Work on to clean up Khalid Lagoon waters

Sharjah: The contaminated waters of Khalid Lagoon have become a concern for residents, who are worried about the environmental impact the pollution may have on fish and migratory birds.

However, environmental authorities assure residents that there is no need for alarm and that they are carrying out measures to improve the quality of the lagoon.

Jeremy Byatt, director of Environmental Responsibility at Bee'ah, explained to Gulf News that the contamination in the lagoon has been a regular occurrence, and that there are several factors that play a role in it.

Several months ago the Environment Department at Bee'ah carried out sampling and analysis of water quality in the lagoon and found that the main sources of pollution are irrigation water, discharge water, solid waste and oil residues from ships.

"The problem is that there is not enough flow of water because the canal is too small.

Salty water

"If there was tidal water it would break down the things in the water. But in this case you don't, so there isn't enough flushing, which is when nature breaks down the oils with the movement of the water and the sunlight," said Byatt.

The lagoon is connected to Al Khan Lagoon by the Al Qasba canal.

"The lagoon and creek is a tidally influenced water body and the oldest lagoon in Sharjah, covering approximately five kilometres. Flushing makes it easier for the rubbish to evaporate. But what's happening in Khalid Lagoon is a build-up, so the solution would be to build a bigger canal."

Ships are also a main issue of concern because even when they are berthed they leak small amounts of oil, he said, pointing out that the lagoon is saltier than the Arabian Gulf since there are more toxic chemicals building up.

"We need to have better control and inspection on the ships. The sewage is another problem because while some of it flows in, there is also some that flows out.

"We need to make the water better, and I think it would be nice for people to be able to go there for a swim in 10 years time," Byatt said.

Bee'ah handles the solid waste in the lagoon and has the responsibility to prevent it from being used as a dumping site by companies and residents. As part of their efforts they have allocated four abras to clean the littered water.

Quality control

"Our main agenda is now on how to improve the quality control of the water.

"Now we are looking for the best possible solution because every year it gets one per cent worse, and the contamination is growing but slowly," he noted.

Hana Al Suwaidi, general manager of the Environmental Protection Agency in Sharjah, emphasised that residents should not worry about the lagoon's contamination because the waters are only slightly affected.

"We have experience with oil spills that happened in Al Khan almost three years ago and the kind of contamination we see here is restricted to a small area. There are a number of possible reasons why the lagoon became polluted, but residents should not be alarmed," she added.