The world is turning toward acceptable means of recycling all elements, particularly in areas that are suffering from high heat and low water supply. The UAE is one such area, and one area that has latched on to the concepts of reusing water, and in doing so is reducing carbon emissions by reducing the amount of energy required for operations and water. Greywater refers to all water from the laundry, from bathroom sinks, from bathtubs, and from showers. This water is not acceptable to consume, nor can be it used to irrigate vegetable or fruit gardens which are designed for human consumption, but it can be used to flush toilets and to irrigate non-food item landscape. When greywater is properly treated, it can be recycled and reused through a state of the art sanitation and filtration system that converts the wasted natural resource into a renewed source of water, and when this is done it reduces the amount of waste, the amount of excess water that is required, and the amount of energy required to run all landscaping and water related systems thereby reducing carbon emissions. All greywater systems are most easily recognizable by the universal purple pipes. The color purple is a universal standard to signal that the water contained inside is greywater. This makes it easy to identify which companies are implementing changes for the better, and which have yet to comply.
New technology has provided commercial buildings with a range of water uses applicable to grey water, and by extension a way to reduce carbon emissions. There are large and small applications and units designed to meet any commercial building requirements. A greywater system can be installed in new buildings and can be retrofitted in most cases into existing buildings. These systems include a pump station which is a proprietary electronic controller whose responsibility is to monitor and control the entire greywater system. This extends so far as to measuring the greywater tank levels, keeping tabs on the system pressure, measuring the temperature of the system, monitoring the actuated valve control, disinfecting the circuits, diverting the greywater and monitoring the water usage overall (Cover Story: Greywater management in laundries, n.d.).
In commercial buildings there is a new LEED program which has become increasingly prevalent within new construction as well as remodeled construction. This system accelerates the overall adoption of sustainable green practices for commercial buildings within the UAE, which offer a way to reduce carbon emissions. It is a universally understood and accepted system, one whose name is easily recognizable around the world. This name brand recognition has made the LEED system an acceptable program globally, giving way to an increase in the number of commercial organizations who agree to implement a greywater system. These systems offer building owners the tools they require in order to make an immediate impact on the performance of their building and to immediately measure the changes being made to the environment. Buildings which are now LEED compliant in terms of their greywater usage are a healthier and a safer workplace. In addition, the LEED systems have versatile installation capabilities and myriad designs so that each commercial property can invest in a recycling unit for greywater material that best fits their structure and their size (Commercial Grey Water Recycling, n.d.).
Resorts and hotels in particular are feeling the need to conserve water especially in areas such as the UAE where landscaping is a mandatory item for an improved guest experience and proper appearance, but the water necessary for such landscaping is limited. Recycled greywater can make a large impact on the profitability and the operating costs of such organizations while benefitting the company in other ways, such as allowing them to legitimately claim to be part of the green movement, compliant with LEED systems and regulations. And this exact feature has already brought recognition to many hotels in the UAE including the Premier Inn Hotel located at the Abu Dhabi International Airport. This hotel is considered the most eco-friendly hotel in the Emirate because of its greywater recycling program which reuses basin water, bath water, and shower water to flush toilets and water the surrounding landscape (Abu Dhabi hotel first to establish grey water reuse system, n.d.). This system allows the hotel to reduce carbon emissions by reducing energy consumption through water recycling.
- Abu Dhabi hotel first to establish grey water reuse system; BAM International achieves full Pearl 2 rating on the Premier Inn Hotel project. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://www.baminternational.com/
- Commercial Grey Water Recycling. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://www.aquaco.co.uk/Grey-Water/Grey-Water-Recycling-Commercial
- Cover Story: Greywater management in laundries:. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://www.cleanmiddleeast.ae/
