Work finally under way on Beetham sinkhole

The ruptured sewer line at Main Street, Beetham Gardens has been causing discomfort and inconvenience to residents for the past 19 days.

When Newsday visited on Monday, they were gathered around the site looking on as repairs were being done.

The Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) was on site working on repairs to the hole, where pumps had emptied out the water over the weekend. WASA can now clear the debris so the crew can find the source of the rupture and fix it.

When Newsday contacted Daniel Plenty, WASA corporate communications manager, he said the bad weather over the weekend had significantly slowed down progress on the job.

The hole is more than 15 feet wide and 20 feet deep. The smell of sewage is still coming from it and with the rain over past few days, residents are concerned that prolonged exposure might have an adverse effect on their health.

One resident told Newsday they are happy to see work under way but this should have been addressed sooner.

"Over the weekend, bad weather caused the hole to fill with water and sewage was overflowing through the manholes on to the road and neighbouring houses."

Another said, "I cannot wait for them to put the pipelines in and sort out the problem. This is long overdue, because the smell is revolting. This is something that no one is supposed to smell."

One resident is appealing to the San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation and other authorities to help by providing detergent and other cleaning supplies to sanitize their homes.

"Some persons are experiencing constant overflooding of their homes and no one comes to their rescue."

But overall, residents are now optimistic that the burst sewer will be repaired soon.