THE Municipal Council of Jeddah recently launched a campaign to solve environment pollution in the Bay of Salman, about 50 km to the north of the city near Dhahban. It called upon the municipality to take effective measures to prevent individuals and companies from dumping waste on the shores and ensure free flow of seawater into the bay. The council members have expressed their anguish over the municipality's lukewarm attitude toward the issue, as it did not attend an emergency meeting organized by the council lately to discuss the pollution problem. A representative from the General Commission for Meteorology and Environmental Protection attended the meeting. Dr. Ahmed Ashour, chairman of the real estate owners committee, said his organization had informed the Makkah emir about the present situation in the Bay of Salman. He accused the municipality of allowing a ship maintenance company to work on its shores, thus exacerbating the pollution issue. The municipality did not renew the license of a contractor appointed by the committee to open closed outlets from the bay to the Red Sea, Ashour told Al-Madinah Arabic daily. The environmental authority said it has given five recommendations to solve the problem while the municipality's spokesman said he was not aware of new developments on the issue. Ashour said the municipality had tried to abort the committee's efforts to find a solution for the pollution problem by opening closed outlets. "We have presented a number of reports to the municipality explaining the situation on the coasts," Ashour said. There were three outlets from the Red Sea with a width of one and a half to three kilometers. Over the past years these outlets have been closed as a result of private encroachment. "This has stopped exchange of water between the sea and the bay, resulting in the death of 90 percent of fish and coral reefs," he explained. The pollution and increasing salt content in the water have affected marine life, he said, adding that the salt content of water is three times more than the maximum acceptable levels. The color of Red Sea water in the gulf's coastal areas has turned yellow as a result of pollution, said Ashour. He said his committee has been trying to solve the problem as far as possible by opening canals to bring more seawater to the bay. "We have completed the deepening of the western canals by 45 percent," the chairman said. When we decided to reach an agreement with another contractor to complete the project, we faced obstacles from the municipality as it delayed renewal of the license, he said. [caption id="attachment_55188" align="aligncenter" width="500"] النفايات في مدينة البحيرات (ثامر الفرج)[/caption] Ashour said a company occupied more than 3.5 square kilometers of land on the coast and constructed a ship maintenance workshop without permit. This has intensified pollution in the sea because of the use of oil, grease and other chemicals. "We have communicated with the municipality on the company's activities but it did not give any reply in the past three years," Ashour said. The committee also wanted to meet Jeddah Mayor Hani Aburas to discuss the matter but did not get any appointment. The committee of landowners in the Bay of Salman officially contacted the mayor and held the municipality responsible for the worsening environment pollution in the gulf, demanding quick action to reverse the situation. Hussein Al-Qahtani, spokesman for the environmental authority, said the authority had sent three inspectors to the gulf to conduct a field study, especially the operation of the company whose activities have prevented the flow of seawater to the bay. "We have made nine observations and presented five recommendations to resolve the issue in the form a letter to the authorities," he told Al-Madinah. Environmentalist Dr. Anwar Eshki, professor of marine science at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, said the pollution in the Bay of Salman was caused by the hindrance to the natural flow of water to the gulf. He called for clear laws and deterrent punishment to those who cause pollution in coastal areas. "The punishment should be imposed strictly." Eshki added: "We have to stop exploitation of the Bay of Salman for dumping sewage and find an immediate solution for the present pollution problem caused by chemicals or certain types of fish. We can also make use of huge pumps to move stagnant water." He said the Red Sea is considered a stagnant sea and some marine organizations call it the "blue desert" due to a lack of vegetation in the sea. "It gets a shot in the arm from northwestern waves once in a year," Eshki said. He urged the municipality to take quick action to set out a timeframe to resolve the pollution problem in the Bay of Salman. Dr. Khaled Aseeri, chairman of the environment committee at Jeddah Municipal Council, called for joint efforts by various departments and agencies to solve the pollution issue. He wanted a neutral party to determine the rate of pollution in the gulf. The Faculty of Marine Science at KAU will be requested officially to conduct a study on environmental pollution in the Bay of Salman to end the suffering of residents in and around the coasts, he said. He hoped they would present their proposals within one to three months. "Solution for this problem is not impossible," Aseeri added. He said the council has instructed the municipality to prevent companies from dumping their waste in the sea. "We'll take aerial photos to show the closure of outlets as a result of individual and corporate encroachment," he added. Al-Madinah daily contacted the municipality's media center to get its response on the issue but it did not reply while Omar Humaidan, its spokesman, said he was unaware of any new developments. Asked whether any committee was formed to tackle the issue, he advised the paper to contact the Jeddah Municipal Council. Dr. Adnan Al-Bar, deputy chairman of the municipal council, said the municipality did not attend the last meeting to discuss the issue. A committee has been set up under the chairmanship of Aseeri to discuss all aspects of the issue and find a scientific solution.
