Dubai households still pay the water slab rates set by Executive Council Resolution No. (16) of 2011, which took effect on January 1, 2011. Non-national residents pay 3.5 fils per imperial gallon for the first 6,000 gallons a month, 4.0 fils up to 12,000 gallons and 4.6 fils above that.
A new unit, the same price
Since the March 2025 billing cycle, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has billed water in cubic meters. A property portal's calculator lists AED 7.70, 8.80 and 10.12 per cubic meter for the three slabs, which are the 2011 rates converted at 219.969 imperial gallons per cubic meter. UAE nationals' homes and farms pay nothing for the first 10,000 gallons a month and 1.5 fils a gallon above that.
Where bills are rising
The increase customers see comes from the sewerage charge set by Dubai Municipality. It rose to 1.5 fils per gallon in 2025 and 2 fils in 2026, and is due to reach 2.8 fils in January 2027. On October 21, 2026 DEWA's chief executive said Dubai would not raise electricity tariffs; the statement did not address water.
Revenue from volume, not price
With slab prices flat, DEWA's water revenue grows with consumption and customers. Its sale of water was AED 1,471.9 million in the first quarter of 2026, 8.5% more than a year earlier and 22.8% of group revenue. Customer accounts reached 1,327,182 at the end of 2025, and annual desalinated water demand rose 6.62% that year.
Who sets Dubai's tariffs, how the single-buyer model brings private capital into desalination, and how DEWA plans to reach 735 MIGD of capacity by 2030 are covered in the full report. The full report, Water Systems Overview: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, is available for USD 499 at https://ourfuturewaterintelligence.com/reports/water-systems-overview-dubai-electricity-and-water-authority. For a free overview, read the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority Utility Snapshot at https://ourfuturewaterintelligence.com/utilities/dubai-electricity-and-water-authority.