JEDDAH: Residents of Quwaizah and Al-Mosa'ad have accused the mayoralty of doing nothing to help them deal with the increasing amount of sewage leaking into their homes and schools from overflowing pipes. The sewage has leaked into their drinking water tanks for the past three months, they claimed. This has been caused by a rise in the level of underground water. Many have had to abandon their homes because of the foul, disease-ridden water, they claimed. A small lake has formed in the area which now has trees and birds. The roads of the districts have become a habitat for frogs, mosquitoes and insects. Residents also claimed that they have had to repair the roads damaged by last November's floods, from their own pocket. Ahmed Al-Khathami, a resident of Al-Mosa'ad District, told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that all of his neighbors were forced to fix the roads near their homes to make it easier to travel. “We have complained so many times to the mayoralty either by filling in application forms or calling the number 940. But unfortunately no-one has responded yet,” he said. He pointed out that when the mayoralty officials did visit the area, they threatened to fine residents. The officials have accused the residents of contributing to the problem by not dealing with overflowing sewage tanks. But he said that it is the rising groundwater that is causing an overflow of the sewage tanks. “Two days ago my grandson got sick because of the water. The hospital treated him with oxygen and special antibiotic pills and advised us to stay away from this water,” said Al-Khathami. He added that he used to spend SR140 daily to drain the dirty water from his water tank. “I want to know what the role of the mayoralty is here. I am sorry to say that no-one cares about our unhealthy conditions except the media who have been reporting about the bad situation in our area for a year now,” said Al
