Definitely Dubai as it used to be in the early 1970s!

What is there to say?

Dubai had no centralised sewage system when T.J.White from Texas took this photo in the early 1970s. Houses, Hotels, Hospitals etc relied on Septic Tanks to collect their sewage. Paved streets and pathways were few. Dubai's Residents had no Public Toilets to meet their needs but plenty of absorbent sand! The Sewage collected in the Septic Tanks was usually dumped in desert areas generally alongside the upper reaches of Dubai Creek. Dubai Municipality's signage was probably ineffective. Those Members of the Public expected to comply with the Notice are unlikely to have the capability to read Arabic or English or (more likely) to read in any language.

Public Health Concerns

This Dubai Municipality sign indicates a concern for public health but also a lack of means for dealing with the problem. Dubai had experienced Typhoid and Cholera outbreaks in the past so Authorities knew the consequences of poor sanitation. When oil was discovered, one of the first projects announced by Sheikh Rashid was a Sewage Treatment Plant connecting to all Dubai properties via a pipe network. The Sewage Treatment Plant was completed quickly but it was several years before all Dubai's properties were connected to the system.

Forward Thinking Forgotten

Sheikh Rashid understood the strategic value of Public Sanitation as a crtical element of Dubai's development. Overtime the existence of the Sanitation System Sheikh Rashid had provided to became accepted as a Dubai norm. As Dubai expanded past Old Dubai's limits, Dubai's public sanitation system no longer had the capacity to meet the new demands from Dubai's expansion. Modern Dubai's focus was on new and exciting property development. Sheikh Rashid's forward thinking of ensuring services were in place before developing had been forgotten. By around 2008 Dubai was reverting to dumping raw sewage, albeit illegally, because of lack of treatment capacity. Pre 1970s dumping areas were gone. They were now covered by houses, hotels, golf courses or had become conservation areas. Instead Dubai's coastline and storm drains became the unofficial dump sites with adverse health, ecological and financial consequences. Dubai is now commissioning New Waste and Waste Water Treatment Plants to provide the capacity it needs if it is to continue to grow.