Residents in Emaar-built villa community complain about foul smell

People living in Mistral Villas in Umm Al Quwain still experiencing bad smells, even after nearby plant is closed for cleaning and maintenance.

A tanker releases waste at an open sewage site. The foul smell travels to the nearby Mistral Villas. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

UMM AL QUWAIN // Weeks after an oil recycling plant was forced to close because of a foul odour affecting a nearby villa community, bad smells are once again making residents’ lives a misery.

People from the Emaar-built Mistral Villas first complained about smells coming from the Oil Tech plant in November last year. Municipality inspectors visited the plant several times, then ordered it to close earlier this year for cleaning and maintenance.

But the families’ relief was short-lived. The strong industrial odour was masking an equally unpleasant stink coming from a landfill and sewage close to the development.

“The smell is terrible. It was coming from Oil Tech, an open landfill and a large raw sewage lake across from the community. The smell is a combination of the three places,” said F P, who has lived in the development for seven months. She did not give her full name.

“This sewage has been there for years, gallons dumped on the ground,” said the 44-year-old from the UK. “UAQ has been built up with new developments and no one is taking into account the sewage.” It’s at its worst in the evening, she said.

“People are suffering from headaches, eye infections and insomnia. Eight weeks ago, six of my birds died in one night. Little birds die occasionally but not all six in one night,” she said.

About half of the community’s 277 homes are now empty. Families are moving out because of the smell.

Emirati Saif Al Qubaisi, 30, said he began coughing up blood eight months ago after he moved into Mistral Villas with his wife. “I wake up coughing blood because of the smell. We are in the UAE, not in a poor country to ignore the problem,” he said.

Robert Gattus, from the US, said the municipality sent investigators to Oil Tech when the smell was thought to be caused only by the company. An environmental order was made instructing the firm to close part of the plant. “I spoke to the owner of Oil Tech and he told me, ‘believe me, we have quality systems and all licences and we have ISO standards and environment standards – we are trying to work and solve the problem’,” said Mr Gattus.

A spokesman for Oil Tech said it was working to solve the problem. “The plant had been closed by the municipality and under maintenance,” he said.

Mr Gattus, who has been at the complex for six months, contacted the developer, Emaar, and was told the company was aware of the issue. He also visited UAQ Municipality to complain but was told by staff at the public health department that it was an issue for public works.

Omar Saleh Salim, the executive secretary of the general director’s office at the public works and service department, said the municipality was working on a solution to remove the sewage.

“The public works department has agreed with a company that will work on recycling waste and generating energy, and the sewage [site] location will be transferred to the new industrial area away from the residential areas,” he said.