Leak view in Sonapur: When green is not in

 Authorities have fined several companies for apparently failing to take steps to stop a sewage leak in a labour camp in Sonapur.

Parts of the camp, home to thousands of expatriate workers, have been submerged in sewage ever since septic tanks in the area overflowed several months ago. Septic tanks are usually emptied by sewage tankers, but according to workers who live in the affected area, many camp owners have stopped paying for the service.

Tanker operators are allegedly demanding higher fees because they have to work extra hours and make more trips to Dubai’s only sewage treatment plant in Al Awir.

Some accommodations in Sonapur are overcrowded – with up to eight people per room – putting pressure on the plumbing system. There is no direct sewage pipe network between Sonapur and Al Awir.

“The Drainage and Irrigation Section has no jurisdiction over this issue,” said Abdul Majid Sifaee, head of that section at Dubai Municipality.

“Our jurisdiction only extends as far as the drainage network. There is no drainage network in that area and therefore we cannot take any action. The responsible party would be the environmental department’s Public Health and Safety Unit.”

Action taken

Redha Salman, Head of the Public Health and Safety Unit at Dubai Municipality, said they are aware of the situation and have already fined erring companies for violating public health standards. “We have fined four or five companies last month. Some of this (flooding) may be due to rainwater which seeped into the septic tank. We will reassess the situation to see if more severe action needs to be taken,” said Salman.

Worst hit

Streets 18, 19 and 23 have been worst hit, with waste water knee-deep in some areas.

“This is not flood water from the recent rains – it is raw sewage and it has been like this for months,” said a Bangladeshi labourer.

“When a truck or bus drives by, the ripples carry the sewage straight into our rooms,” an Indian worker added.

The sewage overflows mainly from three housing units on Street 23, another worker said.

“We feel like we are in prison - we can’t go outside. We have to walk on edges and over stepping stones to cross the street,” said a resident of Community 264.

The camp is also riddled with smaller pools of sewage, made by tankers illegally dumping waste. Many truck drivers don’t want to wait long hours for their turn to discharge their tanker’s load at the treatment plant. They instead dump sewage wherever they can -- down rainwater drains, on city roads or out in the desert. Some of the sewage recently made its way through a storm drain into a public beach in Dubai.

The otherwise pristine coastline next to the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club was lately found to be contaminated with faeces and was shut down by the municipality. Authorities said the spill has been cleared up, but the beach remains closed.