UAE Environment, Water Minister inspects dams

Umm al-Qaiwain, April 21, 2013 (WAM) - Minister of Environment and Water, Dr. Rashid Ahmed bin Fahad, has made a field tour to inspect water storage dams and reservoirs recently constructed in implementation of the initiatives by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to develop infrastructure in the UAE. The Minister's inspection tour to Sharjah, Umm Al Qaiwain and Ras Al Khaimah took in areas such as Koub, Al Aim, Al Ghail and Falaj Al Mualla. Built as part of plans to preserve water resources including underground reservoirs, the structures act as floodgates or stopbanks to retain and store rainwater, to manage water flow and prevent flooding as well as to irrigate farmlands. A total of 130 dams and lakes with a total capacity of 120 million cubic meters were built across the UAE to sustain, the minister noted. Since their construction in 1982 to early April 2013, the structures have collected more than 600 million cubic meters (132 billion gallons), the dams and lakes contributed to enhancing the quality of water and the capacity of underground reservoirs as well as to preventing floods from hitting towns and residential areas, according to minister Bin Fahad. – Emirates News Agency, WAM