Irate residents of the Wetland informal settlement in Makhaza, Khayelitsha are appealing to the City to permanently fix the drainage system in the area, citing that their lives are in danger.
They accuse the City of ignoring the issue. The residents spoke out after more than five drains burst, causing sewage to overflow throughout the area.Resident Vusumzi Fulani lambasted the City and accused it of being incompetent. He said all they want is for the City to repair the damage.
According to Fulani all his belongings are soaked, and some have been ruined.
“All my electricity appliances are damaged by the dirty water. I was at work when all this mess started. When I arrived from work my shack was already flooding. Now, I’m squatting in my cousin’s place at Mpolweni informal settlement. All my clothes and blankets are dirty and smelling,” said Fulani.
Fulani said he wouldn’t mind being relocated, as long as they’re given a decent place to live.
Community leader Thandiswa Mashiyane-Kungwana said the incident occurred Tuesday 7 October and is still not fixed. She adds that more than 40 shacks are flooding and those affected had to vacate their shacks.
“Almost 10 drains are overflowing in the area, and the sewage is coming inside the people’s shacks. Some people had to leave their shacks because of the mess caused by the sewage. The whole area stinks. It smells like sh*t,” said Mashiyane-Kungwana. She accused the City of dragging its foot, being racist and playing political games with their lives.
“It’s almost a week since the drain burst in the area and there is no help. The sewage is a health hazard for us. The City officials came and assessed the situation and left. They never come back. We are on our own,” she said.
She explained that humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers and a local church donated blankets, mattresses and food.
She believes that the burst drain is due to a collapse of the sewage pipe at Nyanda Street. “There is a pipe that collapsed near Goal Supermarket. It’s been three weeks since the City began fixing it. I believe the problem that we are facing here is caused by that sewage pipe.”
The City’s acting mayco member for water and sanitation, Xanthea Limberg said the City’s water and sanitation directorate is aware of the matter and the relevant teams have been deployed to resolve it.
Limberg said the emergency contractor is excavating the area where the blockage has been detected in the sewer network. “For context, an emergency contractor was appointed to repair a 160 mm diameter sewer pipe that connects to the 800 mm diameter mainline draining to the Zandvliet Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW). On Tuesday 7 October, at approximately 16:00, the contractor informed the depot team that the manhole where work was being carried out had started surcharging, which caused the failure of the shoring box,” said Limberg.
According to Limberg the contractor experienced challenges locating the downstream manhole, as informal structures have been built over the 800 mm mainline. She said to manage the situation, initially five large mobile pumps had been deployed on-site to contain sewage spillages within the informal settlement. She added that an extra pump was added, bringing the total to six pumps to manage the sewer flow.
“The contractor is currently in the process of excavating to gain access to the sewer line. Preliminary indications suggest that the sewer line exceeds a depth of five metres. The root cause of the blockage on the bulk sewer will be determined once the pipeline has been fully exposed. It is also noted that several downstream manholes from the point of blockage have been severely encroached upon,” she explained.
Limberg said the Ward 96 councillor Lucky Mbiza has been engaged to assist in facilitating the relocation of the structures erected over the sewer servitude, most of which comprise rusted steel containers.
“It is envisaged that the contractor will excavate to the sewer line during the course of this week, which will allow workers to remove the obstruction in the sewer. Depot teams continue to disinfect the affected areas where spillages occur to reduce odours. The contractor remains on-site, working around the clock to resolve the issue.”
When City Vision visited the area on Monday, 13 October, sewage was overflowing throughout the settlement but City trucks and excavators were on site.
