Sewage – an ongoing issue for Marais Steyn Park resident

Frustrated Marais Steyn Park resident Ms Lesley Campbell has had endless issues with sewage flowing onto her property for the past three years.

Ms Campbell, who has been staying in the house since 2010, said the sewage problem developed out of nowhere and has affected her.

“When I bought the house the previous owner never told me anything about this issue,” said Ms Campbell.

Ms Campbell said her sewage problems began one afternoon when she looked outside her kitchen window, out to her back yard, and saw sewage and toilet paper in her garden..

“I thought it was just a blocked drain that needed to be unblocked,” said Ms Campbell.

She said she called a plumber and once the plumber was finished, Ms Campbell thought the sewage problems were behind her.

However this was not the case and two months later the issue of sewage in the yard rose again.

Thinking it was still her drain which was blocked, Ms Campbell called upon a family friend, who was also a plumber, for assistance.

“I was told the manhole from where the sewage was leaking was a municipal drain and it was more than likely the main drain located behind my property was blocked by roots,” said Ms Campbell.

She said the same plumber told her that a municipal sewage line ran under her property, which lead to the overflow of sewage in her property.

Ms Campbell said she contacted the municipality numerous times, asking them to see to the municipal line outside her property to determine if it has been damaged by roots.

“When I call them and say there is sewage in my yard they do clean it up. But unless the main sewage pipe is unblocked, it will keep happening,” said Ms Campbell.

Ms Campbell said she has spent thousands to try and remedy the situation.

Each time the issue occurs Ms Campbell said a temporary fix is done.

She said when the sewage flows into her yard, the smell is unbearable and she cannot hang out her washing.

“Sometimes the smell gets so bad I cannot even cook in my kitchen,” said Ms Campbell.

Clr Bill Rundle of ward 19 said the reason behind the metro not maintaining the pipe or finding a solution is because the manhole in the park could not be found.

He said in order for the line to work efficiently the pipes need to be dragged and cleared of any obstructions.

Clr Rundle said when roots grow into pipes items get caught on the pipes, causing blockages.

The NEWS sent a request for comment to the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality on December 7 and requested commented by December 8 at 2pm.

At the time of going to print, no comment had been received.