SOME residents of Denham Town in Kingston are fuming that a major sewage problem in a section of the community will pose a serious health hazard for students when the new school year starts next week, and want the situation to be addressed speedily.

During a recent visit to the community, raw sewage was spewing from two manholes at the intersection of North Street and Upper Oxford Street. The raw sewage from one of the manholes ran like a river all the way down to a gully at the corner of Bread Lane and North Street.

“The stench is not nice. When people come to do business, this is what they smell. They need to get it sorted out fast and as best they can. To me, it needs a bigger pipe under the ground. I want it to get looked after, not just for myself but for others as well like the elders and the babies [as] we don’t want any disease or germs,” one resident told the Jamaica Observer.

A woman, who was pushing her baby in a stroller, sought assistance to get the child across the stream of sewage so as to avoid contamination.

“This has been going on for a very long time; this has been going on for a year or more. Each time they fix it, it comes back. That goes to show you that the Government is not dealing with the project properly. They need to do something more intense because the sewage is affecting the children. School will be opening and we have three schools in the community, a basic school, a primary school, and a learning centre.

“We are calling on the relevant authorities to come speedily and deal with the situation. It runs from the intersection at Oxford Street and North Street go straight down. This is very, very disturbing to the community. As you can see, people are living on this stretch and business places are here. Children who want to cross the street are not able to get across [without assistance]. We need the relevant authorities to step in as quick as possible and to take this matter into hand,” the woman said.

Another woman told the Observer that the problem is not only a direct health hazard but has also been preventing the children from enjoying playtime before the start of the new school year.

“Around one month now this a run on and off. Di pickney dem cyaa even play pon di sidewalk! Wi have to keep in di pickney dem. All when you are inside a your yard, you smell it. This nuh good at all. This is very irritating and it smells very bad,” she said.

Another female resident said she is disgusted because motor vehicles drive through the sewage and spread it all over the street, which makes it difficult for pedestrians to avoid stepping into filth.

“When the cars drive in the raw sewage it is pushed into the lanes and we have to walk in it, and it is carried into our houses. How will diseases stop? It can’t stop. They need to come clean it or do something to the drains,” she said.

A male resident, meanwhile, said the situation has slowed down activities in the area.

“The water stink, man. It a disturb the community. All the driver splash up all the people and dem thing deh. It start and stop, then start again. It on and off, and sometimes it is red like blood,” he said.

Business operators joined the residents in calling for swift intervention of the authorities to address the problem.

“Mi mother have har business place right yah suh. This is not good for our health. About one month now it a run suh. You can’t be selling food and have sewage a run same place,” one woman told the Observer.

However, despite the clear health hazard, one woman seemed not to care. On a sidewalk she continued business as usual, cooking her pot of crabs while raw sewage flowed steadily past her.

This manhole is the source of a heavy stream of sewage that plagues North Street in Denham Town, Kingston. (Photo: Jason Cross)