A UAE report recently released by Quooker, ‘Perceptions of Domestic Tap Water in the United Arab Emirates’, tells us that UAE tap water is safe to drink.
Domestic tap water has been a topic of debate in the UAE for over a decade, despite the insistence of environmental and health experts that the country’s desalinated water is safe to drink.
Quooker surveyed a wide range of stakeholders, including consumers, media commentators and local authorities. Consumer respondents were categorized by demographic (locals, Western expatriates, Arab expatriates and Asian expatriates), with each group offering their own opinions on a number of topics. For example, 80% of locals indicated bad taste as the main reason for not drinking tap water.
Jakob Johannsen, Managing Director of Quooker UAE, commented:
“Desalinated water is entirely safe and suitable for drinking when it leaves the processing plant, so there is value for local authorities in doing more to ensure the cleanliness of residential water tanks and consumption of the high quality water their facilities are producing. We were encouraged to find that 80% of consumers would drink water from a filtered boiling water tap, so there is clearly scope for reduced dependence on bottled water.”
On the subject of water tank hygiene, the most common cause of water contamination, 40% of respondents stated that their tank had been inspected by the local authority, with 30% responding that it had not, and a further 30% were unaware.
Local authorities in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah universally stated that inspection of water tanks was available upon request, but that there were no official measures in place for keeping water tanks clean – the responsibility lying with the homeowner, tenant or landlord. Dubai Municipality recommends that residential water tanks are inspected and cleaned at least once every 6 months, and Quooker’s report encourages tenants to make sure their landlords are fulfilling this requirement.
Quooker UAE launched in June 2015. The innovative product delivers instant 100⁰C filtered boiling water suitable for multiple uses in the home. The concept is safe, sustainable, energy efficient and designed to reduce household costs and environmental waste.