Strategic Overview
The UAE Water Security Strategy 2036 was launched in 2017 to address what is arguably the federation’s most existential resource challenge. The UAE is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world, with per capita freshwater availability well below the international water poverty threshold. Natural freshwater resources are negligible — groundwater reserves have been severely depleted through decades of agricultural extraction, and rainfall is minimal and erratic. The country depends overwhelmingly on desalination for its potable water supply, making it vulnerable to energy supply disruptions, infrastructure failure, and the rising costs associated with desalination technology.
The strategy sets a 2036 horizon with three core objectives: reduce total water demand by 21 percent, increase water reuse to 95 percent of treated wastewater, and build emergency strategic water storage capacity sufficient to cover a minimum number of days of national demand. These targets are designed to be achieved through a combination of demand management, supply diversification, infrastructure investment, and technological innovation.
Demand Management
The UAE’s per capita water consumption is among the highest in the world, driven by subsidised tariffs, inefficient agricultural practices, landscaping norms adapted poorly to desert conditions, and rapid urbanisation. The water security strategy addresses demand through a multi-pronged approach: tariff reform to introduce price signals for conservation, smart metering and leak detection across distribution networks, mandatory water efficiency standards for buildings and appliances, and public awareness campaigns.
Agricultural water use presents a particularly acute challenge. The farm sector consumes a disproportionate share of total water supply relative to its economic contribution, and much of this consumption relies on depleted groundwater. The strategy calls for a transition to water-efficient irrigation technologies, controlled environment agriculture, and crop selection aligned with arid conditions. These agricultural reforms intersect with the National Food Security Strategy, which must balance food production targets against water conservation imperatives.
Desalination and Supply Diversification
Desalination will remain the backbone of the UAE’s water supply for the foreseeable future. The water security strategy directs investment toward next-generation desalination technologies — particularly reverse osmosis, which is significantly less energy-intensive than the thermal desalination plants that have historically dominated the UAE’s desalination fleet. New facilities, including the Taweelah reverse osmosis plant (one of the world’s largest), represent this technological transition.
Supply diversification extends beyond desalination to include treated wastewater reuse, rainwater harvesting, and cloud seeding. The UAE has invested substantially in cloud seeding technology through the UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science, which funds international research into precipitation enhancement. Treated wastewater reuse, currently employed primarily for district cooling and landscaping, is being expanded toward agricultural and industrial applications under the strategy’s 95 percent reuse target.
Strategic Reserves
A distinctive feature of the strategy is the mandate for strategic water reserves. Given the UAE’s near-total dependence on desalination, any disruption to desalination plant operations — whether from equipment failure, energy supply interruption, or security threats — could create an immediate water crisis. The strategy establishes requirements for underground storage of treated water in natural aquifers, creating a buffer supply that can sustain the population during emergency periods.
Abu Dhabi has led implementation through the Liwa Aquifer Storage and Recovery project, which stores desalinated water underground for emergency retrieval. This approach provides more cost-effective and resilient storage than above-ground tank systems, though it requires careful management to prevent water quality degradation during storage.
Federal Coordination
Water governance in the UAE spans federal policy (Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure), emirate-level utilities (EWEC in Abu Dhabi, DEWA in Dubai, SEWA in Sharjah, FEWA in northern emirates), and municipal authorities responsible for distribution and wastewater treatment. The water security strategy provides a federal framework for aligning these entities, but execution capacity and investment levels vary significantly across emirates. The strategy’s success depends on sustained capital investment, effective tariff reform, and behavioural change at the consumer level — all of which face political and social constraints that must be navigated alongside the technical challenges.