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Water Coolers Outside Villas
a Blessing for Thirsty Souls

ABU DHABI - As the mercury continues to rise during the summer, working outdoors without water and in areas where there are no shops to buy bottled water from, could be a dilemma, especially for labourers who have to toil under the blazing sun.

For these workers, a sight of those steely containers with taps glistening at a distance is a welcome vision that promises a cool respite from the heat.

Fitted with a filtration and cooling system that chills the water to a good five degrees Celsius and below, the water coolers are installed by many villa owners to make drinking water accessible to construction workers, street sweepers, garbage collectors, municipality labourers and others who work on the streets for long hours.

Rawdha Al Ali, an Emirati who lives in one of the villas at Al Falah, said she installed the water cooler outside her villa for “poor people to drink water from.”

Another home owner at Mushrif, who requested anonymity, said, “We should care for others. If we have something, we should share, no matter how little. This is one way to help those who work on the street (and) workers outside, especially now when it’s very hot.”

He said he often sees labourers bring water bottles with them to fill them up at the tap, then continue on with their tasks and come back later for a refill.

“I sometimes ask my maid to go and leave plastic cups there because some of them don’t have bottles,” he added.

“(For) days as hot as this they also wash their face. It makes them relax,” he observed.

Mohammad Hassan, an Indian driver, said he often drinks from the water cooler outside one of the villas. “It (is) very good, very sweet, same like bottle water,” he stated. “I drink here and (it) is good. Also it is free, no money to buy bottle. Also very cold, it’s good,” said Iqbal Ahmed, a Bangladeshi, a
street sweeper.

For Indian gardener A. Sadhik Ali, cool water is very good to quench his thirst especially after spending long hours in the sun tending after his employer’s plants.

“When I work outside, there is no need to go inside the house to get water. I drink, relax and work again.

I also wash my face with the cold water,” he said.

According to an official at the Abu Dhabi Distribution Company, the water that reaches the household’s tap in the emirate is desalinated and treated to international standards.

“It is potable, wholesome and drinkable, and meets the World Health Organisation’s requirements,” he said.

olivia@khaleejtimes.ae