A committee consisting of representatives from different government agencies is holding meetings in Jeddah to find an urgent solution to the problem of overflowing sewage in several of the city's districts, sources at the National Water Company said here Monday. They said the committee suggested a SR100 million allocation to address drainage and dumping of overflowing sewage as a preliminary step to resolve the perpetual problem. The committee has also proposed a measure that would make it mandatory for owners of new residential plots to produce documents verified by the National Water Company showing that the sites are connected to the governorate's drainage network. The measure would link approval of the plots to owners providing the documents, according to sources. A group of environmentalists has warned that overflowing drainage ends up being mixed with human waste and creates a breeding ground for rodents and harmful insects, especially mosquitoes. They stressed that the rodents and insects endanger public health by spreading infectious diseases. The group added that nasty odors from overflowing drainage affects children suffering from chest allergies and causes great inconvenience to the districts' residents. Environmentalists have also warned about overflowing underground water mixing with sewage and desalinated water, which is a serious problem in east Jeddah, because it causes several gastric diseases.
