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4. Pressure Module
Fertilizer and oil production main potential pollution sources. Abu Dhabi’s soil is generally poor and 5
sandy. Fertilizers and pesticides are widely used in the agricultural sector to improve the soil and increase
productivity. The high permeability of the soil allows for high seepage of pollutants into the groundwater.
About 406 pesticides are used in the UAE. Pesticide use increased from 1996 to 1999 and decreased
after 2000. This could be due to increased groundwater salinity and soil salinity which led to a shift in
crops from fruit and vegetables to Rhodes grass. Abu Dhabi, UAE
Agriculture landfills contain a wide variety of wastes such as:
? Unsuitable vegetables.
? Construction materials.
? Plastic.
? Animal carcasses.
? Household garbage.
After dumping, the refuse is burned and then sprayed with water to prevent wind transport of ashes.
Produced water re-injected into saline aquifers
Water in varying quantities is always produced along with oil, and has to be separated from the oil.
Produced water is currently being injected into deep saline aquifers such as the Umm er Radhuma
Formation. The amount of produced water per barrel oil is relatively low in Abu Dhabi Emirate
compared to other Gulf states.
5. Response
Supplying desalinated drinking water. In addition to being high in nitrates, much of the groundwater in
Abu Dhabi Emirate is also too saline to meet drinking water standards. Since 1998, production from
the domestic wellfields has decreased by over 60 percent. In the Al Ain Region indigenous, brackish
groundwater is now blended with imported desalinated water from the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of
Oman.
Desalinated sea water is now the main source of drinking water, supplying 95 percent of total requirements.
Water separation down-hole should be encouraged
At present; no down-hole oil-water separation takes place in the oil recovery process. In this process,
the oil polluted water is left in the host oil reservoirs and the potential for pollution of other aquifers is
IEA Training Manual Workshop for the National Reporting Toolkit (NRT) 25
