A persistent sewer leak in one of Fochville’s main streets, which has been reported countless times to the Merafong City Local Municipality, has infuriated business owners in the street.

In August the Herald reported that sewage had been leaking for months from the sidewalk in front of No.7 Loopspruit Avenue in Fochville. This is one of Fochville’s main roads as it is the main route towards Greenspark.

Businesses here say they are fed up because this sewer problem has been ongoing for a long time and no permanent solution has been found. According to reports municipal employees drive past the problem daily but seem to turn a blind eye.

The municipality did send workers to open the blocked line at the manhole from which the sewage flowed.

“It was okay just after they fixed it, but it began leaking again soon afterward,” says an employee of the business next to the leak, Poppy Maxolo. According to Maxolo she and other business owners have again contacted the municipality several times. Despite this, no one has come to their rescue.

Some business owners have even removed some rocks from the sewer line themselves. They suspect that people on an adjacent property might be throwing these into the manhole at this site.

“This is disgusting. It smells so bad that one cannot even eat at lunchtime. There are also businesses selling food in this area and people walk here all the time. It is not only an inconvenience, it is a health risk,” Maxolo lamented.

The Herald enquired about the problem with the municipality’s marketing and communications head, Temba Fezani.

According to Fezani, the municipality found that trucks sometimes drive over the manhole. This causes concrete particles to fall into it, which blocks the line.

“The business owner was advised on the alternative place to park or drive the trucks,” he says.