The rains over the Helderberg bring with them the familiar sight of sinkholes and overflowing sewers, as the crumbling state of the Trappies sewer pipeline continues to be an ongoing issue – particularly in Strand North.
And just as sinkholes form continuously on the corner of De Ruyter and Fagan Streets, (“Sinkholes a recurring snag”, 22 June 2022) the latest problem area is in the vicinity of De Villiers Street, where three sinkholes have occurred over the past six months, the latest two weeks ago.
A resident, who is also an engineer, said that no work has been done since it started forming early in March.
“The size of the hole steadily increased in size as the flow surcharged, especially when rainfall run-off enters the sewer system. The pipelines these days are almost constantly flowing full and under pressure. Expect more sinkholes and sewer overflows this winter!”
And the situation worsened on Friday 24 March when the entire street overflowed with sewerage due to decent rainfall over the area.
An elderly homeowner in the vicinity said she was fed-up with sewer water constantly overflowing onto her property and many other residents along the street had the same issue.
De Villiers Street has been among the worst-affected streets due to the deteriorating state of the Trappies sewer, and since September last year has been increasingly affected by sinkholes (“Strand: Will plan alleviate sewer issues?”, 12 October 2022).
According to Councillor Siseko Mbandezi, the City’s Acting Mayco member for water and sanitation, the latest sinkhole in De Villiers Street is due to the corrosion of the sewer line, which escalated the collapse of the sewer pipe, and repairs were imminent.
He said it was difficult to say how long it would take to complete once repairs commence, as it depended on the nature of the damage to the pipe, and that timelines would be communicated as more information becomes available.
“Breakages will be repaired as they occur while waiting for a permanent solution,” he said, and elaborated that the sewer pipe replacement project was underway across the city, including Strand. “It currently replaces 56 km by 30 June and 100 km in the 2023-’24 financial year, ending on 30 June 2024. The problematic 450 mm diameter Trappies sewer pipeline is currently under construction and rehabilitation. In total 2 800 m of sewer pipes will be rehabilitated.
In the unfortunate case of further collapses, contracts are in place to affect repairs.
A dedicated tender will be advertised after June, which will cover the remaining sections of the pipeline. The works are planned not only to focus on a particular section of Trappies but the complete line.”
