Dubai: Residents of Jumeirah Village Triangle (JVT) have called for a permanent solution to prevent smelly water from flooding roads and improving pest control measures in their area.
Foul-smelling water has been flooding the roads in District 1 often for over a year now according to residents and despite several complaints to Nakheel, the developer of the community, residents told Gulf News that the problem continues.
Jumeirah Village Triangle is a major development located off Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road and Al Khail Road with more than 2,000 villas and townhouses. The area is frequented by hundreds of construction workers as a number of projects are still under construction.
Doug Brooks and his wife, Tanya, have been the most affected by the flooding in front of their villa, which they claim is sewage water coming from a Nakheel project that was supposed to be cleared after months of receiving complaints.
“For more than a year now we have had regular problems with flooding of this area, including the streets, from a sewage pump facility which operates immediately adjacent to where we and many others live. Despite numerous communications with personnel at the pumping facility and many phone calls and emails with photographs to Nakheel, nothing has ever been done to rectify the situation which is now worse than ever,” said Doug Brooks, a South African JVT resident.
Tanya Brooks said that the disgusting odour in the area has made it unbearable for her and is stopping her from taking walks outside her home because of what she deems as an “unhygienic environment”.
She said she also suffers from constant bites from insects she says are coming from the standing ponds of water in her neighbourhood.
“I can’t walk anywhere near my house and I can’t even invite friends to come over. The constant flooding and dampness has brought in a lot of insects and pests. This is not fair, I’m getting really ill. We are paying a lot of money to live here, including a community fees, and this area is still a mess with over 40 trucks coming in and out every day, driving over the flooded area and spreading the dirty water all over,” said Tanya.
Another resident in the area said: “This is unhygienic and unhealthy and it smells like sewage water around here. I avoid taking my dogs out for a walk here. The place is filled with insects and I can’t sit outside,” said Jane Smithlyn from the UK.
In a statement to Gulf News, Nakheel contended that it is not sewage water, despite the pungent odour that circulates in the area.
The master developer also said that the ponds are not being fed by grey water (water runoff from showers, kitchen sinks, washing machines, etc.)
“This incident has been caused by an underground water leak that has led to pockets of surface water. The water is not sewage water. We are in touch with the residents and the contractor to rectify the situation as soon as it is practical. In the meantime, we apologise for the inconvenience caused.”
Based on residents of the area, mechanical efforts to remove the flood waters have been the only temporary solution Nakheel has come up with.
“They either send trucks to suck out the water or they send bulldozers carrying sand to stop the water from flowing. This is not a long-term solution because the water is coming back again,” said Tanya.
