A total of 224 farms in Jeddah are being irrigated with untreated sewage water, posing a great danger to the health of consumers, according to the annual report of a watchdog body. The Supervisory Committee which conducted the probe, consists of representatives from the governorate, police, mayoralty, health affairs, National Water Company and Ministry of Commerce and Industry. In its report, the committee said it had inspected several of these farms which produce vegetables and legumes for the local market. The committee stated that it had toured these farms more than 7,477 times. It said the vegetables sold by the producers are contaminated and can cause serious illnesses, including renal failure. A committee member said many infectious diseases in the city are caused by this criminal behavior. Okaz/Saudi Gazette reporters toured some of these farms located east of the Al-Haramain Expressway. To their surprise, they found workers in broad daylight irrigating the farms with sewage water. Abdullah Bin Saleh Al-Ajami, Head of Bariman Municipality, said this was a common problem throughout the Kingdom. He said many farmers on the outskirts of big cities are watering their crops with sewage water. To tackle this situation, said Al-Ajami, the Council of Ministers had set up a permanent committee, operating at a regional level, to study the situation and find solutions. He said a field subcommittee was tasked with monitoring these farms. The studies conducted by the committee showed that municipalities were having difficulty in monitoring the situation because of the increase in the number of farms in the country. There was also a scarcity of water because of the overuse of underground water in valleys. This has resulted in farmers using sewage water. He said the municipalities have reacted to this by closing down some farms. Al-Ajami said these measures have helped reduce the problem but there was no guarantee that the situation has been rectified. He said the mayoralty is planning to redesign Umm Hablian area where most of the farms, found in violation, are situated and to rezone the land for other purposes. __
