Parents, staff and students at a girls' public elementary school in Jeddah’s Al-Safa district faced a difficult situation when they arrived at school yesterday morning: They found the street in front of the school and the front door flooded with sewage.
“This is disgusting. Something has got to be done about overflowing sewage in the streets. How are we supposed to take our children to school?” a parent said as he waded through the ankle high water while trying to escort his daughter to the front door.
Students were found trying to avoid the water as much as possible, while residents said stagnant sewage water was a “norm” in the neighborhood and that they had complained numerous times by filing complaints with the municipality, but nothing had been done.
“This is a frequent problem, not only in our district but all over the city. We keep hearing from the media that the problem will be solved, but when? We cannot keep exposing ourselves and our children to these unhealthy conditions," Umm Hassan, a Saudi mother of first grade and fourth grade students at the school, said.
Arab News found at least 10 sinks in the restroom all running to flush out the backflow of sewage water that apparently occurred overnight.
In addition, in front of the door inside the school, water was found seeping out of the floor, while school maids worked on a water pump located near the front door trying to reduce the overflowing water.
“Some of my students upon seeing the water decided just to go home, as they immediately became ill upon smelling the foul odor of the water,” Umm Faisal, a third grade teacher at the school, said, adding that the conditions are unacceptable for students.
Arab News spoke to the principal of the school, who did not want her name published, but promised to contact city authorities to try to get the water pumped out of the area as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Press Agency reported last week that contracts worth SR 570 million were recently signed by the Ministry of Water and Electricity to complete up to 26 water and sewage projects in various cities across the Kingdom.
