Health Alert! Human Excreta Seeping Into Rooms … Septic Tanks Choked, As ASIP Looks On

By Frank Amponsah

The neglect by the Accra Sewerage Improvement Project (ASIP) to maintain, after authorities oversaw the construction of the sewage has left  residents of Dansoman in the Greater Accra Region scared, that with their current situation any outbreak of any excreta-related disease could  have disastrous effect on them.

For the past eight days, as a result of choked septic tanks, human wastes have been seeping into rooms within the Dansoman vicinity.

Several effort and huge government investment into the Dansoman sewage is becoming a waste of resources and financial loss to the public purse

Residents could no longer bear the situation of human waste running in the rooms of residents that are connected to the main septic lines that are expected to send out water from the bathrooms and their water closets as well as their kitchen wash.

The sad news is however that, there is a possibility of a pandemic outbreak due to the negative responds received from the management of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) which continues to pay ASIP huge sums of money although the company folded up and is no more working on the drains.

The situations is putting the lives of residents; especially the children into a serious hazards since some health experts indicated that residents stand the chance of contacting various  diseases like Cholera due to the inability of the residents to flash out the human waste in their water closet after use.

“Anytime we flush, the water runs back into the bathrooms,” residents say.

Residents who do not want the water to flow back into their homes are compelled not to flash out their Water closets (WC) leaving them in worse states.

Residents are very much aggrieved about the situation compelling them to create their personal septic tanks alongside the old blocked septic lines to ease free flow at their own cost.

But the mind burgling question is what was the huge sums of money used is the rehabilitation of the sewage lines used for by the Accra Sewerage Improvement Project under the management of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly investment?

According to residents, they could not understand why the job and the project cost under ASIP included the rehabilitation of both the major septic lines and the sub lines but the various houses continue to suffer the stench emanating from the choked human waste.

The Metropolitan Coordinating Director, Sam Ayeh Dartey when contacted  expressed worry and getting too frustrated with conduct and work ethics of the team of  Accra Sewerage Improvement Project Unit under his management and said he could no longer bear their attitude to work.

Some households poured out the frustration when our news team arrived in the area near the Dansoman Polyclinic down.

The situation is currently at its worse stage and if government does not respond swiftly, this could lead to serious epidemic.

Meanwhile, when the Director in charge of ASIP, Mr. Stephen was contacted he noted that some people had built and others had personally blocked the old septic lines when he came on an inspection to see the situation but admitted that the ASIP project had ended and the contractors have folded up.

He said, this has resulted in the current unfortunate situation.

However, when ASIP Director was at the scene, the only solution he could profer was to call for the manual hand use collection of human waste water from the septic tank to be poured out to release only the water level in the bathrooms of some of the residents.

Meanwhile, the waste water in peoples’ homes is gradually turning greenish in colour whilst the stagnant water is also breeding Mosquitoes and Maggots which is becoming dangerous to human health and habitation.

Residents are however calling on the Accra Metropolitan Assembly to as a matter of urgency find solutions to the problem.