7/28/2019 Case Study_Yas Island
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DUBAI: P.O BOX 47429 Tel: +9714 3388372 | USA: 8651 Naples St.
Blaine MN 55449 Tel: +1 763 784 0614
Email: [email protected], Website: www.epic-green.com
Epic Green Solutions was invited by Aldar and the Abu Dhabi
Urban Planning Council to build a series of plots on Yas Island
at
the Yas Island Links demonstrating the capabilities of the Epic
System as a water management and water conserving tool for
future use on Yas Island and other places in the UAE and the
Middle East. The site demonstrates the feasibility of the
system
to help the UPC and Aldar obtain significant water savings and
still achieve the design and implementation of green spaces
per their master plans and designs.
As previously mentioned the system can use multiple sources of
water, so this project will use a combination of TSE, Potable
and Sea water. A further advantage to the Epic System due to its
waterproof liner is that no sea water can permeate into the
EPIC System a common problem for traditionally landscaped areas
on Yas Island due to the high water table and proximity
to the sea.
The project is composed of five self-contained plots each
measuring 83 square meters. Four of the plots have individual
tanks
and meters, so water consumption can be monitored for different
types of plants and turf. Two of the plots are supplied with
potable water and the other two plots are supplied with TSE
(Treated Sewage Effluent). Four smaller plots were added for
four trees. These trees also have their own tanks and meters for
monitoring.
Three of the four plots were planted with typical landscape
plants used in the UAE. The fourth plot was planted with a
Paspalum turf used on the adjoining golf course. The plots with
plants were planted on the 26th
of April, 2011. The turf plot
was planted from seed on the 15th
of May, 2011. Typical landscape areas of shrubbery or turf in
this area require about 12-14
liters of water per square meter per day. Preliminary results
from the first 5 months of this project indicate the following
water use for the four plots.
Plot 1 Plot 2 Plot 3 Plot 4
Liters/Sq M/Day 3.63 1.80 1.99 2.44
The average consumption of the 4 plots was 2.46 liters/sq. M/
day yielding a savings of approximately 80% of typical
irrigation systems.
It is also interesting to note that the plants and turf in these
plots were started just at the beginning of summer and became
established in the Epic System during the most difficult time of
the year to establish plants. The turf was grown from seed in
the system which is rarely done in the UAE because of the
difficulty of applying enough water to germinate seed without
the
plant drying up and dying before it establishes a
self-sustaining root system.
The fifth plot is near the sea and has a solar operated pump
supplying the plot with sea water. The plot is built with two
interlinked sub plots so we are able to run trials both for
demonstrating the ability of plants to grow in the system only
surviving on sea water and also to test for a desalinization
effect as the sea water moves by capillary action from the
onecompartment to the other compartment. It was decided that the
hot summer months were not the best time to establish
the plants in the salt water plot as no plants were available
that had gone through the hardening process to survive on sea
water. This plot will be planted in early October of 2011 when
conditions are appropriate.
The results above indicate that the Epic System will allow
municipalities and property owners to still gain the advantages
of
green space with much less water. This project will continued to
be monitored for at least the next year and a half so a great
deal more data will be collected on water savings, plant
adaptability, and the use of sea water as an irrigation source.
However, there have been extensive requests from the government,
media and other private organizations to view the site
due to the ground breaking results.
Yas Island Landscape Project
