Soaring demand for treated sewage effluent(TSE) produced by Dubai Municipality could lead to shortages this summer due to increased demand from district cooling units and agriculture.

Speaking at the MEED Arabian World Construction Summit (AWCS) on 13 May, Dubai Municipality assistant general director for planning & engineering Abdullah Rafia said that TSE production in the emirate is now 700,000 cubic metres a day.

Until the municipality launched its TSE commercialisation programme, all the TSE was used in irrigation or dumped in the creek. The commericialisation programme involves selling TSE at 15 per cent of the price charged for potable water by the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA). This prompted strong demand from district cooling businesses.

Rafia said that the unexpected development of TSE shortages will ultimately by addressed by the growth in Dubai’s population and the completion of a new sewage treatment plant in Jebel Ali. Rafia said that this project is now under study.