Water Systems Overview: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority

Executive overview

Key findings

161.505 BIG: system desalinated water demand in 2025, up 6.62% on 2024 (actual)

487 MIG: daily peak desalinated water demand in 2025, against 495 MIGD of installed capacity at year end (actual)

495 → 555 MIGD: installed desalination capacity after Hassyan seawater reverse osmosis Block A (60 MIGD) was commissioned in Q1 2026 (actual)

735 MIGD: DEWA's desalination capacity plan for 2030, of which 308 MIGD seawater reverse osmosis (plan)

Buyer relevance

Who the report is for

Desalination developers and reverse osmosis suppliers

Compare Hassyan's 180 MIGD first phase, the 272,000 m3 a day plant signed on October 28, 2026 and the 735 MIGD target for 2030 with the peak demand series from 2023 to 2025.

Water transmission and network contractors

Use the lowest bids on the three Hassyan Phase 2 transmission packages, from AED 335.92 million to AED 792.59 million, and the reservoir program toward 1,121.3 MIG to plan bids.

Infrastructure investors and lenders

Read DEWA's ownership, single-buyer law and Moody's A3 rating alongside borrowings that rose from AED 38,576.3 million at the end of 2025 to AED 43,725.0 million at March 31, 2026.

Water policy and resilience advisers

Set reservoir storage of 911 MIG, about 2.3 days of 2023 average demand, against the 6,000 MIG aquifer scheme and the 2026 regional security events.

Decision scope

Questions answered

How close did Dubai's water demand come to capacity?

Daily peak demand reached 487 MIG in 2025 against 495 MIGD of installed capacity at year end, a margin of 8 MIGD or 1.6%.

When will Hassyan's first phase be complete?

Block A (60 MIGD) was commissioned in Q1 2026. DEWA expects the remaining 120 MIGD during 2026, while its January 2026 statement and ACWA Power point to Q1 2027, with a commercial operation date of February 15, 2027.

How much water storage does Dubai have?

Reservoirs held 911 MIG at the end of 2023, about 2.3 days of that year's average demand; an aquifer scheme of up to 6,000 MIG was due by 2025 and was still described as awaiting completion in September 2025.

Have Dubai's water tariffs changed?

The slab rates of 3.5, 4.0 and 4.6 fils per imperial gallon date from the resolution effective January 1, 2011; the March 2025 switch to cubic meters (AED 7.70, 8.80 and 10.12) did not change prices.

How efficient is the network?

DEWA reports water network losses of 4.4% in 2025, down from 5.3% in 2021.

Inside the report

Inside the complete report

Executive Overview

1. Water Resource Profile

2. Governance and Institutional Framework

3. Infrastructure and Service Delivery

Strategic Outlook and Opportunities

Source Register

Public preview

What to watch next

Strategic Outlook and Opportunities

Q3 2026 results (the equivalent 2025 results were published on November 12, 2025) and FY2026 results for peak demand, capacity and capital expenditure; financial close and construction start for the new Hassyan plant; any DEWA water demand forecast or post-2030 capacity plan; borrowings after the new term loan.

3. Infrastructure and Service Delivery

DEWA's announcement that Hassyan Blocks B and C are commissioned; awards for the three Hassyan Phase 2 pipeline packages; water losses and customer growth in the FY2026 results; the award of the sewerage tunnel packages.

1. Water Resource Profile

Peak demand in summer 2026 against 555 MIGD of capacity, published with the FY2026 results; any DEWA announcement completing the aquifer storage and recovery project; updated reservoir capacity after the Hassyan reservoir; DEWA's latest stated total is 1,061.30 MIG (DEWA PJSC Integrated Report 2025), up from 1,001.3 MIG in June 2024, when it commissioned the Enkhali (Nakhali) reservoir.

2. Governance and Institutional Framework

Any Executive Council tariff resolution, including the water fuel surcharge; DEWA's dividend policy after the five-year window ends in 2027; Moody's next rating action.

Report page showing two tables: desalination, clean energy, demand management and population targets, and DEWA's revenue, EBITDA, investment, borrowings and water sales. — Sample page · page 9 of 13
DEWA's published plans and targets to 2030 and 2040, and its financial capacity from FY2024 to Q1 2026.

Included

What you receive

The complete PDF report: 13 pages, 6 sections, 12 tables and a register of 28 sources.

This edition

October 2026, First edition.

Evidence & method

Evidence and method

The report draws on DEWA's results releases and financial statements filed on the Dubai Financial Market from 2022 to Q1 2026, its sustainability and integrated reports, Dubai laws and Executive Council resolutions, and Dubai Media Office statements on storage and projects. Project and tariff status was checked against developer disclosures and trade press on October 30, 2026.

Sources

28 sources, listed in the report's source register. Evidence current to 30 October 2026. Principal data periods: DEWA results for calendar 2022–2025 and Q1 2026 (installed capacity at March 31, 2026); H1 2026 results as reported on August 12, 2026; audited balances at December 31, 2025. Project, legal and tariff status checked on October 30, 2026. Currency is UAE dirhams (AED) unless stated. Water volumes are in imperial gallons, as DEWA reports them: MIGD is million imperial gallons a day, MIG million imperial gallons and BIG billion imperial gallons..

Evidence boundaries

This report uses authoritative source material available at the stated research cutoff. It distinguishes published facts, calculated values and analytical interpretation. No independent modelling is performed. Forward-looking analysis reflects published plans, documented trends and stated uncertainties. It does not constitute legal, financial, investment or engineering advice.

Lead analyst

Robert C. Brears

Founder, Our Future Water Intelligence

Robert C. Brears is a water-security specialist and author whose work examines utility governance, infrastructure investment, climate resilience and long-term water-system change for executive and policy audiences.

Decision-focused utility intelligence
Published water-policy author
Evidence-grounded system analysis

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