A number of residents of Al-Hamra district in Jeddah have complained about the harmful effects of the temporary pump that was installed by the National Water Company, claiming that the pump emits sewage and that the resultant closure of the bystreet extending from the main Palestine Road has caused much disturbance and inconvenience.

Mohammad Al-Qasim, a resident of the neighbourhood, claimed that some landlords of the new buildings in the district attacked the network and broke the extension pipes during the construction operations. “Instead of imposing fines on them, the water company punished all residents by installing a temporary pump and closed the inside streets for months. We strongly appeal to the Makkah governorate and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha) to intervene and hold to account those who wasted the public funds of the state,” he said.

Abdullah Shaker, another local resident, said that the alternative pump closed the road and flooded the heavy populated neighborhood, the shops and other vital facilities with sewage water. “This is unacceptable. The issue is very annoying for all residents constitutes a very bad sight and smell for passers-by”, he added.

Ibrahim Al-Zughaibi added that all residents initially thought that the matter would only be temporary, but can now see that it has taken such a long time to address, and remains without any foreseeable solution.

“This random planning and complacency in terms of the work that needs to be done is making things worse and is causing rodents and insects to gather here”, said another citizen, Ibrahim Al-Harbi. He referred to some other commonly cited negative issues that have resulted from the installation of the temporary pump, such as the closure of the internal streets of the neighborhood, along with the bad smell emitting from the flooding water, the spread of mosquitoes and insects, the disturbing noise of the pump, all of which have distorted the general perceptions of the street.

Hany M. Al-Tayeb, ICT Infrastructure Manager at the National Water Company said that the pump is temporary and was installed because a pipeline was broken at the location. “If the pump was not installed, sewage water would have flooded the emergency entrance at Faqieh Hospital anyway. Within one week from now, a contractor will be employed to remove the pump and install new pipelines,” explained Al-Tayeb.