DOHA: Central Municipal Council (CMC) members yesterday asked officials of government departments as to why drinking water and sewage leakages across Qatar persisted despite their recommendations to solve the problem.
“Several areas are suffering due to the sewage leakage problems. The Industrial Areas tops the list. Despite projects being undertaken there, the problem continues,” said Saud Al Henzab, Chairman, CMC.
In January 2012, the council had made recommendations to solve the problem. It re-tabled them and discussed in the presence of officials from concerned departments. The officials hosted by the council were from the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning, Public Works Authority (Ashghal), Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) and the Ministry of Environment.
Councillors said some of the causes of the problem of drinking water and sewage leakages were a result technical defaults officials from different government departments could easily address.
They asked the ministry of municipality to ensure that all new buildings have a strong foundation that will not be undermined by the high water table, causing sewage leakages from septic tanks.
They also asked the municipality to stop issuing building permits to any contractor or construction company which did not have a septic tank that complies with all standards.
Ashghal and Kahramaa were urged to build stronger sewage networks and ensure that septic tanks meet all standards.
Abdul Aziz Al Obaidani, Director, Technical Affairs, the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning, said they were strict over issuing permits for construction projects, including roads or buildings.
He said drilling companies that failed in their work were given black points and not given further permits until they rectified their errors.
Nasser Yousef Fakhrou, Director, Sewage Networks Department, Ashghal, said the department had embarked on a study on the levels of water table in different areas and appropriate designs will be made.
He said they were following studies as part of strategies to solve the problem of water and sewage leakages.
He said the department had started implementing solutions for the leakages due to water table problems and these included bigger pipes in some areas where the water table was high and establishing sewage networks.
Jassim Salman Al Sayegh, Adviser to the director of infrastructure at Ashghal, said it was wrong to allocate areas with a low water table for residential purposes. He asked the CMC to study and confirm that the areas being allocated for residential purposes did not have low water tables.
Jassim Al Mansouri, Director, Water Control Section, Kahramaa, said the department was taking complaints from residents regarding water and sewage leakages seriously and whenever they got any notice for a leakage in any area they would study the causes and ensure a permanent solution to prevent leakages in future. He said the department was replacing old sewage network pipes with new ones and building sewage plants and networks across Qatar, especially the areas where water table levels were found to be high and residents faced the problem of leakages.
The Peninsula
