So basically, this is the worlds tallest porta potty.

Dubai is a perfect literal metaphor of pure materialism without context, culture and value.

Water and Sewage should be top priority for any country.

Imagine if these truckers were to go on strike for a week

I only visited Dubai in July and pretty stunned that the world's tallest building has a glorified septic tank system

As someone’s who’s stayed a couple nights in the Burj Khalifa hotel, I can proudly claim that I’ve both pooped and pissed in a Burj Khalifa toilet.

Imagine some day there is a traffic jam and the trucks don't make it back in time 😂

Im an architect and to blame architects for this sewage nightmare near the end of the video is quite insane and shows how little the narrator knows of the building process. Its the local government’s fault for not having adequate infrastructure. No rational architect nor plumbing engineer will turn down a huge landmark building just cause the client and government refuse to provide proper waste infrastructure. Will you blame the car designer or dealership for failing and crumbling roads? Or the lonely electrician for city wide power outages? Or your doctor for people’s overall unhealthy life choices? The answer to all these is… no.

I almost dropped my laptop off my knee when you said "that's still a lot of shit" hahahaah!!!

What's shocking is that the city allowed this building to get built and was unwilling to install a larger sewer line to transport the waste water to the treatment plant. They had some 10 years from initially planning to grand opening to get this line installed. One has to wonder why they didn't do it.

This video could literally have been finished in 2 minutes but gotta get 'em watchtime records in amirite

Having to take the sewerage away in tankers gives the phrase: "taking a dump" legitimacy

LETS be frank... this is the worlds tallest porta potty

The fact that this happened is low key terrifying 😳 I just learned about this today 3/2022.

Thank you for a very enlightening video. It solidified Dubai's position on my list of places I have no desire to visit.

London already has a comprehensive sewer system, but London's new 'super sewer' - officially called The Thames Tideway Tunnel is due for completion in 2025 and will augment the current system. This 25 km long super sewer consists of tunnels with an internal diameter of 7.2 metres (24 feet) and runs deep under the River Thames. This project will cost a total of £4.9bn to complete when the £1.1bn spent for preparatory works is included. That's the civilised, sane way to develop a city and ready it for the future, rather relying on septic tanks.

Surprised they didn't install a system of turbines to break its fall, first building to generate power as the shxt goes down.

As an architect, I can say that we spent way more time arguing with developer, builder, structural, PHE, HVAC, electrical and interior design consultants than we do actually designing the building.

I've always wondered about the "bounce back" problem tall buildings face. Insightful video!

The piping configuration we use in sanitary stacks to prevent blowouts and hydraulic jump are called velocity break. Additionally, the water closets that were mentioned as being installed on their own independent stacks were done as such to avoid being installed in the Suds Pressure Zone. As a union plumber, who builds highrises on the East Coast, it’s absolutely mind boggling to hear that the Emiratis built this city up without sufficient sanitary piping. Its a recipe for inefficiency, unsustainability, and, ultimately, disaster.

It wasn’t cost effective to have the building connected to the sewage system but having trucks take the waste day in and out is?

watching this video and hearing the narrator use lots of poop synonyms words like trash, waste, stinky garbage, feces, smelly truckload, etc, then at 6:36 he straight up just says "that's still a lot of shit" took me by surprise haha, all that effort of trying to be careful with words gone down the pan

I would’ve thought putting in a state-of-the-art sewage system in a building like that would be more cost effective than trucking it out. Much respect to the people who take care of it. I hope they’re well-paid, cuz imagine if they ever were unhappy and decided to go on strike.

It's time to convert poop back to oil🤣 taking recycling to a whole new level 😂

A mind blowing video. Thanks for sharing your findings with us 😮

I'm so glad I watched this video. I don't know if it wad meant to be as funny but I was cracking up after the narrator started talking about how it actually worked. When he started talking about bounce back, images went through my head that shouldn't have lol

Maybe this is what happens in a city that is growing so fast however I assume the sewer system will be upgraded because the current system using trucks is too expensive.

