KUWAIT: Several government officials including Hossam Al-Roumi, Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs and Jenan Boushehri, Minister of Utilities and Minister of State for Housing Affairs recently toured the Sabah Al-Ahmed City after complaints from residents regarding massive lakes of standing water, swarms of mosquitoes and the unhealthy environment created by the situation.

Its unclear if the lakes are formed by raw sewage seeping into the open desert or from brackish water released to the surface due to the continuing construction. Al-Roumi said during the tour that the problem resulted from not linking the area's sewers to a plant because the one in Um Al-Haiman is still under construction. But Boushehri denied that the accumulated water was sewage water and stressed that it was treated water that would be sucked from the houses by a special pipeline.

Several government agencies are now involved in trying to resolve the issue but meanwhile plant life and local fauna, including camels, are taking advantage of the situation.

Photos by Athoob Al-Shuaibi