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Fears of water contamination add to woes

SHARJAH - Residents of 'Sheba', the multi-storeyed building in Al Nahda, Sharjah, who have been hit hard by water shortage in the past few days, fear another problem hitting them: the water supplied to them currently from an overhead tank, which is meant for emergencies like fire, may be contaminated and may contain harmful bacteria.

The water from the tank supplied to them through fire hoses has been stagnant for a long time and is foul-smelling, complain the

residents, fearing that it could pose health hazards for them. The supply through the fire hose itself is considered a violation of Civil Defence regulations, they contend.

Meanwhile, the Civil Defence in Sharjah has assured that inspectors would be sent to the building "soon", and action would be taken if they found any violations.

Khaleej Times had reported the residents' woes on August 11, but the problem continues to persist. Most residents have been forced to buy water from the groceries at exorbitant costs, or haul bucketfulls of water all the way to their apartments on higher floors.

An employee of the real estate company responsible for the maintenance of the building confirmed there was a defect in the water pump and its pipelines, and said: "We are working towards fixing the problem as soon as passible."

The tenants, who were reluctant to disclose their identities, told Khaleej Times that they had demanded of the building management to solve the problem immediately, stating that they would be forced to protest and take up the matter with the authorities if it was not done.

F.M., a tenant, said several complaints were made to the municipality about the bad condition in the building and the poor services provided by the building management office, but no action was taken by the civic body.

"Inspectors from the municipality came the day after the report was published in Khaleej Times and gave the building caretaker a warning notice which, however, did not ease the suffering of the residents," she said.

"I believe the water supplied to us from the fire hose is waste water, since it has a foul smell, which is very unhygienic besides posing health hazards for our children," she said.

H.H., another resident, said the landlord was not concerned with their health as he continued supplying the foul-smelling water, which can result in sickness among the residents.

Meanwhile, Engineer Al Sadiq Hassan from Smashing Engineering, a company specialising in water tank cleaning and treatment against bacteria, said he visited the building management's office after reading the report in these columns.

Subsequently, he inspected the tanks and came to the conclusion that it could be contaminated.

"Because the water has been stagnant for a long time, it could have bacteria which could pose health hazards to the tenants. The water in the tank is meant only for purposes like fire accidents and is not to be used for domestic purposes," he said, adding that he had sent water sample from the tank for laboratory analysis.

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