Sewerage woes continue in Port Loyola
It is a path that News 5 reporters have trod many times over the last month…and the problem is that the walk keeps getting wetter and wetter. Jacqueline Woods has the story.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Approximately twenty homes have been affected by the floodwater that has spread into the yards off Faber’s Road Extension and surrounding areas.
Lloyd Ellis, Resident
“Well we feel real down because we try and straighten the problem so many times and we no get no headway. We’re thinking of blocking off Faber’s Road completely, let the minister and then come in a see what is the problem.”
Jacqueline Woods
“How do you mean block off Faber’s Road.
Lloyd Ellis
“Take all the old vehicles we can get an just block the road from one end to the next and we have to find a way to come in come solve our problem.”
Jacqueline Woods
“Residents say the are has been flooded for one month and despite numerous pleas for help, the problem continues to exist.”
Marie Lewis, Resident
“I call in our area representative, she come and look at the scene. I call in to the Minister of Health, I went to the Prime Minister, they come and look at it. But looking at it, and solve the situation, they are not doing anything because we are swamping in and we’re punishing. If my son didn’t come and put in this sand, we’d be walking in all this water, and it’s a very awful scent.”
It’s not clear what’s causing the flood, but residents say they have their own theories as to what is the problem.
Marie Lewis at dike
This shouldn’t have been built here none at all.”
Marie Lewis has been living in the area for over thirty years. She says this is the first time she has seen her land filled with so much water.
Marie Lewis
“I’m very, very annoyed because my life is on this land, and I will not move until I die. And if I die, I would like to be buried right on this land. All my life on Faber’s Road, this is where I live.”
Lewis says while she has complained about problems they have been experiencing with the old sewer lagoon, she believes the situation became worse following the dredging in Port Loyola and the construction of a new sewer lagoon.
Marie Lewis
“I think this start with the sewer and when the dredging comes in afterwards, then it pushed the water with the sewer lagoon. They didn’t have it widened enough that the water could pump out. Now they are pumping in the water from the first lagoon into the lagoon closer to me, which is not fifty yards away, which is affecting me.”
From what we observed at the site, the problem is that there is nowhere for the water from the sewerage lagoon to go. The recent construction no longer allows it to be filtered by the mangrove and then flow into the sea. Instead, it just stagnates in their yards.
Ballan Pope, Resident
“Very bad. The water is all the way on the street. I live here eleven years, I am from Bermudian Landing and the filth could bring disease to we.”
The water has also affected businesses like this tyre shop.
Lloyd Ellis
“It has affected my business real bad, because the water reach to at least a foot and I can’t get no work done. I have a two-twenty line into the place and I really don’t want to get a power surge with it, so I have to close up the business for at least a month and change. I want to know how I’ll get my money back because a lot of vehicles come to get work done, and I can’t get my work done.”
The Lewis family says the problem is also a risk to their health. The filth and stench are unbearable and the family claims it has made their nine-year-old granddaughter sick after the water made its way into the family’s house and flooded the floors.
Marie Lewis
“You smell the stench, so you know what’s going on. right now the dike is not pumping, they know something was going on so they’re not pumping anything that you could smell the stench. Walking to the back this morning, you smell the stench and you know it’s awful and it’s very, very bad for our health.
We spray all kinds of disinfectant, we spray perfume, just to sleep in the night. We cannot even open up our doors.”
While we were in the area, we came upon Rudolph Middleton. Middleton was sent by Area Representative Dolores Balderamos Garcia to assess the situation and see what can be done to solve the problem.
Rudolph Middleton, Liaison Officer, Min. of Human Dev.
“The water is escaping and coming back into Mrs. Marie’s yard. What it needs is a canal to be dug out to the sea, probably about ten feet wide and both sides must be dike and allowed to stop the water that’s coming in to Mrs. Marie’s premises.”
Jacqueline Woods
“We know it’s not only Mrs. Marie’s yard that has been affected, but many other residents as well are feeling the brunt of this problem back here. So would you think this canal would also help their situation?”
Rudolph Middleton
“Yes, they would solved the problem, because the water is draining as far as Jane Usher Boulevard and surrounding areas. But if they dig a canal and dike both sides, the water will not be able to run into Jane Usher Boulevard and surrounding areas.”
The residents say if they do not get any kind of relief soon, they will have no choice but to stage a protest until the problem is addressed. Reporting for News 5, Jacqueline Woods.