Imagine 2 of these trucks in a head to head collision on the highway, flooding all the nice hypercars in brown rain.😃

Dude imagine if that sewer truck just crash in the streets

Ridiculous. To bad money can't buy good common sense.

brings a new meaning to the description of a Dump Truck ,i wonder if audi sells a lot of the Outhousen 1000 models and of course chryslers p car ?

13 tons a day is only 1 truck. Not such a big deal for over 1000 huge apartments and tons of offices. If it costs less money to transport shit by a truck than redoing a kilometer of sewage system, why isn’t that the right solution?

They need to figure out a way to meter monitor water usage. have a command center read excessive use. It seems unusual for a building to be creating that much waste.

This is the truth most people rarely talk about Dubai. It is very unfortunate!

How about a plan be drawn up and implemented add the waste to the municipal sewer system and phase out the need for trucking?

Imagine getting a bunch of people together and flushing all the toilets at once in that place!

So do the trucks pick it all up like once a week or is there just a continuous stream of trucks constantly going in and out of the building nonstop?

I can't really say I enjoyed your presentation and its liquid waste management system. also I don't want to say it is this is the worlds tallest porta potty. i LOVE if you also tell us more about the way the solid waste management is? or are you saying there is no any solid waste generating from the building. I am trying to adopt new way of solid waste management practices for my tall building Thanks from Ethiopia

Been there (Dubai), nothing but glitter and lights and tons of bling and expensive. However, they do have some fantastic architecture there. Many awesome buildings, an architects dream.

Holy shit! 1 flush = 122 mph! They got some powerful Toilets over there...LOL

Would you consider this as bad infrastructure planning?

Though there wasn't more technical breakup of the downward journey of sewage and sullage at top speed due to gravity, couldn't the Plumbing and Sanitary engineers have installed some hardware within the pipes to slow down the descent? - much like the suppressor that is screwed onto the handgun/rifle barrel to reduce the gunshot decibel levels? Or even intermediate service floors (every 5, 10 storeys) which, in addition to having water tanks and secondary MEPs system holds, could have a septic tank, which then connects to the next lower septic tank. Also, after the STPs successfully treat the sewage, the leftover sludge can be used for composting, manure, maybe generate a new topsoil in the otherwise arid desert lands...

Construction is expensive but gas is cheap there. Also, cheap foreign labourers are abundant in Dubai. Planners might have seen that "Sh!t Loads" were more cost effective and less cumbersome than upgrading the sewer system of an entire city.

..AND HE GETS TO THE POINT WHEN???

Sounds like a good candidate for those new fangled self driving trucks.

Thank you. I never had this question until I watched this video. Enlightenment.

Yup not having a sewer connection would save a lot of money, It always seems the ones that have the money to install high quality plumbing are the ones who don't want to spend it on what you can't see, probably a grey water system and a separate sanitary soil drain also

Underrated video. Maybe an addendum to it could show how the shit actually gets to the trucks. Is it just a big concrete shit pit underneath ? Or is it exposed ? Do the shit trucks have their own vacuum pumps ?

At some point the city is going to have to rebuild the sewage systems to deal with these buildings.

That means cost of installing sewage is higher than the salary of the people who carry the sewage.

Ironically this buildings architect firm is from Chicago, where City reversed River flow in order to send waste fluids directly out of town rather than poisoning Lake Michigan still used today as clean water source.

Typical Dubai story. They never continue the thought with any project they do. It’s true that not everything that shines is gold and that’s Dubai.

How deep is the hole in the ground for the footing of this massive structure?

Sooner or later they will need to fix this problem. I think each year the fix will only cost millions and millions more. If only there were some other option available. They could turn the fountains into large waste water pools that are stirred and the water evaporates. The waste can then be used to grow crops? I think installing a sewer system is probably a better idea. Its all so fascinating and bewildering at the same time.

