water
DRINKING
W
ith the obvious lack of
rainfall and ever increasing
population, Dubai is becoming
more and more dependent
on water desalination plants. Although
desalinated water is perfectly safe to drink,
contaminants from the pipes leading to homes
and offices may affect the taste, so residents
prefer to drink bottled water or use a water
dispenser. That said, tests for bacteria in tap
water are consistently less than 100 colonyforming units per milliliter (acceptable limit
is 500), whilst most water dispensers have an
average count of 200-300 CFUs/ml (if they
are regularly serviced).
www.discover-dubai.ae
With over 2 million people
in Dubai, it’s everyone’s
responsibility to preserve
water, so please turn off
the taps and try not to use
running water for shaving
or brushing your teeth!
Bottled water is very popular and
walking around the shops you will find
everything from cheap local water (which
is tap water with the contaminants filtered
out), to the high-end mineral waters
that promise eternal youth. For those
looking for the lowest sodium content,
most local water has between 3-16mg/
litre - a negligible amount, and you're
better off reducing sodium in your diet
than switching brands. In summary, there
is absolutely no problem using tap water
in Dubai for cooking and drinking, but
bottled water seems to be the convenient
lifestyle choice.
Discover Dubai JULY | 13