The three cities of Abu Dhabi Emirate within the United Arab Emirates – the coastal city Abu Dhabi itself (more than one million inhabitants) as well as the inland oases Al Ain (0,4 million inhabitants) and Liwa (about 0,1 million inhabitants) – receive their drinking water supply entirely from desalinated seawater. Water resources There are two sources of water in UAE: Desalinated seawater and groundwater. While groundwater is used for agriculture in Al Ain and Liwa, drinking water is provided entirely from desalinated seawater across the Emirate. In 2008, groundwater contributed 71% to total water demand for all purposes, desalinated water 24% and treated wastewater 5%. Seawater desalination There were eight seawater desalination plants in Abu Dhabi owned and operated by eight joint ventures: Tawilah A, Tawilah B, the five Umm al Nar plants and the Al Mirfa plant. These joint ventures between the government and foreign companies, which are allowed to own up to 40% of the shares, are called Independent Water & Power Producers (IWPPs). They operate under Build-Own-Operate (BOO) contracts with the government and their energy is supplied by fossil fuels. In the model green city called Masdar City, four smaller pilot desalination plants that will use solar power are nearing completion as of early 2015. Groundwater 90% of groundwater in Abu Dhabi Emirate is saline, in some cases up to eight times as much as seawater. There are only two freshwater aquifers. Natural groundwater recharge is estimated at about 300 million cubic meters per year. Brackish groundwater is mostly used for the irrigation of date palms which are relatively salt-tolerant. Recharge dams have been built on wadis in order to prevent flood water to flow into the sea, recharging it instead to aquifers. Unplanned and uncontrolled groundwater withdrawals, especially for agriculture and forestry, total over 2,000 million cubic meters per year and have resulted in declining groundwater levels and quality. Groundwater recharge Artificial groundwater recharge with desalinated water has been piloted in 2003 near the Liwa Oasis and construction of large-scale recharge facilities has begun in 2008. The objective is to create a 90-day reserve instead of the current 48-hour reserve for drinking water supply, in order to protect the emirate against the risk of terrorist attacks or oil spills that would shut down the entire water supply. Recharge will occur during summer when the desalination plants generate surplus freshwater. Desalination plants in Abu Dhabi use