ABU DHABI // A nationwide plan is needed to increase the amount of water held in back-up supplies, officials said yesterday.
The Government has instructed the Ministry of Environment and Water and the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) to make the issue a top priority. Majid al Mansouri, EAD's secretary general, said a technical committee comprising high-ranking officials and experts would be formed in the next few weeks.
With its reliance on desalination for more than 90 per cent of its water, the UAE is vulnerable to sea pollution. Strategic underground reserves could be the last line of defence in the event of a serious oil spill incident or large-scale bloom of harmful algae such as the one that affected the east coast in 2008 and 2009. Aquifer recharge - a process in which water is pumped deep into underground aquifers that have existed for thousands of years - has been identified as the best option.
"The underground storage has proved technically efficient compared with the health, economic and environmental implications of surface storage," said Dr Rashid Ahmed bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water. "It also helps in reducing pollution and reducing the need for water treatment, compared with other alternatives that need treatment and renewal as a result of stagnation of stored water," Dr bin Fahad said.
The minister yesterday opened the Seventh International Symposium on Managed Aquifer Recharge in the capital. Expected to attract more than 300 delegates from 51 countries, the event is organised by EAD and Schlumberger Water Services, a private company. Abu Dhabi already has plans to increase its underground emergency storage - currently enough to last for 30 days. Tomorrow, the symposium will close with a visit to Liwa, where work on a Dh1.6 billion project to pump fresh water deep underground is under way. The project includes 350 monitoring wells, a pumping station and 70 kilometres of pipes.
When work is completed, in 2012, up to 32 million litres of water per day will be pumped underground. The water will be provided by desalination plants in Al Mirfa and Shuweihat which have excess capacity. "In case of emergency, 40 million gallons [182m litres] of water per day can be withdrawn," said Mr Mansouri. Later this year, a contract will be awarded to build a similar project in Al Shweib, he said. There, excess capacity from a desalination plant on the east coast will be pumped underground.
Once the Liwa project is completed, there will be enough emergency water for 90 days. With the completion of work in Al Shweib and another project now being planned, the storage will last a year. Boosting the capital's emergency reserves is one of the recommendations of the Abu Dhabi Water Resources Master Plan, was published in March last year. At an average of 550 litres per person per day, the rate of water usage in the UAE is among the highest in the world.
vtodorova@thenational.ae
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
Company%20Profile
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TUESDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 2pm:
Malin Cilic (CRO) v Benoit Paire (FRA) [8]
Not before 4pm:
Dan Evans (GBR) v Fabio Fogini (ITA) [4]
Not before 7pm:
Pablo Carreno Busta (SPA) v Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) [2]
Roberto Bautista Agut (SPA) [5] v Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)
Court One
Starting at 2pm
Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND) v Dennis Novak (AUT)
Joao Sousa (POR) v Filip Krajinovic (SRB)
Not before 5pm:
Rajeev Ram (USA) and Joe Salisbury (GBR) [1] v Marin Cilic v Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Nikoloz Basilashvili v Ricardas Berankis (LTU)
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Match info
Liverpool 3
Hoedt (10' og), Matip (21'), Salah (45 3')
Southampton 0
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Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Profile box
Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
Company%20profile
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley