Saturday, January 28, 2012

UAE & H20: Sidewalk washing edition
















I snapped this photo the other night walking on the city-side along the Corniche. Here's where I get judgey, and ask: Is it at all necessary to wash the sidewalk – in a desert country, to boot – like this?

Back in Canada we make fun of our neighbours who hose down their asphalted or interlocking driveways. And unlike the UAE, Canada has lots and lots of water. They even made a pretty compelling and scary mini-series about the US wanting to steal it awhile back, starring the totally awesome Canuck hottie Paul Gross.

5 comments:

Moe said...

The water they use to clean the sidewalks is not clean water in the sense that is drinkable. Its grey water (water that comes from sinks and showers, not toilets) that has been processed and is used everywhere to water the plants and clean the roads.

And yes, it is particularly important to wash sidewalks in a sandy country otherwise they will be full of dust and sand, leading to an increase in eye allergies, asthma and other medical conditions in people.

But, on the other hand, you should know that abu dhabi municipality fines companies 10,000 dirhams for wasting water used for irrigation (so when you see corniche road covered with irrigation water, call 993 and file a complaint).

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Abdullah Ghafar said...

Well I think you have not seen the locals living in abu dhabi side. every morning they wash their car even though there is not a particle of dust in their car.

Abdullah Ghafar said...

I think you have to see the arabs living in villa they wash their car every early morning even though there is not a single particle of sand on it

Moe said...

Abdullah,

Having a clean car is a good thing. Having a dirty car is a bad thing. Getting a fine from Abu Dhabi Municipality because you have a dirty car is a disgusting thing.

Yes, that's right: you can get fined if your car is dirty/too dusty.

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