Can you drink tap water in Dubai?

Yes, you can drink tap water in Dubai if you make sure that the precautions against drinking tap water have been taken and is safe to drink. For further satisfaction, you can boil it before drinking.

Dubai, the busiest business hub in the United Arab Emirates and a desert metropolis, has transformed over the past forty years into a location where living standards rival those of any international city. It boasts a thriving, international atmosphere that is backed by an extensive, cutting-edge infrastructure. Political and economic stability, a highly developed healthcare system, consistently high educational standards, an excellent transportation network, cultural events, and a sizable expat population are all prominent.

The Crown Prince of Dubai started a citywide campaign that encourages locals and tourists to fill their own reusable bottles instead of single-use ones. Seawater from the Arabian Gulf that had been desalinated was used to make the drinking water. The UAE government has ordered the public to cease using plastic bottles and to carry their reusable bottles instead. Individuals are only allowed to use one plastic bottle for a period of time.

Read Also: Water sports in Dubai  

Is Tap Water Safe to Drink in Dubai?

It is safe when you’re drinking the tap water that the water supply company gives you. Also, even if everyone in Dubai starts using tap water for cooking and drinking, the city’s water supply infrastructure has a sizable store of excess water to make up for it.

On the consumer side, a few aspects influence the water’s quality. The first is the pipe’s quality of use. If they are not up to par, they can corrode and contaminate the water. Regularly cleaning the lines is also necessary.

The storage tank is another piece of the puzzle. Water-related residues will eventually gather at the tank’s bottom. This may lead to the formation of fungi and mold, which could contaminate drinking water.

Recently, the Director of the Food Safety Department at Dubai Municipality provided a clarification of what constitutes routine maintenance to guarantee the safety of the water in your tap. What you have to do is as follows:

• You have to keep your water tanks and plumbing system in good working order.
• A company authorized by the Emirates International Accreditation Center must periodically clean and wash the water tank and pipelines.
• Regular testing of water samples is required for drinking water parameters in a laboratory accredited by the Emirates International Accreditation Center.
• For tap water in Dubai to be safe to drink, the lab results must be positive.

In short, you can drink tap water in Dubai as long as you make sure that the precautions against drinking tap water from the city have been taken and that the water in your water tanks is safe to drink. When drinking water in Dubai, the majority of people just boil the water coming from the faucet.

How climate change has an impact on tap water’s desirability:

The temperature of tap water is a major factor in why people are reluctant to consume it. Dubai experiences year-round high heat because it is a desert nation. As a result, the water passing through the pipes is almost at room temperature. The best way to drink tap water is to either chill it in the refrigerator or serve it with ice cubes added. However, using a tap water filter makes this task quite easy.

Standards and Regulations of Drinking Tap Water Quality

To ensure that tap water is safe for human consumption, the UAE government enforces stringent laws and standards for water quality. Water supply systems must be regularly tested and monitored, and World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations must be followed, according to UAE Federal Law No. 2.

Recommended: Al Wathba Salt Lake- Abu Dhabi

Dubai’s installation of tap water filters:

In Dubai, tap filter water is widely used. Reverse osmosis (RO) filters are the most often used some are even associated with UV filters. They are utilized for offices, restaurants, and hotels on a commercial as well as a residential level. Regretfully, some studies have indicated that the proliferation of bacteria within RO filters may cause more harm than good. They also wastewater, take out all the minerals, and give the water a bland taste.

Is the tap water in Dubai awful in taste?

Dubai’s sustainability organization was founded by Tatiana Antonelli Abella, who also spearheaded the “Drop It” campaign against single-use plastic water bottles. It tastes better, she claims, which is the primary reason why consumers choose bottled water over tap. She advises using tap filters to eliminate any unwanted taste as a solution to this issue. Due to the mixing of chlorine and desalinated water, the flavor becomes bad. Every city or region that uses desalinated water suffers from the same problem.

Also Read: Best Dubai Street Food dishes and places

In Dubai, the quality of bottled water and tap water is nearly identical. Their unique flavor is what sets them different, not their health advantages. The kind and number of salts and minerals that water firms add to their bottled water give it a unique flavor. People have become habituated to drinking bottled water because of its accessibility and ease. The flavor of TAP water filters in Dubai is comparable to that of bottled water, as confirmed by users.

Where to locate a drink tap water station in Dubai?

As part of the strategy, authorities have set up approximately 30 stations throughout the Emirates to encourage residents and citizens of Dubai to refill their own bottles. Officials suggest that more tap water installations should be built in the future.

Refill station water is “very similar” to water from locally sourced and labeled bottles, according to officials. Everybody may get free, safe drinking water from the stations thanks to filters.

“Desalination eliminates harmful contaminants from water at the source, while additional filtration occurs at the refill station,” according to a statement.

On a Google map made available on the official website, www.dubaican.com, users may find the locations of water stations placed all throughout Dubai.

The future scope of tap water in Dubai:

In November 2019, the Dubai Municipality’s Food Control Department announced that it had updated the Dubai Food Code with new rules. These new regulations require restaurants in Dubai to provide free tap water to patrons, effective from 2020. To comply, restaurant operators must take reasonable steps to guarantee that their water tanks undergo routine quality testing.

The goal of this initiative is to discourage the usage of single-use plastic throughout the whole emirate. By educating the public, the Dubai Municipality seeks to change the public’s perception of tap water and encourage a move away from single-use plastic bottles. For the time being, this is merely a suggestion, but it might be quite important for continued efforts.

Try these suggestions to reduce the amount of plastic you use:

• Bring reusable water bottles to work, school, and social gatherings.
• Visit one of the water stations to refill your bottle.
• Update the water filters in your house.
• Lead a sustainable lifestyle and motivate society via your decisions and deeds.

Explore: Hatta Dam, Dubai

In the final words:

Although Dubai’s tap water is generally safe to drink, many people may look for alternatives due to worries about tainted storage tanks, outdated infrastructure, and the water’s flavor and odor. Popular solutions for guaranteeing that people have access to clean and safe drinking water in the city include bottled water, water filters and purifiers, and water delivery services. It’s critical to understand your options as a visitor or resident in Dubai in order to choose your sources of drinking water wisely.