LOCAL officials said Wednesday that they are working to clear wastewater that has flooded the Boeung Kak lakeside community since a private company blocked off the sewage system for a development project.

Chhay Thirith, chief of Srah Chak commune in Daun Penh district, said authorities had begun pumping out the putrid water early on Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday, Boeung Kak residents gathered outside the commune offices to protest the government’s lack of action to clear the sewage.“The villagers said it was flooding, but the reality is that we were working to resolve the problem already,” Chhay Thirith said.

Residents said the help was long in coming, as they have been affected by the wastewater for about two months.

Resident Tang Phoung said the water had reached knee-height in some places. “We have children and we have to keep them upstairs at all times because of the sewage water flood,” she said, estimating that about 28 families had been affected by the flooding.

Tang Phoung said the community had not had problems with sewage water before local developer Shukaku Inc began filling in the lake with sand to make way for a 133-hectare construction project, which is set to displace more than 4,000 families.