Mayor Adel Fakeih says the mayoralty has been cleaning up Misk Lake – the city's sewage dump site – since last December, shortly after the Nov. 25 flood disaster. The mayor's comments came in the wake of King Abdullah's order Monday for the lake to be drained of its contents within one year. The lake is regarded a serious health threat to the city. The mayor added that the ministry will continue this process until it hands over the lake to the Ministry of Water and Electricity as per the King's orders. Alawi Samait, Deputy Mayor for Construction, said the mayoralty started a temporary pumping system Tuesday from the lake to a treatment station with a daily capacity of 20,000 cubic meters. He said the waste will be recycled and used in irrigation projects in Jeddah's parks. Earlier, he said the mayoralty had submitted a report to Prince Misha'l Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah, on the mayoralty's plan, and that of the Jeddah Company for Urban Development, to put an end to the problem of the lake. He said the mayoralty's plan focuses on pumping 40,000 cubic meters daily from the Lake which will be added to 20,000 cubic meters of sanitary waste from sanitary tankers. This entire quantity will be treated at the recycling station which is adjacent to the lake. This recycled waste will be used to irrigate the eastern forest. He said 10 companies have shown an interest in handling the problem of the lake. Of this number, six companies have submitted documentation, which claims they will use advanced technology to sort out the situation.
