Gareth Manning, Gleaner WriterTHE NATIONAL Housing Development Corporation (NHDC) has denied allegations that its townhouses in Dillsbury, St. Andrew, have been dumping sewage into a gully at the bottom of Jacks Hill and Dillsbury Roads.
In a statement issued to The Gleaner yesterday, the NHDC said a check of the treatment plant on Thursday revealed "everything in perfect working order and no evidence of effluent emanating from the facility."
The NHDC added that it "wishes to emphasise its commitment to all public and environmental regulations governing appropriate standards in its schemes.
FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
It said this commitment "is demonstrated by its assumption of the financial responsibility to service the facility."
Residents living in proximity of the gully have been complaining bitterly about a stench coming from the ravine. They have contended that pipes from the underground pit which accepts sewage from the houses are led to the gully where the waste is emptied.
The residents say the problem has been going on for three years without action from authorities.
Kingston Mayor Desmond Mckenzie said the National Water Commission has taken responsibility for the matter, but investigations and subsequent corrections will take some time.
"We have sent people to look into the [situation] at Jacks Hill, but we have to wait on the NWC," Mayor Mckenzie told The Gleaner on Tuesday.
The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is also conducting investigations,
but investigations are not yet complete.
The environmental agency said a four-inch pipe emptying waste into the gully was discovered when residents first filed complaints. However, in a recent check, they found no foreign matter was being emptied there.
