Sewage floods are increasing on daily basis in the capital, Sana'a, as a result of the unceasing collapse of the sewage network system. Its overflow in the neighborhoods and streets of the city and constitutes a significant threat to the public health and safety of citizens because it causes the spread of serious diseases, in addition to the environmental damage that may occur in the event of its leakage into the groundwater.
Complaints fell on deaf ears
The stench emanating from human waste, which spoils the beauty of the city and impedes citizens from leaving their homes, is considered one of the problems of sewage overflow, according to Rashid Ali (38 years old), a resident of Madhbah zone of Maeen district (northwest of Sana’a). Rashid told Khuyut that: "I cannot leave my house as comfortably as I used to in the past, due to the bad smells resulting from the overflow of sewage, in addition to our fears of negative impacts in terms of illnesses and epidemics that have spread in the country since the breakout of the conflict."
The overflow of sewage and wastewater in the streets of such areas in the capital Sana'a, is frequent on a daily basis, foreshadowing an imminent health disaster, due to the prevalence of insects and mosquitoes, especially with the approach of the rainy season. It is also noted that some neighborhoods, such as the Madhbah area, have many low spaces that help collect rainwater which is mixed with waste water, as the area becomes, with the rise in temperature, according to what many citizens who spoke to Khuyut, a mean of insects' proliferation and dominance of various diseases which cause threats and serious concern for the population.
Citizen Ali Musa, confirmed in his interview with "Khuyut" that the local authorities in Sana'a have not responded to people's grievances about sewage burst for several times, rather and in order to evade their accountability in repairing the sewage network in the area, they have come to accusing local citizens of deliberately throwing concrete waste into wastewater sewers and torrential drains, which led to its blockage, as they said.
Serious deterioration of the situation
In the context, Dr. Mansour Abdurrahman warns, in his interview with "Khuyut", of the risks of the continued worsening of the sewage networks in Sana'a, and the failure to perform the necessary periodic maintenance for the drainage.
The majority of the capital’s homes, especially (Old Sana’a) in particular, have independent sewage cesspools, whose depth ranges between (15-30) meters below the surface of the earth, which threatens the leakage of wastewater into the groundwater and pollutes it.
Dengue fever, the most famous epidemic disregarded by health authorities, is considered one of the key consequences of the deterioration in the wastewater system, as the number of dengue cases monitored by the Ministry of Health and Population in Sana'a reached about (65,047) infected cases, of which 245 people died due to this epidemic.
Dr. Abdurrahman adds that the overflow of sewage in a number of streets in Sana'a threatens the emergence of many bacterial and parasitic diseases, viruses, cholera, typhoid and epidemics that will be difficult to confront in light of the uninterrupted collapse of the health system in the country since the breakout of the war, more than eight years ago. This can be attributed to negligence and incapacity of the relevant official agencies to perform the necessary maintenance of the sewage network.
A report issued by the Ministry of Human Rights in 2019, reviewed by Khuyut, confirms the death of (12,000) people due to malaria, (3,140) people due to chikungunya (celery), and (2236) fatalities as a result of intestinal sicknesses and watery diarrhea, including cholera.
In an earlier United Nations report published in late 2018, it indicated that the total number of cholera infections and suspected cases has reached (295) thousand suspected cases, of which (400) cases have died, a third of which are children under five.
Random excavations
Sewage was not only a health problem or an obstacle that prevent families to leave their homes. Rather, the landslides due to overflowing of random sewage cesspools have become another hindrance to movement between the neighborhoods in the capital, Sana'a.
Faisal Ahmed Mohsen (43 years old), who lives in the Sa'awan area, told "Khuyut": "My car fell into a sewage cesspit, which was dug by a citizen in the Sa'awan zone, due to the lack of a sewage network in the area." ".
Mohsen's fear of leaving the house in his private car increases for fright of falling again into one of the random sewage cesspools. "It has become scary to transport by car in the area, and I can tell you that I have become commuting via public buses instead of using my car, which I barely saved after falling into the sewage cesspool which were dug randomly." Mohsen said, describing his condition when his car fell as something like a horror movie.
Domestic Cesspools
On the other hand, sewage leakage causes contamination of pure drinking water due to poor drainage system, which sometimes leaked to groundwater. Fadhl Al-Nuzaili, a specialist at the Center for Water and Environment at Sana’a University, points out to Khuyut that most of the capital’s homes, especially in (Old Sana’a) in particular, have independent sewage cesspools, with a depth ranging between (15-30) meters underground, which threatens the mixing of wastewater with groundwater and leads to its pollution.
Moreover, Al-Nuzaili stresses the need to close the random sewage cesspools, to preserve groundwater, and to connect the domestic sewage cesspools to the main drainage network, and to ensure that the wastewater is well drained, so that the largest amount of groundwater reserves can be unspoiled, especially since the groundwater reserves are expected to dry up in Yemen by 2050.
Moreover, experts also point out in this aspect that natural disasters are distributed between (sudden and onslaught, surveillance and precaution) with the increase in seasonal rainfall. They also warn of the exacerbation of the problem of landslides in the streets due to the poor quality of the sewage network, which is in need of rapid maintenance, and in many neighborhoods to be completely rebuilt.
According to the Humanitarian Response Plan in Yemen, issued by the United Nations in February 2019, the total number of citizens in need of drinking water, sanitation and hygiene projects has reached 17.8 million people (more than half of the population), across the country, at a cost of up to $285 million.
