Sun, sea and sewage in the playground of the rich in Dubai

The Billionares and Millionares of Dubai - have a huge problem, along with them attracting any tourist for the Beaches, Sun and Sand.

It seems that in Dubai, they do not pay the workers very well - and they have a one drainage system for excess water on the streets. This drainage is not suppose to carry any sewage. The one connected drainage system, also happens to empty out into the ocean right by the Millionare's marina.

But the problem they have, is the sewage workers are not paid much, so when they clean out the septic tanks of Dubai, they would have to travel a distance across a desert to empty their sewage trucks.

So, the workers solution has been to simply, go to the closet drainage spot and dump the sewage waste into it.

It seems that solution does not fair well with the ocean and beaches of Dubai. There is toliet paper on the beaches and the ocean stinks to high heaven, besides being completely brown.

According to some truckers — mostly poor workers from southern Asia – illegal dumping of waste is a purely financial decision.

In interviews, several said that they were paid by the truckload to collect waste from the city’s septic tanks and transport it to the only sewage treatment plant in the area.

This involved a long drive into the desert with lengthy queues at the end — so they opted to dump their loads in the storm drains.“We are paid so poorly, we have no other choice,” said one driver, who insisted on remaining anonymous.

Mr Mutch spent several nights documenting the illegal dumping. He sent letters and photographs to the municipality and departments of tourism, health and environment.“At first I was ignored,” he said — but when the local press took up the story the city took action, imposing fines of up to $25,000 and threatening to confiscate tankers and deport drivers. City authorities have since promised to build another sewage pit as a “medium-term solution”, while insisting that the latest test results show water samples to be within safe standards.

Mr Mutch, however, disagrees, citing independent tests commissioned by the sailing club showing that the water is still badly contaminated with bacteria, human faeces and chemicals.

“The water is still not safe. It’s a bleak situation and we don’t know what else we can do,” he said.

He says ... they don't know what to do...... well guess what... even from all the way over here, I could give them one hint............ PAY the workers MORE! DUH! Pay them for doing it the correct way!

A stretch of the exclusive Jumeirah Beach — a magnet for Western tourists and home to a string of hotels — has been closed. “It’s a cesspool. Our tests show too many E. coli to count. It’s like swimming in a toilet,” said Keith Mutch, the manager of the Offshore Sailing Club, which has posted warnings and been forced to cancel regattas.The pollution is a blow to Dubai’s reputation as an international holiday destination offering almost guaranteed sunshine and clear seas.

It is so funny, I have heard so much about Dubai, being the best place in the world for the Rich and Famous. It has it's indoor skiing, and basically anything else billionares and millionares could possibly want.

The row also illustrates how Dubai’s rapid development threatens to outpace the Emirates’ ability to enforce environmental standards, angering the foreigners that the boom town seeks to attract. Mr Mutch first detected trouble during a walk on the beach last summer. “The stench was unbearable and the water was a muddy brown. There was toilet paper in the sand,” he recalled.

Dubai has seemed to have everything - anyone would want, especially with all those plans I have seen of man made islands for condos in the ocean. But I can't imagine anyone would want to spend 24 million or something like that for a condo in the ocean that is filled with sewage and stinks.

Sorry, but I actually think this is funny, especially with all the hype of Dubai over the last few years.

Hey, Dubai, pay your workers correctly and then they will take your sewage across the desert, as you want them to.


OOPS - forgot to put the link in the orignal posting ;
www.timesonline.co.uk...



[edit on 28-1-2009 by questioningall]

I had a good laugh; not at the workers but at the richie rich's and the hotels losing money by the truckload due to the sensitive noses. Granted I don't think anyone would want to get in that water right now.

Ahh...the sweet smell of greed. Oh, wait, that's not what that is.
I must agree, apart from the poorly paid workers and the environmental impact, it is a pretty funny situation.

Rich does not mean smart.

Look at how poorly some treat the people that prepare their food.

We discussed this today in my economic geography class. Dubai may seem like the top of the world right now with their flashy getaways for the richest of the rich and stipends to citizens for doing absolutely nothing (a classmate of mine from UAE gets $2,000 a month for spending cash while he is abroad in the US at school and another $10,000 if he marries) but the country is not built to last.

Look at all the countries with high GNP right now, they all have a solid foundation in good infrastructure for the country. That is a huge part of whether a country is truly "built to last" (excuses all my infrastructure puns).

End point: If the UAE wants to become a lasting player in a constantly developing world, modernize and develop your infrastructure to last.