Al Quoz to get drainage system

BY PMA RASHEED

The Gulf Today, 18 Nov 2009
Dubai's Al Quoz industrial area, which houses hundreds of labour camps, will get a new drainage system to face its growing wastewater woes.
As the Al Quoz area currently has no sufficient sewage treatment system or waste disposal procedures, septic tanks in the labour camps often overflow and floods of heavy sewage water in surrounding areas are a common occurrence.
Dubai Municipality (DM) has planned the sewage and storm water project, costing Dhs86 million, with the aim of easing sewage water management procedures in the industrial areas one, two and three and four.
A senior DM official said that in realisation of issues over the sewage disposal in the areas and concern for preservation of the environment of the city, the project will provide sewage as well as storm water drainage services to 145,000 people in the region.
Talib Julfar, Director of the Drainage and Irrigation Department at the DM, said, "The system will be established alongside Sheikh Zayed Road, Al Khail Road and Umm Suqeim Road. It will cover a total area of 159 hectares out of the 1,897 hectares in the Al Quoz industrial area."
"The project will be set up within 18 months (540 days). It will have wastewater collection and rainwater pipes, the groundwater level reducing pipes and wastewater and rainwater collection chambers," he added.
"House connection pipes, manholes and domestic connection inspection rooms, rainwater connection rooms and the establishment of a sewage pumping station as well as a pumping line are included in the components of the project," pointed out Julfar.
As the area accommodates about 150,000 residents as well as hundreds of industrial units, exposure to raw sewage has been causing various kinds of threats to public health.
The industrial area generates about 300,000 cubic metres of sewage wastewater per day, which is estimated as one of the highest measures of waste production in Dubai.
Sewage treatment plant for Masafi
An advanced sewage water treatment plant is on the anvil at Masafi Village. The installation of the plant will be completed in four months time, according to its patrons.
"The project will cater to the growing needs of about 2,000 residents of the village," said Abdullah Al Ghurair, Chairman of Al Ghurair Group, which is installing the plant in co-operation with Hitachi Plant Technologies.
"The plant will serve as a local sewage treatment facility as well as a valuable source of high quality water for irrigation purposes," he added.
According to Abdullah, the residents of Masafi currently depend on sewage tankers to evacuate sewage from the village to a remote sewage treatment plant.
Essa Al Ghurair, Chairman of Al Ghurair Foods, said, "The initiative will value the natural resources of the area, as it introduces environmentally friendly technology for wastewater treatment in the area."
"The plant will help to preserve the precious ground water resources of the Masafi area, using it for drinking purposes only," she added.
Dr Sumikawa, President of Hitachi Plant Technologies, said, "The high quality water treatment system will facilitate the local treatment and conversion of sewage water into high quality water, without odour or color, so that it is made suitable for irrigation purposes."
"Unlike the conventional sewage treatment systems, the plant is equipped with membrane bio reactor technology that will further help to reduce the carbon footprint," he added.
He pointed out that the plant will be operated with a 500 CBM/Day treatment capacity. The eco-friendly process requires less energy and will maintain a high consistency in the quality of water, that can be safety used for irrigation and other industrial applications in the town of Masafi.
"A water recycling establishment, utilising the same technology for high grade industrial water, is already operational in Al Quoz," Sumikawa added.
A ground breaking ceremony for the plant was held on Monday, in the presence of Mubarak Ali Al Shamsi of RAK Municipality, Mohammad Abduallah Al Maherzi, and Saied Sultan Shahin from Masafi Ras-Al-Khaimah, Ali Abdullah from Fujairah Municipality, and Khameez Al Damhani from the Masafi Municipality.
Senior delegates from Al Ghurair and Hitachi Plant Technologies were also present.