Water wasters should be hit in the pocket, say UAE residents

Take our poll: The recommendation is one of many to come from a survey of 1,000 Emiratis - 84 per cent of whom admit that water is wasted in the country.

Water-saving measures and devices should be made obligatory, a study conducted by the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research says. Ryan Carter / The National

ABU DHABI // Water-saving measures and devices should be made obligatory at all public and private companies, shopping centres and in homes across the UAE, a study has found.

The recommendation was one of many made following a survey of 1,000 Emiratis, in which 84 per cent said water was wasted in the country. Fines should be imposed on offenders and the licences of commercial establishments should not be renewed in cases of gross violation, it added.

The study was conducted by the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research, and published on Monday by the state news agency, Wam.

It also found 89 per cent of graduates accepted that water was being wasted, but only 68 per cent of people with only a secondary-school education.

Abu Dhabi residents were the most likely to accept that wasted water was a problem, with 94 per cent agreeing, while citizens of Umm Al Qaiwain were the least likely, at 58 per cent.

The UAE has one of the highest water-consumption rates per head of population in the world but few natural water resources.

Other recommendations included doubling the tariff if the average rate of consumption was exceeded, and more education campaigns.

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