JEDDAH — Water mains passing underneath King Abdulaziz Bridge on Makarona Street were broken and water was leaking to the streets and into the neighborhood causing havoc in the area. People living in the neighborhood said leaking water damaged the road and could damage the structure of the bridge, which is still under construction. People questioned the National Water Company's role in aggravating their suffering. They said the company did nothing to fix the problem over the past three days. People said precious water is wasted on the streets while they suffered acute water shortage for many days. The residents threatened to file a lawsuit against the water company for the damages caused to their homes and to the streets of the neighborhood by the water leakage. Salem Al-Harbi, a resident of the neighborhood, said a lake was formed in the street and the NWC was doing nothing about it. He added, "We suffered from water shortage in our homes for many days, yet we are surprised to see drinking water wasted like this on the street and the company was doing nothing about it. We as people of the neighborhood will file a lawsuit against the company for the damages caused to us." Ahmad Al-Ahmadi, another resident, said, "There are now holes in the road caused by the leaking water, which means it will damage our cars. There is a bad smell coming from the lake, which will attract disease-spreading insects to the neighborhood. The NWC should carry out regular maintenance on these pipes. It should replace them with pipes that will resist the pressure, instead of repairing broken pipes every now and then." Khaled Majrashi said that he wanted to see Jeddah streets free of potholes and lakes that attract insects spreading diseases in the neighborhoods. "The NWC is doing a poor job. There are many pipes that have broken in the south Jeddah neighborhoods of Al-Mahjar and Ghulail. We are seriously thinking of suing the company," he said.
