Generaal Albertspark residents renew sewage complaints at Akasia Road bridge

Generaal Albertspark residents are once again raising concerns about sewage pollution in the stormwater channel that runs through the neighbourhood to the Akasia Road bridge.

Tshepo Mokoena raised the latest complaint in a community group, highlighting the condition of the water and the unbearable smell affecting nearby residents.

“There is a layer of sewage on top of the water. The smell is unbearable and, frankly, dangerous for everyone living nearby. This smell goes all the way to Wilger Street. We need urgent help. Even the recent rain did not help,” Mokoena said.

Erika Swart, who first raised concerns about the sewage problem in 2020, also spoke to the Alberton Record again on November 5 about the ongoing issue.

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Swart believes the trees growing beneath the bridge are contributing to the blockage and worsening the situation.

The Alberton Record visited the bridge on November 5 and observed trees growing beneath the structure, as well as waste and dumping in the area.

The complaints bring back concerns previously reported by the Alberton Record on September 3, 2020, when Swart expressed frustration over a sewage problem affecting the same stormwater channel.

At the time, Swart said she had endured the unbearable smell for at least three years and had been taken from pillar to post while trying to get the municipality to address the problem.

She alleged that sewage from other areas was being channelled through the park’s stormwater system at the corner of Hibiscus Avenue and Swartkoppies Road.

“When other areas have sewage overflow, it gets pumped into the stormwater drain in our area.
“I had this same conversation three years ago with a city official. His team told us they were instructed to make the hole so other areas’ sewage can go through our park,” she said.

Swart also recalled an incident when sewage flooded her bath and shower after a sewer blockage caused it to enter her home through the internal plumbing.

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She said the smell was so bad that even having meals at home became difficult. She also described her frustration after repeatedly sending videos and photographs to the municipality without getting a satisfactory resolution.

City’s response in 2020

Responding to the complaints in 2020, City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Nhlanhla Cebekhulu told the Alberton Record that the municipality had received Swart’s complaint in October 2019 and attended to the problem.

“We met with her on site and there were traces of sewage in the stormwater channel.
“We explained to her that any sewer blockage occurring in Randhart and even portions of Meyersdal will end up in the stormwater system and will flow down in this stormwater channel,” he said.

Cebekhulu said the city cleaned and disinfected the stormwater channel on October 18, 2019.

He added that Swart continued to complain about the smell after the cleaning, suggesting that the polluted stormwater channel was not necessarily its source.

He said the smell could originate from neighbouring industries or the area’s one-pipe sewer system, which could allow sewage fumes to enter homes through internal plumbing.

Six years after the initial report, residents are again calling for intervention over the condition of the stormwater channel and the sewage-related concerns at the Akasia Street bridge.

The Alberton Record have approached the City of Ekurhuleni for comment on the latest complaints, the reported blockage and what steps will be taken to address the problem.

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