Jebel Ali residents plagued by smell of sewage

Some say the smell is making them ill. Pawan Singh / The National

DUBAI // While the cool weather makes this time of year perfect for enjoying the outdoors, residents of a Dubai community have spent the past two weeks locked indoors with their windows shut.

The Remraam community in Jebel Ali has been plagued by a foul odour of sewage, which residents said was making them ill.

Louise Woods, who has been living in Remraam Community since July, said that the smell was almost unbearable.

“I’ve heard it was a sewage pipe on Hessa Street, but it doesn’t smell when you drive down Hessa Street,” she said. “It’s an early evening when we start smelling it, and I’ve woken up to it. It stinks, it’s just disgusting.

“We don’t sleep with our windows open, and the smell was so bad that I thought the dog had an accident.”

She said the smell was making her ill.

“I have to cover my nose in my living room, and I actually started heaving the other night,” she said. “I have had cold [symptoms] and a headache for the past week.

Her daughter, Sidney Machachini, 16, said she too could smell it in the evening.

“I was coming back home from a friend’s house last night, and the smell was very strong,” she said.

Ms Woods said that some residents had contacted Dubai Municipality and the property’s management, but they did not respond.

Alex, who has lived in Remraam for two years, said: “The smell would come and go. I didn’t smell it all day [on Sunday] and then at night, it was horrible and was so bad that it woke us up.

“I’m worried that this is bad for us to breathe in. I have children, a three-year-old and a one-year-old.

Emma, another resident, said that she was hopeful the odour would subside completely.

“We’re smelling the sewage in the mornings now, rather than at night, so it does appear to be clearing up slightly,” she said.

Dubai Properties, which manages the Remraam community, said in a statement that it was aware of the issue and was working to resolve it.

It said the issue was related to Dewa’s Jebel Ali sewerage line outside the community.

“Dewa has confirmed that they have rectified the line that was causing the issue, and have covered the affected area,” it said. “Dewa’s contractor treated the area on Tuesday night to further dissolve the remaining spillage.

“We will keep monitoring the situation to ensure that the treatment is completed in the quickest time possible.”