JEDDAH: Many people have stopped picnicking and fishing in Amanah Lake off Al-Andalus Street after it began to smell again. Earlier this year, the municipality installed 40 water pumps to oxygenate the water in both Amanah and Arbaeen Lakes in order to kill the bad smell and rejuvenate marine life.
After the treatment process, which took place earlier this year, the two locations became an attraction for families and individuals. Water pumps were working continuously, which helped in removing the stench, but for the last few months, visitors said that pumps were hardly working. Now people have stopped going to the Amanah Lake, which is located behind the King Fahd Coastal City, because of the return of the stench.
Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, head of the media department at the municipality, denied halting the treatment process. He said that the water oxygenating process was a temporary solution to rejuvenate the lakes until the Jeddah Central District Company, which won a massive contract to develop the infrastructure of the city center, takes over the responsibility of treating the lakes on a permanent basis. He said that the municipality had also equipped children’s playgrounds and established a number of lakeside stalls.
For a number of years, both lakes were devoid of life. Urban growth coupled with a lack of regard for environmental protection turned both lakes into dirty, smelly bodies of water.
Saeed Al-Jabri, a resident of Al-Ruwais district, said that the Amanah Lake, which is close to his home, used to be a convenient point for him and his family to spend time out. “Earlier this year, after the bad smell vanished, we saw a number of food stalls opening by the lake, which made us go there a lot. Now we don’t see any,” he said.
The pumps have been working continuously for a few months, but then they started working once or twice a week, Al-Jabri said, adding: “The stench started to emerge again, which made us stop going there.”
Although the municipality claims that the cleaning project is still on, people are complaining about the stench from Amanah Lake. Salman Al-Zahrani, a Saudi resident of Al-Baghdadiah district, said that he used to take his family for lunch by the Amanah Lake after it was treated. “We were happy with the place because it was convenient and not too crowded. Now it stinks again and even the stalls have shut down,” he said.
