JEDDAH, 17 August 2003 — For five months, a small river of raw sewage has flowed down the streets of the residential area of Kilo 14 on the Old Makkah Road. Despite regular calls to the offices of the Jeddah Municipality the situation has yet to be rectified.
The sewage overflow is caused by the illegal connection of outflows by about 100 houses on a hill to the north of the area into what was originally a freshwater pipe. It flows downhill and erupts through a drain cover next to the main thoroughfare, several hundred meters from source.
Khaled Al-Ammari, head of Umm Al Salam Municipality (which is responsible for the area), told Arab News yesterday that the problem is partly self-inflicted and partly a question of bureaucracy.
“The cause is home-owners making illegal connections and allowing the sewage to flood away from their homes and out of their lives,” he said. The problem he faces is one of enforcing orders to stop this happening, he said. “The municipality is obliged to follow procedure — and this takes a long time.”
Originally, the hill-top householders were faced with sewage overflow in front of their houses. The municipality ordered them to get rid of it. They did, Al-Ammari said, “by connecting to the conveniently placed pipe. “
In the summer heat, the stench literally takes the breath away. Swarms of flies settle on the accumulated sewage, enter houses and cover produce in street stalls.
“Children are getting sick and we have no means of preventing it. Life in and around what was our main street is impossible,” said Eisa Sabr, a long-time local resident.
The streets, many of which are unpaved, are filled with uncollected garbage. There is no piped fresh water; supplies are trucked in. Nor is there mains drainage.
The courtyard of the local mosque, located at the bottom of the slight incline leading from the residential area to the main road, is occasionally inundated with sewage. “Often it reduces the number of prayer lines in the courtyard from three to one,” said Al Haithan Shabi. “It all has to be cleaned out — it’s a major problem.”
The security officer at the mosque immediately next to the river of filth, yet undergoing external renovation, said that the attendance dropped because of the sewage. “People from up the hill who perform wudu before coming cannot cross the dirty water without getting contaminated,” he said. “On weekdays, we often only have four or five in to pray.”
Abdullah Mohammed, who runs a local general store, has seen his trade seriously affected. “The road is like a river,” he said, “and people won’t walk through that! He pointed to the greenish liquid inches deep and filling two-thirds of the road. “It’s not as bad now as it is in winter, because the sun evaporates some of the water — it’s usually much worse.”
Cars and mini-buses plow through the filth, aerosolizing it and allowing the toxic droplets to drift on the breeze. With no schools in the area, children use the streets for social and play areas much of each day and in so doing, they breathe the vapors.
“We have asked time after time for the municipality to do something about this,” said Eisa Sabr, “But they don’t care about us. We have no means to force them.”
Back at the Jeddah Municipality, Al Ammari told Arab News that he is now considering sanctions. “I have asked the local mayor to summon the householders to come before him and to tell them to stop violating local rules and not to use the pipe. If they refuse, we can then apply to the authorities to cut their electrical power as a sanction.”
As a temporary measure, Al Ammari has a line of sewage trucks attempting to clear the overflow. “Between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. each day we try to clear the effluent,” he said, “But there is so much coming from the houses, we are losing the battle.”
Meanwhile, the sewage still flows, the problems continue and the health risks accumulate.
(With input from Hassan Adawi and Mahmoud Ahmed)
