A major health hazard is looming at Callaloo Mews and surrounding communities in St Andrew where a persistent sewage problem is causing severe inconvenience for those in the area.

The residents said they are held captive in their homes on many occasions when the raw effluent overflows and covers the streets.

"We are calling for help before it's too late," pleaded one resident, Sylvester Smith.

He and others said they had been calling for help for the last five years, but their cries have been simply ignore by the responsible authorities.

"The problem has reached a stage where people go to their bed and wake up to find floors flooded with sewage," Gene Walters, another resident, told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

Walters and others had gathered near the Callaloo Mews Basic School, which teachers complained is forced to close whenever it rains.

"Every time it rains we are forced to end classes early and send home the young children before the sewage floods the street," said Angella Gordon Simms, principal of the school.

She said areas where the water settles have become breeding ground for oversized mosquitoes.

"More than 42 children, ages three to six, attend the school and they are at risk because of the sewage problem. We need the authorities to come and address the problem before it's too late," she pleaded.

Even as she complained about the sewage problem, a group of foreigners -- drawn from several churches in the United States -- carried out renovation and improvement works, including tiling and carpentry, on sections of the school. The group has been visiting the island for the last 25 years to assist in the development of communities.

Meanwhile, another resident, Rosemarie Carter, told the Observer that the problem has made redundant, her best efforts to keep her surroundings clean.

"At times the sewage get so bad it covers even my gateway," she said.

A few kilometres away in Waterhouse, residents living in the vicinity of the Penwood Road/Balcombe Avenue intersection said they are faced with a similar problem.

"Right now, we really need some help. For years we have been calling for authorities to fix this problem... but we are yet to see any results," complained a man who identified himself as Kevin.

Only last week, residents in Duhaney Park, also in St Andrew, threatened to take the National Water Commission (NWC) to court claiming that their lives have been severely impacted by the constant overflow of sewage onto the streets and into their homes.

Yesterday, NWC's Corporate Communication Manager Charles Buchanan said the incidents will be investigated, but maintained that the water company was not all responsible for the problems.

He said there are instances where housing developers have failed to put in the necessary infrastructure, which compromises the sewer system.

"[They are] required to put in the required basic infrastructure, it's not the NWC that normally puts in these infrastructure. We take them over and manage them," he told the Observer.