Over the past couple of months residents of the Curassow area of Belize city have been living under the constant pressure of sewer water flooding their street. Today they said they simply could not bear it any longer that a sewer that runs under their neighborhood was overflowing and nothing was being done about it.
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
It appears to be a fountain maybe even one fit to be put in Central Park in Downtown Belize City, but this spouting water is not that appealing. In fact it's more like appalling; this is an overflowing sewer in the heart of a city neighborhood: a public health risk, en eye and nose-sore, and just plain nasty. What makes this worse is that we are in the height of the dry season and things like this are ordinarily known to occur in the city only in the rainy season. Now residents have had just about enough. They say that over the past few months this situation has become totally unbearable because these sewer geysers have become a permanent fixture on Curassow Street.
Edmund Casey. Area Resident
"I live here for months, years, and this water thing here is always bubbling up and the kids pass from school and they push they foot in the water. Sometimes I tell them not to do that because they will catch germs and so. People pass everyday, it is a heavily trafficked area, the water board always pass here and see it bubbling for months. It is big dry season and the waste is coming out of the thing. I see most of the kids who aren't going to school playing in it and I say this is wrong. Nobody cares about south side. They only talk. This will affect we and affect everybody around here."
Dina Young, Area Resident
"It is a problem everytime it runs over because we don't see anyone come to fix it and the children they play and walk in it and every time it is the same thing. We are always inhaling that scent and when we are eating or when you are drinking tea and you inhale that scent you don't even want to eat again. We haven't seen anyone come and clean it up so it is like they are not interested in it. From the time WASA was taken over, sold-out, everything just gone just like that and no one is interested in coming and cleaning it out. They are not particular about the people because they should come and clean out this thing so that it doesn't run over and we always have a problem with the sewer running over."
Now residents say they can bear it no longer. The sight of disposed condoms and raw sewer running into open drains is a sight that is already undesirable. This however is only half the story as the run off reeks. Those suffering the most say it is simply because of neglect.
Edmund Casey,
"It is about time they do something about this. All the time things are happening around here, people come throw dead dog in the canal and no one cares. Water and Sewerage people pass here everyday. I call them a lot of time and sometime they can't get nobody and thing. Before you came I called again to make sure. I want them to come right for them to see that you are here. When I called them they put me on until my phone card finished. I don't know when they will come. This has been backing up for a while now. I am telling you that my sewerage can't even flush, I am in problem. They have machines that can clean it out but they behave like no one cares about people on the south side boss. Everyone knows that now. This is the dry season, it is about time they do something."
Dina Young, Area Resident
"Before they bought out WASA, WASA always had a truck which came around to clean it out. I don't see them do that. They are not interested about the people. They are not particular about the people and what kind of filth they are smelling in their home or how you have to walk to come out or go into your yard because this part here is low and is always filled with water. As you could see the people have to pass through the water to come in and out of the place."
The area residents say that can't be healthy and fear that at some point people will get sick because of this kind of exposure.
Edmund Casey,
"This is bad. This will cause people to get sick. This is deadly deadly. When that thing dries up, the dust blows it and you will inhale it so I don't know why they don't do something about it. Water Board they are always ready to cut out your water and do all kind of thing to you but this is the main thing they should deal with, a germsy thing on south side which you can breathe in the air. As you reach there you can smell the stench."
Dina Young,
"In rainy weather it is worse because then it floods out and you always have you to walk through it to come in and come out of the yard."
Edmund Casey,
"This is wrong. They better do something about this because I am tired of this. I even want to move from here because of the situation."
But maybe he would not, at least not today because just as we were leaving the spout died down and water stopped rushing out while SEL employees cleared drainage for the raw sewer to run into the canals.
We were unable to reach anyone at BWSL for comment this evening.
