Residents of some streets in Carletonville
were up in arms when
sewage from municipal manholes
swamped their yards again this
week
According to Ms Sheila Patcha,
who stays with her family in Uranium
Street, the leak started during
the rain on Friday night. Although
she had tried frantically to
get someone from the Merafong
City Local Municipality to assist,
help only arrived on Monday morning.
In addition to the stench, the
unhygienic conditions also left families
worrying about loved ones
who are already ill.
“I don’t know how this will affect
my husband, who is ill in bed.
It is even worse for the old lady in
the yard next to me. She is so sick
that the doctors want to put her
on dialysis, but she cannot even
get out of her yard because of the
sewage,” Patcha lamented.
She complained that, while
municipal workers did clean up
some yards after a similar leak in
November last year, not everyone
got assistance.
Her family and the above pensioners
were some of those who did
not.
Ms Judy Rossouw, a councillor
from the area, told the Herald on
Monday that she had been trying
in vain to get the municipality to
sort out the problem since Sunday.
By now, several yards in Uranium
and South streets were
flooded and sewage was streaming
down a section of Ada
Street.
On Tuesday, Rossouw had
even considered asking the Human
Rights Commission for urgent
intervention.
The Herald questioned the
Merfaong City Local Municipality
about the situation the same day.
“A blockage in the line at Onyx
Street has affected a much wider
area than just the two streets in
question.
The normal operating procedures
and equipment to unblock the
main sewerage line have, thus far,
proved ineffective and the municipality
has, therefore, had to hire
in an advanced Jet Vac machine
to unblock the drain. This was done
on Tuesday.
The municipality is aware of
the area that was affected and will
carry out an inspection to make
sure it is cleaned.
It is not possible to clean wet
sewage and the procedure is, therefore,
to disinfect and take care
of the smell. When the outfall is
dry, it forms a sludge that can be
raked up and disposed of,” a municipal
spokesperson said.