KUWAIT CITY // Water in the desert is often a welcome find, but three giant lagoons in the south of Kuwait are so putrid that any thirsty traveller who happened to come across them might wish they had been a mirage.
The back pools near Wafra have been created over years by tens of thousands of tankers emptying loads of industrial, chemical and domestic waste into the pools bordered by piled-up sand. The result is 400-metre-long, noxious lagoons that environmentalists say are slowly seeping into the ground and polluting the country's groundwater.
This week, 160 containers discharged in a single day. "My load comes from Kuwait Oil Company," one driver, who asked to remain anonymous, said. Waste spewed from the back of his tanker, forming a putrid stream that weaved its way into the lagoon at the bottom of the bank. "I come here twice a day."
"They've been doing this for around three years," said a worker at the site, who also declined to give his name. "We used to get around 400 trucks daily. Now there is less, but the deliveries still arrive 24 hours a day."
The containers all have official permission to unload at the site, which the government opened to prevent waste water from being discharged at unregulated venues elsewhere.
The government has opened a new water-treatment facility 25km from the lagoons in an attempt to stop further dumping at the lagoons.
Kamal Banoub, a US consultant engineer to the council of ministers' Security Decision Follow-up Committee, which runs the facility, said it officially opened last week and was operating at about 40 per cent of its planned capacity. By the end of July, the facility will be capable of receiving 7,500 cubic metres of industrial waste water every day, or about 400 trucks, he said.
The plant can extract oil and sand from the water, clean it with chemicals and analyse the finished product in a laboratory. Scientists say the recycled water produced at the site will be pure enough for irrigation, but not drinking.
"This problem has been in Kuwait for the past 40 years. Before it was dumped in the desert, but we have a suspicion that this would contaminate the groundwater," Mr Banoub said. "This is the main reason this site has opened."
The lagoons and the new treatment station are intended to handle water from industrial and chemical waste from factories only, but some lorries have taken advantage of lax regulations to dump domestic waste, too. Mr Banoub said the new facility would enforce stricter rules to eliminate the practice because domestic waste can be treated more cheaply elsewhere.
When the plant is fully operational, the follow-up committee plans to drain the rancid lagoons for treatment in the new station, clean the contaminated soil and build a public park. Mr Banoub said: "We have to calculate the amount and see if we need pre-treatment; we are talking not less than two years."
The consultant said the new treatment station was the first in the Gulf to receive waste from all types of industries. "In Europe, all industries recycle their water and use it again - on site in the factory." The "long-term target" is for Kuwaiti factories to treat waste water themselves.
Ahmed al Shrea, an environmental campaigner with the Voluntary Environmental Committee, an organisation based in the residential area of Ali Sabah al Salem City, 30km north-east of the lagoons, said the new facility had taken too long to open. He said a plant that only grows near sewage has been found 7km away from the lagoons, indicating that the groundwater is already contaminated.
"Last June, the minister of defence opened this station and said 'this treatment unit will take care of all the polluted water in Kuwait'," Mr al Shrea said. When the environmental committee monitored the performance of the facility, they found it was taking just 10 per cent of the capacity that the minister, Sheikh Jaber Mubarak al Sabah, promised, he claimed.
The head of the Environment Public Authority, Saleh al Mudhhi, said it was still "under commissioning", and would reach full capacity in the future. "But what does 'the future' mean? It could be five or 10 years. It took eight years to build this station, so it should be 100 per cent online by now.
"We have a lot of money, but still the decision-makers are not solving the environmental problems in Kuwait," he said.
The authority was not available for comment about the water treatment facility. Mr al Shrea's committee has videos of the tankers loading white, blue, red and yellow liquids from factories in the West Shuaiba Industrial Area, Mr al Shrea said, adding that one of those factories uses formaldehyde, "which is poisonous, and causes cancer".
Mr Banoub said even though hazardous materials have been dumped into the lagoons, a plan is being put in place to ensure they are pre-treated before leaving the factories.
Despite the enormity of the putrid pools, Mr al Shrea said that with the right amount of investment they can be turned into a place where families could someday go for a picnic. "It's an easy thing to do in engineering. If you have a lot of money you can hire the expertise to do it. But we don't believe what these people say, we don't trust them anymore."
@Email:jcalderwood@thenational.ae
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
Players Selected for La Liga Trials
U18 Age Group
Name: Ahmed Salam (Malaga)
Position: Right Wing
Nationality: Jordanian
Name: Yahia Iraqi (Malaga)
Position: Left Wing
Nationality: Morocco
Name: Mohammed Bouherrafa (Almeria)
Position: Centre-Midfield
Nationality: French
Name: Mohammed Rajeh (Cadiz)
Position: Striker
Nationality: Jordanian
U16 Age Group
Name: Mehdi Elkhamlichi (Malaga)
Position: Lead Striker
Nationality: Morocco
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre flat-six twin-turbocharged
Transmission: eight-speed PDK automatic
Power: 445bhp
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Price: Dh474,600
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
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- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
England squad
Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Dominic Bess, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Lewis Gregory, Keaton Jennings, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Amar Virdi, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
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Timeline
1947
Ferrari’s road-car company is formed and its first badged car, the 125 S, rolls off the assembly line
1962
250 GTO is unveiled
1969
Fiat becomes a Ferrari shareholder, acquiring 50 per cent of the company
1972
The Fiorano circuit, Ferrari’s racetrack for development and testing, opens
1976
First automatic Ferrari, the 400 Automatic, is made
1987
F40 launched
1988
Enzo Ferrari dies; Fiat expands its stake in the company to 90 per cent
2002
The Enzo model is announced
2010
Ferrari World opens in Abu Dhabi
2011
First four-wheel drive Ferrari, the FF, is unveiled
2013
LaFerrari, the first Ferrari hybrid, arrives
2014
Fiat Chrysler announces the split of Ferrari from the parent company
2015
Ferrari launches on Wall Street
2017
812 Superfast unveiled; Ferrari celebrates its 70th anniversary
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Apple product price list
iPad Pro
11" - $799 (64GB)
12.9" - $999 (64GB)
MacBook Air
$1,199
Mac Mini
$799
