Dubai's first high rise structures were Water Tanks!
Found in strategic locations throughout Dubai,
the tanks provided Dubai's first domestic fresh water supply in 1960s
Water Tower on Dubaiside 1960s
Image by Ludwig Hejze
Prior to 1961, Dubai had no clean fresh water supply.
People relied on communal water wells and pools, occasionally replenished by rain
Typhoid, Cholera and Yellow Fever outbreaks were common as a consequence
Dubai's Water Engineer, Eric Tulloch found fresh water sources at Al Awir in early 1960s
Eric then developed a modern fresh water supply system for Dubai.
This radically improved both Dubai's living conditions and reduced health risks.
Water Towers played a key role in Dubai's Fresh Water Supply system.
Fresh water sources were found in Al Awir in 1961. A pipeline was laid ACROSS the desert from Al Awir to Khor Dubai to bring fresh water to Dubai. Pumping stations FORCED the fresh water through the pipeline. Initially fresh water was distributed from Khor Dubai to Dubai and Deira by road trucks until a modern distribution system was designed and installed. Water Tanks both stored fresh water and generated the pressure needed to get fresh water to domestic outlets.
Water has to be under pressure to make it flow through pipelines to an outlet such as a bath tap or shower. Pressure was achieved by placing water storage tanks on top of 20 metre high towers. Each tower had a pumping station to pump the water from Al Awir up into this high level tank. The 20 meter height of these tanks enabled fresh water to flow down into the domestic water distribution system. Water Towers were built at strategic locations throughout Dubai and Deira. These Water Tanks became a feature of Dubai's skyline during 1970s,80s and 90s.
Built in UK by Braithwaites UK and imported as Kits to be assembled onsite. Each tank held around half a million litres of fresh water.
Demand for fresh water grew as Dubai expanded.
Awir Wells no longer had capacity to meet demands of Dubai's growing population.
Water Towers could not generate sufficient water pressure to keep water flowing from taps and showers.
People resorted to installing electric pumps to draw fresh water from the system into their roof top tanks.
As more people added more pumps, this solution became ineffective
Desalination eventually became the primary source of Dubai's fresh water supply.
Elaborate pumping systems and high level storage tanks were no longer required.
Water Towers became redundant in 1990s, were dismantled and disappeared from Dubai's skyline.