What a bizarrely interesting review. I found myself both interested and amused I equal measure. 😂

That’s what happens when you rush to Be recognised. And on top of that. They had only only oil. So at a point. Dubai will explode

I certainly would not criticise the architects, who must have known their profession well. Rather let us acknowledge that they designed what they were asked for and it was a conscious decision by the owner to design it this way. Perhaps the most astounding news in the video was the waiting time for the sewage tankers at the municipal treatment plant and one must assume that in a rapidly growing city like Dubai, this issue will be in the process of being resolved.

I work for Dubai Government, this is very NOT TRUE, the only time when this use to happen is that when the building was being built and wasn't connected to the sewage plant, After Burj Khalifa was built it was connected to sewage plant in Al Wasan Area close to dragon Mart. Just Imagine all Dubai Town and all the buildings are all connected to a grease trap, that doesn't make sense, even thousands off trucks wouldn't be enough to carry the waste, there will be not space for fancy cars there. It will be just filled with trucks.

Matter of good commun sens missing!!! Thanks for precious information. 😭

06:33 That image of the trucks show more than 13 cubic meter of storage. 1 cubic meter of pure water is 1 ton and a quick google seems to indicate that wastewater weight 70% of pure water. Therefor 13 cubic meter sewage would be 9,1 ton kg. Each truck is probably around 20 cubic meter.... Meaning a truck can take up to ca 11 ton. Seems to be more than one truck in that image to me... Is ALL sewage trucked out of the city? LoL

These Waste tankers are called Honey Wagons for attracting flying insects after the incredible 'nectar' contained within.

"Dump my smelly truckload!"!!!! I can't breathe!!😂😂 I'm going to use that phrase in the office later to anounce my visit to make dirt in the rest room!

I literally asked my self this question and found your video thank you

Very interesting and informative!!

VAT was introduced in 2018 (if I can remember correctly) and there already was 5% VAT when I left Dubai in 2019 😑😑😑😑😑

would this method of cutting costs work only oif labor was cheap? or is infrastructure so expensive that it's only the rules building codes that prevent everyone from doing it? a treatment facility still had to be built, and run but farther away so that seems like a big expense not avoided

I went to Dubai and in the hotel there was definitely a plumbing problem. We had to change rooms. The hotel was really nice, but I could tell there was some sewage problems. How are they going to build such a thing and don’t have it connected to a waste water treatment facility?

It is true that the Burj Khalifa was not connected to the sewage system, but it was connected some time after its construction, people still think that it was not connected, I hope this rumor stops.

The poo reaches terminal velocity alright man im dying lol

Good luck Bro, I am sure you have Gold Button in the next couple of years if you work hard

got a laugh when he said "bounce back", I'm picturing folks on the lower floors when they are on the seat, getting a mud volcano blast all over their backside! 🤣

Where do the trucks dump the waste? Are there microorganisms that eat the waste? It seems like It would be a worse problem than otherwise due to so much sand.

Even though they didn't connect up the waste water sewerage plumbing first, I believe that even though they didn't connect the sewerage up the usual way first, I am thinking it is still be possible to run a new system "from the septic waste plant facility that would be only for this building alone, And they could build it underground running the most direct way, straight to this sky scrapper, the Burj Khalifa? even though things are usually done the other way around, I believe that if they wanted in the future I believe it could still happen, I mean if they haven't had any problems with the trucks transporting the waste, then I believe that while this method seems to be working fine now that they could still change over in the future to the other method, I believe that it would not be that much of an issue, if they built it from the waste facility to the building, obviously there would need to be one day within 24 hrs, for the change over process to occur, but that would be possible I would think.even if part of the Burj Khalifas sewerage system was changed over part by part over a few weeks, on the grand scale of things I wouldn't think that it was impossible at all, they could do that I believe, it seems like a big issue but if you are talking about big construction contracts for the future over the years ahead things could still logistically work out.

You made this video very Humerous Thank you I needed a good laugh feel sorry for the workers of those trucks

Learned about this in February 2023. Wondering if its still trucked out to this day.

