SAUDI ARABIA

GACA, NWC engage in blame game as sewage stinks districts south of KAIA

February 25, 2018

Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — People living in districts south of King Abdulaziz International Airport have been complaining about a nasty smell that emanated from the airport’s sewage treatment plant. The issue remained unresolved for so long as the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) and the National Water Company (NWC) were wasting time trading accusations against each other.

The NWC said the smell was coming from an old treatment plant that belonged to GACA while the latter refuted the claim. GACA gave three pieces of evidence to hold the water company responsible for the bad smell: dumping of sewage by trucks, a huge lake formed by sewage, and Google Earth photos showing murky water accumulated in the area.

Meanwhile, experts have warned against the dangerous effects of accumulated sewage on the health of residents and the environment. They called on the authorities to take quick action to deal with the situation before it caused an environmental catastrophe.

Residents of nearby districts claimed that they had informed the municipality about the problem but it did not take any remedial measures. Large numbers of sewage trucks are seen queuing up near the plant everyday, they said.

Saad Al-Amri, a resident of Rahmaniya east of the airport, said wind carrying the strong unpleasant odor blew in the direction of their district every evening. “This foul smell is really frightening as it could spread infectious diseases among our children,” he said.

Saad Ali Thufaid, who lives south of the airport, said the stinky air was irritating. “Even worshippers at mosques are not spared from this disgusting odor,” he said and called upon the governor to intervene to solve the problem before the opening of the new airport.

Fahd Al-Otaibi said residents in the area had been facing this problem for the last three years. “I cannot move to another place because we live in our own house. All our relatives stay in the district,” he told Al-Madina Arabic daily.

Al-Otaibi said closing doors and windows would not save residents from the bad smell. Strong winds carry the dangerous odor to their house all evening. “Sometimes we wake up in the middle of the night due to the suffocating odor,” he added.

The water company said it was not responsible for the smell and threw the ball in GACA’s court.

“Our company is responsible for tankers that unload sewage inside its compound,” said Mohammed Bin Ahmed Al-Zahrani, manager of the company’s Jeddah business unit.

He said the source of the nasty smell was the old treatment plant that belonged to GACA. “There is coordination between NWC and GACA to bring all sewage to the company’s plant and close the old plant,” he told Al-Madina.

However, GACA rejected the company’s claim citing evidence. “All sewage trucks are now unloading at the company’s plant site instead of the old sewage lake. Truck drivers unload sewage away from the plant polluting the environment, and Google Earth photo shows a murky lake outside the plant,” said a GACA official.

Experts have emphasized the need to shift the sewage dump to a place far away from residential areas. They called upon the authorities to complete construction of sewage networks all over the city to end moving of sewage by trucks and prevent the consequent pollution.


February 25, 2018
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