Water

1972-1975              

In 1972, the late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan-May Allah rest his soul in peace- visited Abu Al Bidh Island where he came to know it closely and considered the possible types of water excavation projects that can be executed there for the purpose of starting agriculture in such an Island. He also considered the possibility of providing fishermen in these Islands, implementing electricity, education and health projects and taking care of tree planting. The ultimate objective of doing that was to establish animal farm with the aim of protecting such animals from extinction.

The late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan-May Allah rest his soul in peace- faced the problem of water shortage wisely and patiently. In 1974, he managed to do that by setting up dams such as Al Shuweib, Ham Wadi dam and Al Beeh Wadi dam to hold up rainwater and make use of them. Moreover, dam water was used in the area of agricultural lands reclamation, and establishing resorts and tourist oases. Above all, he also set up huge Gulf water desalination stations for providing drinking water or farms irrigation.

The late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan-May Allah rest his soul in peace- wasn’t satisfied only about making the desert green, but rather he made every effort to plant spacious areas with Al Qarm trees that would depend on seawater and provide an environment with rich life. That is because such places are perfect spots for laying fish eggs and attracting a large number of migrating birds. Therefore, he provided modern means of irrigation technology, water pumps, machines and fertilizers to farmers as well as agricultural counseling. Furthermore, he requested farmers to use such modern techniques including drip irrigation, which would save 60% of the consumed water in case of adopting traditional irrigation methods, fountain and sprinklers irrigation as well.   

1976-1979

In 1976, the late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan-May Allah rest his soul in peace- established the largest seawater desalination plants and set up dams to hold up rainwater to be used in creating foliage and tree planting. He also set up Al Shuweib dam in Al Ain city with the total cost of one billion and 250 million UAE Dirhams to save 31 million cubic meters of rainwater. The total storage capacity amounts to billions of water gallons. Dam water is used in surrounding land reclamation for the purpose of cultivating these areas, establishing resorts and tourist oases that would attract visitors. Dam is 3000 square meters long, 8 meters deep, 17 meters high where you can find the top of it a paved road.                          

In 1979, the late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan-May Allah rest his soul in peace- ordered that 120 wells in leoa be dug as a first phase to be then followed by digging other 700 wells to provide water in the area. The ultimate aim of doing that was to increase agricultural areas and arable lands. He also ordered that the nomad areas be developed by growing 40000 trees to serve as wind shields for palm farms, 50 traditional housings be built and distributed to UAE nationals and some other industrial establishments or companies be set up. He also ordered that Zayed Vegetables production factory glasshouses project be implemented. 

1980-1983

In 1980, the late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan-May Allah rest his soul in peace- opened irrigation projects in Al Ain city that are based on utilizing al falaj water to contribute to irrigating a spacious area planted with palm orchards. In 1983, he also ordered that dams for holding up rainwater in Dalma Island be established and new farms be opened. Then, he continued his tour to Ghaiathi where he checked upon the situation there and ordered that reclamation of agricultural lands in Leoa be carried out and new farms be established. Moreover, he ordered that 6 dams for water storage be set up and other 4 dams, which were donated by one of UAE nationals, that modern irrigation systems be adopted and exotic plants, especially syrup palm trees be introduced to the country.  

1984-1987

In 1987, the late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan-May Allah rest his soul in peace- requested Abu Dhabi Electricity and Water Department to increase water pumping in Al Marfah, Al Selah, Dalma areas and Seer Baniyas Island by installing 10 new distillers for the purpose of increasing water quantities by 5 million gallons per day. He also ordered that dams for holding up rainwater be established and utilized in the agricultural projects in Al Marfah city, traditional housings and farms be built as well. In addition, he also ordered that some adjustments be made to Al Medad dam that was affected by water erosion for the safety of the UAE nationals. The aim was also to conserve the ground water, rainwater and prevent its leakage to be utilized in the agricultural projects. Above all, the ultimate purpose was to provide permanent irrigation throughout the year. 

1988-1991

The issue of sweet water was a top priority given to the environmental issues preoccupying the mind of the late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan-May Allah rest his soul in peace. In 1990, he issued many orders including the digging of new artisan wells by using modern technologies that raised the number of such wells to become around 77,266 well. In this context, water fields in Al Khaznah and Remah were discovered where the number of wells in Abu Dhabi totaled 541 with the capacity of 300 million gallons of water per day.                                                                                      

Furthermore, attention was also given to the maintenance and development of springs and aflaj being one of the main sources of sweet water available in the country. In addition, the late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan-May Allah rest his soul in peace- also emphasized the importance of using soil fertilizers to reduce the negative impact on ground water. Above all, building dams was expanded with the aim of holding up rainwater where the total number of such dams amounted to 113.              
The late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan’ concern with water issues contributed to the expansion of establishing sweater desalination stations and development of the existing stations to meet the future needs where the UAE depends on providing sweet water from seawater. Moreover, he also gave attention to using modern methods of agriculture that would reduce the consumption of water by encouraging people working in the agriculture sector to use modern irrigation systems and provide modern irrigation networks to farms for free.                   

1992-1995

In 1994, the late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan-May Allah rest his soul in peace- received a Japanese delegation specialized in ground water researches based on satellites. At such a meeting with this delegation, the action plan of the delegation for conducting a comprehensive survey on the ground water in the country was thoroughly investigated. In addition, he also ordered that more new lagoons and basins be built and be connected with water channels and passages at Ujban Area Fish Farming Project to absorb various species of fish. Above all, he also ordered that 4 million gallons of water be supplied to Al Ain city per day through Al Taweelah Station Project with the total cost of AED 1.6 billion. In 1995, he made a tour to Jabal Hafit in Al Ain city, which has been recently dug as part of his directives to develop ground water sources to be used in the agricultural irrigation projects implemented in the region.                       

2000-2004

In 2001, Al-Ettihad Electricity and Water Company with the total capital of AED 1.5 billion was established. The main aim of establishing such a company is to meet the needs of electricity and water of northern emirates from the emirate of Abu Dhabi in order to cope with the agricultural and architectural expansion.      

                                        
Upon the directives of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan-May Allah rest his soul in peace-, the Ministry of Fisheries strived to develop water sources in the UAE and gave special attention to setting up dams. The ultimate aim of doing that was to hold up rainwater and feed ground stock layers of water, which is regarded as the main source of agricultural irrigation. In 2002, the Private Department completed 27 dam out of 67 where he ordered that they be established at his own expense with the total cost of AED 750 million to feed the ground water stock and provide the necessary water for the agricultural expansion within the country.