No end to Ottawa sewage stench

THE residents of Ottawa, near Verulam, have decided to intensify their campaigns for a rates reduction following admissions by city officials they would have to live with the sewer stench problem.

At a follow-up meeting at the Ottawa Town Hall recently, held under the auspices of the Ottawa Environmental Forum, residents were told the sewer stench emanating from the nearby Phoenix Waste Water Treatment plant would linger during the current upgrading process.

“There will be regular upgrades and maintenance work and, during this process, some odour will escape into the atmosphere,” said electrical and mechanical engineer Ritesh Kandhai.

There was no indication on how long the community would have to put up with the odour.

The plant, he said, had to be upgraded to cater for the increase in sewage from nearby Cornubia and the newly developed Cornubia Mall.

Community leaders and residents said they were fed up and not prepared to accept the current situation. One resident said they would have to resort to stronger action to highlight the municipality’s failure to ensure their access to clean and fresh air.

Charles Govender said: “In view of the disclosure that this odour will not be completely eradicated, we call on the municipality to reduce our rates for as long as we have to live with the stench.”

The forum’s facilitator, Andisha Maharaj, said the problem was a direct result of the municipality’s failure to plan properly.

“If any planning was done at a strategic level, then it certainly was not to serve the interests of the people.

“The decisions taken are bearing down on the lives of residents already in the areas of Cornubia, Ottawa, Parkgate, Palmview and Woodview,” Maharaj said.

“The authorities are fully liable for the chaos that has been created in the region.”

The residents have already lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Council and have resolved to take the legal route to enforce their rights to clean air.

In the interim, three community representatives were appointed to work with city officials to monitor the ongoing problem.