One large road tanker should be able to clear all the liquid waste for one day. .13 tonnes of waste is about 13000 liters . Large trucks typically have capacities ranging from 5,500 to 11,600 US gallons (20,800 to 43,900 L; 4,580 to 9,660 imp gal).

Are not architects are actually civil engineers! why such a mess?! the responsible are civil engineers...

Interesting and shows how some "countries" inflate themselves to a higher pressure than they can handle. There are very simple solutions to handle the sewage in question at a cost a fraction of trucking it out everyday.

Architects have no business with building waste management. This is negative reporting. The engineers do. In a pumped sewer system dependent on electrical power the provision for sewer trucks is prudent whether a building is connected to the municipality trunk sewer system or not.

imagine it just throws the poo in the sky and falls to someone XD

This is true and just not this tower but all UAE works that way

Mate , I would like to shake your hand , thank you for sharing of yourself and your beautiful family . 💯 🏆 ❤

Thank you for obsessing over such a pleasant subject.

They charge a 5% VAT fee which is a tax. If your a traveller, make sure you say so and when you leave they will refund that for you at the airport. Especially in large luxury items

ok, I watched this while having breakfast.

This is not something I ever wondered about but, hey presto, I know more than I did when I woke up this morning. Hooray for education! :-))))

The thing is, Burj Khalifa is connected to the sewage system, and it uses it all day every day. The problem is with capacity of that system in the whole city. So no only Burj Khalifa need to use trucks, so they won't block system.

So Dubai isn’t the land of tomorrow

Respect to Pakistanis and Indians

The long line of trucks is deceiving. 13 tons of waste water is 26000 pounds. Divide by 8lb/gal yields 3250 gallons. The truck pictured was labeled 1000 gal. So 3+ trucks. There is some wiggle room allowing for differences in the density of the discharge but not dozens of trucks.

Kind of sums up Dubai, lots of glitz but you don't want to look behind the scenes.

The Indus Valley civilization which existed from 3300 BC to 1300 BC already had centralized sewage system back then. The Dubai civilization still can’t reach the level of the Indus Valley.😊

Imagine the poorer areas

The reason it’s not cost effective is because they would have had to rebuild the entire sewege system in the coty or create a completely new one to be able to handle the waste water from the tower. This will probably be done in the future but at the time it wasn’t cost effective.

Terry Gross what a name for this topic 😂

2:29 no it doesn't, I've been there. Everything is beautiful EXCEPT Burj Khalifa, hotels and restaurants around it. All houses are in dire situation

This is what happens when city is inorganically developed and built. It will never be New York or Chicago.

and for internet, they have dial-up via the acoustic couplers provided in the rooms... - a full 200 baud...

Actually, at one truck of LOADS a day. It's like one truck a day commuting cost. Even if they bought 2 or 3 or 4 trucks just to have an overage capability, with one truck commuting back and forth daily. The daily cost is most likely less then the interest on the millions of dollars in loan payments that would have been spent on such a long pipeline of a waste system. Shockingly it may actually be a better more cost effective way of doing things. NO SHIT... The other question is. Because they are having so many buildings doing this from all around the city. Is it still cumulatively cost effective considering the combined costs of all buildings, compared to the costs of building an entire sewer system? It actually might be. HOW CRAZY. At first I thought the trucking idea was crazy. Just because it isn't how America or most other countries do things. But when you realize how small Dubai is. Then use those numbers for your comparison. Each building may have had to be charged way more year over year to just be added to the sewer system and cause that system the huge cost of being in larged. If in the future these costs change. Or if something else happens. They can always hook all the building together to the system then. And who knows that huge building could be blown down because of unpaid electic bills or electrical shorts and bad wiring connections within the foundation way before it becoming cheaper to hook to the city sewer system. I'm not wishing anything bad against them. But these are all possible scenarios as time goes by. After all, the building relies on very expensive rentals and costs. In a city that needs tourists to support itself. And people, thinking, and trends change over time. And why does anyone even now desire to be in Dubai? What's really there?

Something to think about when you're sitting on the throne.