Residents, councillor raise stink over Harbour View sewage woes

Residents of a section of Harbour View in St Andrew are frustrated with the lack of response to their pleas for relief from the stench of overflowing sewage in their community.

The sewage, near the offices of West Indies Home Contractors Ltd (WIHCON), has reportedly been seeping on to the roadway from a defective manhole that residents have been urging the authorities to replace.

At this Tuesday’s meeting of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC), Harbour View Division Councillor Oliver Clue called for the matter to be urgently addressed.

He said that for the past two weeks, the sewage has been affecting residents and commuters passing through the community, including visitors using the Norman Manley International Airport.

“We reported the matter to [the National] Water Commission (NWC). I have been to three committee meetings and I’ve highlighted the problem that we have there and, at [Tuesday’s] meeting, I had to rise and speak of the condition out there [again],” the visibly frustrated councillor told The Gleaner.

“It is very bad,” he said, noting that the situation also poses several health risks.

Clue noted that there are gas stations and restaurants in the vicinity of the sewage overflow, which he argued is unhealthy for food consumption and working environments, “because of the smell and the faeces, and so on”.

Efforts by The Gleaner to reach NWC President Mark Barnett for comment were unsuccessful and NWC Wastewater Manager Patrick Daley said he was not authorised to respond when contacted on Thursday.

Sandra Hall, president of the Harbour View Citizens’ Association, told The Gleaner on Wednesday that she and other residents were “really disgusted” by the lack of action from the NWC.

She said residents were anxious to have the sewerage system fixed.

“When that’s going to happen? We don’t know. They can’t give us a definite time. NWC is not moving as quickly as we want them to move ... ,” Hall told The Gleaner.

“NWC is very tardy, very tardy ... . They’re supposed to have cesspool trucks coming out there to be drawing it. That’s what they told us. It doesn’t seem to be happening,” she said.

Hall said that, on the other hand, the residents are grateful for the help extended by the KSAMC and Clue.

Marlon Campbell, chief executive officer of WIHCON, dismissed suggestions that the sewage overflow is caused by the new Seascape development in Harbour View.

Campbell also said it is the NWC which needs to address the situation and that he has been in dialogue with the utility company for the repair of a main line to take place.

“Many persons think it’s our issue, but we are just as concerned as them ... . It’s a main line that has been damaged and that’s what’s causing the block-up,” Campbell told The Gleaner.

“They are working to have it addressed in short order, but they still have some work to be done. We are in dialogue with them, but it’s not a WIHCON issue. What they have been doing is to be pulling the sewage to try and alleviate the problem, but once it builds up, it will spill again. There was a truck there up to this morning pulling it,” he said on Thursday.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com