Over the last two months, residents of a community at Union Hall, Cross Crossing, San Fernando have been enduring the awful stench of raw sewerage pervading their homes.
Concerned about their health and well being, residents have had enough and are calling for immediate action.
They believe the raw sewerage is flowing from a Housing Development Corporation (HDC) sewerage pumping station into a drain running parallel to their homes at Chestnut Avenue.
“Since the neighbours in HDC move in we are getting raw sewerage coming down in the drain. We complain to WASA about the pumping station because the pumping station is in WASA colours, but they said it isn’t theirs. What they are saying is HDC own. We try to get in contact with HDC, we have not yet spoken to anybody concerning it because we getting a run around right through,” said resident Kevon Neptune.
He complained that they are forced to close their windows and doors at all times and keep their children indoors.
“All of us have little children on the street. I have three little children five years, three years and eight months old and they have to suffer the smell and the flies and everything that comes along with this raw sewerage.”
Noting that the moss is white and not green which indicates that it is raw sewerage, Keith Worrell said the scent gets worse in the night.
“We smelling that sewerage from about November month and right through the Christmas. People could not even have a good Christmas.”
Worrell said they would only get some relief when it rains and there is a gushing flow in the drain.
Clyde Permell, another resident, complained, “Clearly HDC must have the responsibility in terms of what’s happening here which threatens the life of people living on this street, the small children and everything, just imagine what is happening here.”
Neptune said they are concerned about the impact the exposure to human waste is having on their health.
“Right now it have the coronavirus going around here. The coronavirus is not from mosquito, but we have mosquitoes breeding in faeces water and we don’t know if that could bring a new virus in our lil area here and we trying to prevent that. We will like the proper authorities to see about it because right now we seeing dead fish in the drain and if the fish can’t live here I feel we can’t live here too.”
When the stench becomes unbearable in the night, Neptune said they sometimes leave their homes and return the following morning. Complaining that they often feel nauseous, Marc Byer said his neighbour recently had a baby.
HDC said they are aware of the problem and apologised to residents. In an email response from Corporate Communication Department, manager Dike Noel said HDC visited the site and the services of a new contractor have been procured to treat with the issue.
“The contractor is expected to begin work on the site Tuesday, January 28. The work is expected to last two (2) days. It is our belief that residents will begin to experience some relief by tomorrow evening,” said Noel.