THE small settlement of Wailea in Vatuwaqa has been experiencing sewage pollution recently causing residents to raise complaints of the bad stench being released into the air.
Resident Ram Samaru, who lives near the river that runs through the settlement, said yesterday the stench had become unbearable.
"People from the water authority came and opened the pipe that carries the sewage and they didn't close it, so now the river is polluted," Mr Samaru said.
The settlement is located before an old sewage treatment plant that carries waste from Vatuwaqa to Kinoya, passing through Wailea in the process.
Another resident however, said this was a problem that had been around "for a really long time".
The resident who wished not to be named said it was not recently re-opened by the Water Authority of Fiji but it was just excess waste.
He explained that having lived there for a number of years, he noticed that whenever the waste pipes were full, the pressure forced the pipes open spilling waste into the river.
The Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) is currently working on fixing this problem.
"Our team from Kinoya sewage is currently attending to the sewer stench in Vatuwaqa," said WAF communications officer Kelera Serelini.