RESIDENTS of Lucile Way in Edgewater, Portmore, St Catherine, say enough is enough after roughly 10 years of inhaling the stench of raw sewage that has been frequently overflowing in their bathrooms, driveways and in the street.

They believe the problem is caused by a malfunctioning National Water Commission (NWC) sewerage plant in the community, which is supposed to push sewage through the sewer line efficiently.

One male resident, who gave his name as Kevin, threatened to block roads in protest, but is hoping this article will get the attention of the NWC, which has responsibility.

The Jamaica Observer e-mailed questions to the NWC on Tuesday, seeking an official response from the entity regarding the problem and what solutions it was pursuing. However, Andrew Canon, corporate communications manager of the NWC, said the company would have to investigate the matter and respond within 72 hours.

But as the residents struggle to cope, Kevin was adamant that he and others will have to go through with blocking roads if the problem isn’t addressed, despite some residents encouraging him to abandon the idea of a protest.

“A block we soon block the main road if dem nuh come sort it out. My asthma a kill me and me a breathe short because of this inuh. Mi toilet dem naa flush good. Water a run in front a mi yard and it mek mi cya drive eeen pon di car porch because I will bring in germs inna di house. This weh you see a bubble in front of my gate, a inna di sea it a go,” he said, complaining bitterly about the health hazard of being exposed to raw sewage and the acrid smell accompanying it.

Due to the uncontrollable flow of sewage which was overtaking her front yard, another resident, Mrs Pinnock, was forced to spend money to adjust her driveway to allow sewage to run off into a drain instead of settling in her yard. Despite her effort to send the sewage into a channel, she cannot escape the stench.

“I had to modify my gate just to accommodate it because when it starts, I can’t go into my yard. I can’t drive up or anything. Right now, I can’t even wash my dishes and I can’t do anything. We cannot live like this. The fear we have is that everything that goes down into the drain will come back up into the house. If you flush the toilet it starts to bubble up like it is going to overflow.

“Somebody I know had to throw out her furniture because sewage flood out her house. When this stops running we are going to have to clean up the whole place. We are paying property tax. When I get my water bill, it has sewage on it. We are doing everything that is right and this is what is happening to us. It is frustrating. We need this to be addressed!” she said.

Also demanding that the NWC responds with corrective action urgently was another female resident, Cecile, who said she despises having to lock her doors and windows just to avoid the stench. Even when her windows and doors are shut tight, the stench creeps up through her toilet and face basin, making it difficult to evade the unpleasant experience.

“Because we are at the extreme end — close to the sea — when the pump house (sewerage plant) not working, sewage comes up and overflows. The bathroom stinks even if you don’t use it. It keeps a foul smell inside and you have to buy bleach and bleach powder often. I bought three bottles of bleach on Friday and I only have one left.

“This has been coming up in my driveway and it comes harder when the rain sets up and when the pumping station not pumping out the water. We need a pump house. They have tried to fix the pump station and for like a three month period, we don’t have the issue and then all of a sudden it is not pumping water again. They need to give us a new pump house because a lot of people are moving in and families are getting bigger,” Cecile stressed.