of date palms, but produces only 200 million cubic meters of water annually. 90% of the groundwater has salt, so relying on two irrigation systems to remove the salt is pivotal to help with the increasing demand of consumers. This is important for zone of aeration because water and air occupy the pore spaces below the surface

Zone of Saturation:

Groundwater is the main “natural” resource for Dubai. The total volume of natural groundwater resource accounts for only 3% of the total water supply. Desalination plants that make seawater potable constitute the remaining 97% of Dubai’s water.  Therefore, Dubai doesn’t get its water naturally, so it relies on alternative resources such as water irrigation systems to extract water resources. The cost of purchasing a Dasani water bottle is higher than a liter of gas. Due to the rapid expansion, issues such as over-abstraction causing over-irrigation and a sharp drop of fresh groundwater, salt-water intrusion from the sea in coastal regions, and water quality problems rising in nitrate concentrations, the ground below the water table has caused significant problems due to the sensitive geographic location in the desert. Desalination plants supply a vast majority of drinking water for Dubai; however, the plants are costly to run and negatively impact the Persian Gulf Sea.

Links used:
http://www.wwdmag.com/channel/casestudies/aerators-eliminate-bulking-dubai-treatment-planthttp://www.uaeinteract.com/spanish/news/default.asp?ID=365http://www.arabwatercouncil.org/AWF/Downloads/Sessions/Topic1/P2-3-Mohamed-AlMulla-UAE-State-of-Water-Report.pdfhttps://www.slb.com/~/media/Files/resources/oilfield_review/ors00/spr00/p30_51.pdf