DUBAI // Out of sight and out of mind, sewage is the forgotten, and yet crucial, component of the water challenge facing the UAE. Last September, however, the extent of the problem became all too public.
When Dubai's only sewage treatment plant reached capacity, long queues of tankers carrying waste formed.
Some drivers illegally dumped their loads, either on roadsides or into drains, and raw sewage found its way onto beaches.
The lorries carry waste mainly from labour camps that are not connected to the main sewage system, but their appearance en masse underlined the problems facing an expanding society at the far end of the water cycle.
On August 20, Dubai Municipality opened its new waste water treatment plant at Jebel Ali. It is now conducting final tests of the facility that promises to solve all the sewage woes of the emirate.
When it comes fully online, Jebel Ali will be the second treatment facility in Dubai and is expected to take the load off the overburdened Al Aweer sewage plant.
Municipal officials say the first phase of the project will be running early next month and will handle 150,000 cubic metres of raw sewage per day. Eventually, the plant will be able to handle 300,000 cubic metres a day.
"We need to build a biological base before starting treatment of waste. This takes a few weeks," said Mohammed Abdulaziz Nujm, the head of the treatment plant.
Some tankers carrying sewage to Al Aweer are occasionally directed to the new plant as a part of the testing process.
Al Aweer is capable of treating 260,000 cubic metres of sewage a day, nearly a third of which is either pumped into Dubai Creek after treatment or used to restore groundwater reserves.
A large part of the remaining water is used for irrigating landscaping in Dubai, including golf courses. About 6,000 to 7,000 cubic metres of treated water is also used to irrigate farmland.
The new plant had been scheduled to open in April 2010 but, following the uproar over the long queues of sewage tankers at Al Aweer, the municipality decided last year to fast-track the first phase of the project. The rescheduled opening of April this year was then delayed.
In the meantime, Al Aweer, designed to handle 11,000 cubic metres of sewage per hour, has dealt with as much as 23,000 cubic metres during peak hours. An estimated 25 per cent of the load is carried to the plant by tankers.
The tanker queues have started to disappear. Tanker drivers and owners say there are several reasons, among them the test opening of the new treatment plant. In addition, the municipality recently opened a new parking area for the tankers.
"Now there are not enough tankers even for the new parking area," says Abid Hussain, owner of Al Jabal Transport, which has several sewage tankers operating in the emirate every day. "The problem has been solved."
But Mr Hussain says the main reason for the absence of tankers is the financial slowdown.
"Several labour camps have shut down and tankers that carried sewage from them have no business," he says.
Other factors have also helped, including a tank installed by the municipality to hold sewage received during peak hours, enabling the plant to treat it during downtimes.
pmenon@thenational.ae
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Samaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Tips on buying property during a pandemic
Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.
While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.
While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar.
Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.
Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities.
Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong.
Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The biog
Name: Greg Heinricks
From: Alberta, western Canada
Record fish: 56kg sailfish
Member of: International Game Fish Association
Company: Arabian Divers and Sportfishing Charters
Mumbai Indians 213/6 (20 ov)
Royal Challengers Bangalore 167/8 (20 ov)
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
