UAE | Environment

It stinks, but the fun must go on for some Dubai beachgoers

Carefree bathers took to the water over the weekend regardless of the shoreline being barricaded off due to high levels of bacteria from discharged raw sewage.

  • By Emmanuelle landais, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:28 October 13, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Swimmers enjoy themselves in the sea after ignoring the shoreline barricade put up by Dubai Municipality at the Offshore Sailing Club in Dubai.
  • Image Credit: Lars Caneborg/Gulf News Reader

Dubai: Carefree bathers took to the water over the weekend regardless of the shoreline being barricaded off due to high levels of bacteria from discharged raw sewage.

Dubai Municipality closed the beach near the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club (DOSC) last week after tests showed higher than standard levels of E.Coli bacteria in the water.

A storm water drain outlet located off the breakwater at DOSC has been the source of much raw sewage frequently pumped out into the sea from illegal dumping by sewage trucks.

An international dinghy regatta supposed to be held at the sailing club had to be cancelled last weekend because of the poor quality of the water.

According to Dubai Municipality the beach will stay closed until further notice.

Keith Mutch, manager of the club, said he still had received no assistance to clean up the brown murky water in the harbour of the club. Several tests financed by the club and passed on to Gulf News show water samples from DOSC beach harbour, DOSC open beach are contaminated due to the presence of fecal coli forms, sulfate reducing bacteria and E.Coli.

Beaches near Mina Al Salam, Al Qasr, Jumeirah Beach Hotel harbour and north beaches were free from contamination.

So far Dubai Municipality has caught and fined 27 tankers in September for illegally dumping sewage in storm drains.

Lars Caneborg, a member of DOSC sent some photos to Gulf News after he spotted some beachgoers making the most of the ocean despite it being clearly fenced off.

"Funnily enough, the sign only says 'Sorry for inconvenience,' not that the beach is closed due to the fact the water is contaminated and that swimming is not healthy. Maybe the beachgoers thought it was sorry for inconvenience that they had to climb over the fence to get to the beach," said Caneborg.

Abdul Majid Safaee, Drainage Network Department Director at Dubai Municipality said the storm drains, which usually flush out rainwater out to sea, have to be flushed out despite what is in them or risk a sewage overflow. "If the line is too full (of sewage), we have to open them," he said.

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