I don't know the exact nature of the chemicals used in THE Jebel ali plant process, there is no transparency and no Dubai agency will disclose (like they do in the West) the nature and quantity of the chemicals. Basically these chemicals are used to change the composition of the water, clean it from the dead organismes the plant kills in the process, reduce contamination and clogs in the membranes and filters, such as ion chloride, sulfuric acid, sodium hypochlorite, phospinocarboxylic acid , Sodium metabisulphite, nitrilopropionamide, other chemicals are byproduct of corrosion in the systems with other constituents such as boron. Have a good swim Dillon, best chemical soup is off around the Ritz Carlton.
I will have soon, the results of an "independant" and government free analysis, don't ask me how or when, it would not be independant anymore.
The catastrophic and long term effect comes mostly from the brine, highly salty sludge and heat output that kills all marine life, and also oxygen levels dropping with the decomposition of these organismes in the sea.
The Persian Gulf is a closed sea, there is little renewal of ocean water, so contamination can only get worse, and with it, the efficiency of the desalination plants will reduce, increasing even more the contamination.
Now for the sewage problem, the city was built with no design, no plan, as they buil towers and villas, they forgot, or did not give a shiet for a sewer system, there is just not one or too small, hence the buckets on wheels and shiet holes.
Instead of debating beach issues in Dubai, if people like beaches they should just go to the Philipines, Maldives, Australia, Pacific, Caribbean, where beaches are immaculate and stunning. Forget Dubai, it is a contaminated soup. I don't care if you or kid swim in it, it s your skin and it is you who will glow in the dark, but it is a fraud to claim otherwise to attract tourists.