Sewage again

Raw sewage flowing onto Accra beach, Rockley, Christ Church, has taken the South Coast sewage crisis to another level.

In an effort to save his business, beach vendor David Jack took matters into his own hands to stop the water from flowing into the sea.

Tuesday he said sewage had been going from a nearby canal and into the water since November.

He said the stench and sight of the sewage was deterring both locals and visitors from using the beach, and as a result, his chair-renting business was being affected.

“This is my way of living and I have been operating here for the past 11 years,” he said. “I could not sit down and do nothing, so every day I got buckets of sand and blocked off the water from going into the sea, like a dam.”

Jack said the issue was more complicated than it appeared and dismissed the notion that the sewage was flowing from the Rockley beach facility building.

“As you can see, sewage water containing toilet paper and bits of faeces is bubbling up from two wells near the beach facility, but I don’t believe the problem started there.”

Jack added that the beach facility was closed since last year, and beachgoers were forced to use portable toilets.

However, the BWA’s Wastewater Division issued a release Tuesday afternoon stating it had created a temporary sandbag barrier in an effort to contain recent overflows near the Rockley beach facility.

Minister of Health John Boyce also gave an assurance that the issue would be dealt with soon. Speaking to Starcom Network, he said the temporary dam would give the BWA time to correct the breach. (SB)