Sewage trucks get electronic gate

The municipality yesterday launched an electronic gate in Industrial Area 5 for private and public tankers for septic tankers to dispose of their waste. Instead of using paper coupons, tankers will now have to pass through an e-gate so that municipal authorities record its entry and exit at the sewage station. The project cost Dh1 million, and aims for drivers to save time and reduce the queues while entering the facility. "The cost of crossing the toll gate costs Dh30, and we expect the sewage plant to receive up to 700 tankers a day," said Engineer Sultan Al Mualla, Director General of Sharjah Municipality. He pointed out that the sewage plant will cater to both private and public tankers, but by 2014, tankers belonging to private companies will be forced to dispose off their waste in Al Saja'a industrial area. "We are working towards establishing a sewerage network to all areas of Sharjah city. In the first phase, half of the city will be connected to the main station through pipes, so tanks will only be required in areas that are connected," said Al Mualla, although he could not give a deadline as to when all the areas will be connected. "The sewage plant receives 50,000 to 55,0000 cubic meters of sewage per day, and the new electronic system and e-gate will monitor the tanks' permits, their expiration dates, and record their movement from the time they enter the plant until they leave. Hassan Al Taffaq, Director of the Drainage Department at Sharjah Municipality, said that the plant has two gates, "one for government tankers and one for private companies." He noted that the process of unloading each tank takes about 15 minutes and are monitored by six CCTV cameras. In conjunction with the e-gate's launch, Sharjah Municipality also opened a new sewage plant yesterday to cater to Al Majaz and other nearby areas and accommodate to the needs of residents. A senior official at Sharjah Municipality stressed that the new plant operates underground and will not have any environmental impact, assuring that it will not emit any foul odours. "The previous sewage plant in the area was not large enough and would often over flow, but the new pumping station that is connected to the sewage plant has a capacity to pass 2,000 litres [of sewage] per second and is three times larger," said Al Mualla. The new sewage plant, located next to Sharjah City Centre in Industrial Area 1, will now cater to the residential areas of Al Majaz, Al Taawun, Al Nahda and industrial area 1. The plant, which was built at a cost of Dh60 million, was under construction since October 2010 and is more efficient than the previous plant as it can accommodate more fluid and is equipped with an odour control system. "We have built it with a new design so that there is no opening and is all underground," said Al Mualla, who noted that during the summer months, about 80 to 90 per cent of the sewage water is used for irrigation. Up to 80 per cent of Sharjah city has been connected to the sewerage network, and the main remaining residential areas include Al Ramtha, Al Guoz and Al Ghafiya.