The ground beneath the road caving in, a huge hole full of sewage sludge almost on their doorsteps, live wires and cables exposed and an unbearable stench.
These are just some of the challenges that residents of Maria Street in Kamma Park have been facing for the past year since a huge hole, that has since become a ditch approximately five metres deep, was dug by municipal employees around this time last year to fix a sewage leak.
This, however, has been an ongoing battle, with trucks making rounds about six times a day to clear the sludge from the ditch since the problem has not been fixed permanently.
Ward 8 Councillor, Gustav Rautenbach, said that, in the process of trying to fix the leak, these officials had to tear down the front walls of two homes in the street, putting the security of the affected residents at risk.
“The residents’ right to privacy has been violated and the ground around the hole, including a part of the road, has started to cave in and that poses a threat to the safety of this community, especially children and animals who can fall in at any time,” Rautenbach said.
He added that a small electrical box in the vicinity had also been compromised, with wires exposed, causing another safety hazard. “Whenever it rains, the wires become wet, causing a power outage that lasts for days,” he added.
Rautenbach said he was on site once when the contractors showed him CCTV footage of what exactly was happening inside the pipeline.
“The whole pipeline, which is approximately 50 years old, is rotten. I admit that this area has a high water table, but there is water streaming at different points within the pipeline. I honestly think that trying to fix this problem is a waste of time if the whole pipeline is not replaced completely. I have been asking the relevant officials to conduct a site visit for several weeks now, but to no avail,” Rautenbach said.
One of the affected residents, Yolandi Rawlinson, who had her front wall removed, said that she had been sending numerous e-mails since August last year, regarding her wall cracking and the ground sinking in front of her house.
“Work was done but the problem has not been fixed. There are still contractors pumping sludge out the drain every day because it gets blocked and the ground is still subsiding,” she said.
“For over a year now, our safety has been compromised and my dogs have been disturbed.
“They stole our tap from the front yard which would not likely have happened if we still had our front wall. We have to deal with the noise and smell of the truck pumping the drain every day, even on weekends,” she added.
Rawlinson also mentioned that the exposed live power cables were a great concern for her.
“This is a danger to any person or animal walking past. Our whole front lawn is damaged and we can’t even mow it properly.”
Another resident, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that she was fed up with the unresolved sewage problems.
“It is totally unacceptable that residents have to constantly contact the ward councillor to sort out the horrible conditions in this street. Something needs to be done about it and the relevant people need to listen to our councillor.”
She added that the stench was especially difficult to deal with. “The waste material coming from the blocked drain is toxic and can have a harmful effect on residents and animals.
“We are already battling COVID- 19, we can’t still afford to get sick because of sewage.”
Rautenbach added that apart from R100 000 allocated towards the ward’s discretionary fund, its capital projects budget for the current financial year was R0.
NMBM spokesperson, Mamela Ndamase, said that a condition assessment on the pipeline was conducted and that it showed a few small holes.
“The structural integrity of the pipeline has however not been compromised to the extent that requires immediate replacement. That being said, the pipeline has been placed on Wastewater Conveyance’s sewer reinstatement list.
“Unfortunately, no specific time frame can be given for the replacement of the pipeline, but it will happen in the near future,” Ndamase said.
She said the boundary walls would be rebuilt.
“Wastewater Conveyance met the contractor on August 3. The ground will be filled up and compacted before the boundary walls are reinstated to prevent further subsidence. The walls will be reinstated before the end of August.”
