Cover of Yas Island Landscape Project

Project case study · CS-04 · Municipal landscape

Yas Island Landscape Project

Aldar Properties and the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council · Yas Links, Abu Dhabi. Five plots, each with its own tank and meter, planted at the start of an Abu Dhabi summer.

Reference
CS-04
Edition
2 · September 2026
Format
PDF · 6 pages · 3.3 MB
Access
Open
Download PDF Arabic PDF Free · no form · English and Arabic

About this case study

Five self-contained trial plots at Yas Links, built in February and March 2011 at the invitation of Aldar Properties and the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council.

Four of the plots were individually tanked and metered, so that water use could be recorded separately for shrubs, groundcover and turf. Two ran on potable water and two on treated sewage effluent. The fifth sat near the sea and was supplied with seawater by a solar-powered pump.

Yas Island has a high water table, and seawater rises into conventionally landscaped ground by capillary action. The sealed EPDM liner keeps it out of the EPIC profile.

The plots were planted at the start of an Abu Dhabi summer, the hardest time of year to establish anything. The six-page case study sets out the project record, the metered consumption and the dated photographs from bare ground in February 2011 to a second Gulf summer in August 2012.

2.46L/m²/day average across the four metered plots, first five months
12 to 14L/m²/day typical for landscape in the area
~80%Water saving against typical irrigation systems
83 m²Each of the five trial plots

Project record

Invited by
Aldar Properties and the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council
Location
Yas Links, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Installed
February to March 2011
Scope
Five plots of 83 m² each; four with individual tanks and meters. Four smaller tree plots added on the same basis.
Water sources
Two plots on potable water, two on treated sewage effluent, one on seawater via a solar-powered pump
Planted
Three plots with typical UAE landscape planting on 26 April 2011; the fourth with Platinum TE Paspalum turf, grown from seed, on 15 May 2011

The measured record

Per-cell metered consumption, litres per m² per day, as summarised on 29 January 2012.

PeriodCell 1Cell 2Cell 3Cell 4Average
26 Apr 2011 to 23 Jan 20123.662.002.333.102.77
2 Nov 2011 to 23 Jan 20122.381.621.812.952.19

Date palms: 73.9 litres per tree per day from April to January, and 11.67 from November to January.

The first five months, litres per m² per day, as first published.

PeriodPlot 1Plot 2Plot 3Plot 4Average
First five months3.631.801.992.442.46

Plot and cell numbers follow the original tables. Against the 12 to 14 L/m²/day typical for the area, the case study states the result as a saving of approximately 80%.

Also on the record

The Paspalum plot was grown from seed inside the system, which is rarely attempted in the UAE because seed must be kept moist without drying out before it roots. The trial drew visits from government, media and private organisations, with coverage in Construction Weekly, AME Info, MEED, Al Fajr, Zawya and Gulf Today.

From bare ground to a second summer

Fourteen dated photographs from the site record, in the order they were taken. Elapsed time is counted from the 26 April 2011 planting date.

February to April 2011Building it

  1. Bare graded sand beside the Yas Links clubhouse before work began
    01 3 February 2011BeforeThe graded lot beside the clubhouse before any work.
  2. Excavated plot with gravel base and string lines
    02 27 February 2011ExcavationThe excavation opened and brought to level, gravel base in, string lines set.
  3. EPIC chambers on the black EPDM liner with orange riser pipes
    03 1 March 2011ChambersEPIC chambers laid on the geomembrane liner, riser pipes standing at the connections.
  4. Rows of EPIC chambers across the lined plot
    04 2 March 2011The arrayThe array complete across the plot, ready for cover.
  5. Loader spreading sand over the gravel course
    05 2 March 2011SandSand spread over the gravel to form the profile the roots grow into.
  6. Control chamber filled with water during testing
    06 3 March 2011Water testThe control chamber charged and standing full, tested before backfill.
  7. Finished plots with gravel edge and control panel
    07 26 April 2011ReadyThe finished plots with the control panel in place, on the planting date.

May 2011 to August 2012Growing it

  1. Young turf emerging on sand with an access cover in the corner
    08 22 May 2011Turf sownTurf establishing on raw sand a week after sowing, a chamber access cover at the edge.
  2. Groundcover spreading across a sand cell
    09 19 June 20118 weeksGroundcover taking hold across the cell.
  3. Dense green lawn filling the cell
    10 3 October 20115 monthsThe lawn cell fully established, edge to edge.
  4. Closed groundcover with agave plants
    11 6 October 20115 monthsShrub and groundcover beds closed over, agave and yucca through.
  5. Flowering bougainvillea and shrubs beside a path
    12 12 February 20129 monthsBougainvillea in flower, oleander and yucca established along the path.
  6. Mown lawn plot with buildings and road behind
    13 12 March 201210 monthsThe plot in its setting: mown lawn and chamber lids, with the road beyond.
  7. Frangipani and oleander above dense groundcover
    14 1 August 201215 monthsFrangipani and oleander over dense groundcover, through a second Gulf summer.

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