UAE | Housing & Property

Stench gags International City residents

Residents living in International City's England cluster say the issue of the sewage flood is yet to be fully sorted.

  • By Alice Johnson, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:19 January 3, 2009
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Alice Johnson/Gulf News
  • This flooded car park cannot be used by residents who have previously been fined for parking outside of the sewage pools. Even if the flooding goes down, the smell is always there.
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Dubai: Residents living in International City's England cluster say the issue of the sewage flood is yet to be fully sorted.

A minor subsidence in the pools of sewage overnight has not brought any relief for residents. Large pools of sludgy green waste are currently being pumped out of a flooded car park.

Although the main road affected, adjacent to the England cluster, has been partially cleared, it remains closed.

Residents say the stench is unbearable and some claim to have been physically sick from the smell.

The development's on-site sewage treatment plant has been overflowing since last July, even though its capacity has been doubled.

The problem has just become increasingly worse for residents, who say they are now gagging at the stench that hangs in the air every day.

S.A. a resident of the Y-22 England cluster building, said that his wife has been physically sick because of the smell.

"As soon as my contract ends I'm out of here. I moved here because it was close to my work, but I didn't sign up for this. Sleeping in this kind of smell is impossible and we can never open the balcony door, because of the stench."

He said that he is concerned for the health of his child, as he is forced to drive through the now permanent sewage flood to leave International City.

"My baby is one and a half years old. I wash my car all the time, because I'm worried that he will become sick if he touches it," S.A. said.

He said the road adjacent to his building has been cordoned off for two weeks, and residents do not have any other option but to drive through the flood.

"Even if the flooding goes down, the smell is always there," S.A. said.

"It's embarrassing to have guests visit - my wife's sister is staying with us and we can't even open the balcony door," he said.

Flooding history

Shops in and around the England cluster remain empty, with for sale signs hanging in the windows.

Rows upon rows of empty shop-fronts overlook the stagnant sewage pools, which have turned an entire car park green due to continual flooding.

A sign optimistically announces the opening of a restaurant - its entrance just metres from the brown-green sludge pools.

Nakheel previously told Gulf News that the flooding issue should be resolved after the STP extension. However, six months later, the issue still pervades.

"The smell is always there. It flooded a long time ago. It happens all the time and it's very smelly," another resident of Y-22, England, said.

In July 2008, residents fumed after being given parking tickets for leaving their cars on nearby pavements and roundabouts, Gulf News reported.

They were forced, they claimed, to park elsewhere after the ankle-deep flood stopped them from using the car park.

Residents also claimed they had to park in the allotted spaces near the sewage pools, and then faced difficulties in getting out of their cars, just to avoid fines.

Nakheel, the developer of the project, was not immediately available for comment.

Timeline: Chain of events

  • April, 2008: smell from nearby the sewage treatment plant (STP) bothers residents
  • June 22: motorists forced to drive on pavements to avoid sewage floods
  • June 26: STP site floods
  • July 2: STP site floods for second weekend in a row
  • July 2: residents fined for parking on pavements to avoid flood
  • July 31: work to double STP site capacity completed
  • October 8: STP again overflows onto roads and pavements
  • January 3, 2009: sewage flood now permanent

Your comments


All I see is more problems and not one solution. I am even embarrased to say I live there let alone have guests over. Give me a solution.
Tala Amhaz
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 04, 2009, 15:24

This is unacceptable. All people affected should be relocated until this probelm is sorted out. This is what is commonly done in other modern countries.
From A Reader
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 04, 2009, 14:34

It is such a shame that things like this would happen becuase of Nakheel and which is a well known company. They should solve it or it would be bad publicity.
Mark
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: January 04, 2009, 13:43

I confirm all the sayings about that sewage. I have been living for more than a year in the England cluster and I am suffering. Something should be done about this as soon as possible.
Ben
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 04, 2009, 13:28

In my opinion, this issue is a health issue which has to be solved as soon as possible. Until then, all we could do is use less water
Bernardo C. Delman Jr.
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 04, 2009, 13:18

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