Merchants are complaining of sewage smells that sometimes waft down Water Street and even into their shops.

The Chamber of Commerce has sent a letter to the old town's Corporation pleading for relief, even if the solution is only temporary.

St. George's Mayor the Wor. Henry Hayward agreed the smells "aren't very wholesome.'' The sewage lines beneath Water Street are in good shape and are not clogged, Mr. Hayward told merchants, and the cruise ship pump-out system is "in first-class shape.'' The failure of one of the town's three sewage pumps may have contributed to the problem, he explained.

The town does not have the $1.2 million needed to replace the entire pump system, but the Bermuda Government has put up $50,000 to help out with temporary repairs.

But Mr. Hayward said tenants, like restaurants, are also contributing to the problem by dumping grease into the sewers.

"It's been going on for some time,'' said Mr. David Rowntree, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce St. George's Area Committee.

"Some days it goes throughout town, sometimes it's down in the Water Street area. We all realise the cost of a permanent solution is high, but we're hoping that something can be done on a temporary basis.''