Sewage leak causes a stink in Sunninghill
Johannesburg Water calls on residents not to dispose of fats and other objects in the sewerage line.
Over the last month, Cholera in Gauteng has been a huge scare for residents. The latest outbreak can be traced from the first two cases reported by Gauteng Province on 5 February 2023. This is the case of two sisters from Diepsloot who had travelled together by bus to Malawi in January and returned on 30 January 2023.
Eventually, six more cases were confirmed in Johannesburg mainly in Diepsloot, and two cases in Ekurhuleni. The last public statement regarding the early cases was by the Department of Health on March 29, but this has not stopped Sunninghill residents from worrying as a sewerage burst near Chilli Lane Shopping Centre flowed straight into the Sandspruit River for about a week straight.
According to Linda Gildenhuys, chairman of the Sunninghill Community Ratepayers Association, the sewage has been flowing for almost a week before it was fixed, and it caused a huge health scare.
“The sewage had been flowing for over a week going straight into Sandspruit River, which was a huge health risk,” said Geldenhuys.
Upon resolving the issue, Johannesburg Water urged residents to refrain from disposing of fats into the sewerage line as according to their investigation the line is being affected by oily fats coming from residents and the local shopping centre in the area.
“Our investigations show that the root cause of the recurring blockages is fats on the line that are coming from the nearby shopping centre, where residents/people working at the shopping centre dispose of fats into the sewer lines. Johannesburg Water urges residents and business owners and employees to please refrain from disposing of fats and other foreign objects into the city’s infrastructure,” said Johannesburg Water’s communication officer Nolwazi Dhlamini.
According to Izark Petersen, CEO of Dipula Income Fund, the Chilli Lane Shopping Centre’s management has been struggling with the sewerage line as they are at the lowest point of the line. Petersen believes all the trouble that comes with the line gives them problems as the sewage flows downstream.
“Over the past few years, we have been complaining to the council about the line. The fact that we are at the lowest point of the line makes is seem as though the problem is being created by our tenants. We have strict rules and regulations when it comes to disposing of fat, all our restaurants at the centre are required to have fat trap systems, and there are health risk certificates that are audited regularly. Most times we are the ones who call for help when there is an issue as any problem in our community affects us. We urge everyone not to dispose of fat in the municipal line as this makes everyone’s job difficult,” said Petersen.
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