Sewer stench poses health risks to Craigavon family
The mother of three lives a horrific lifestyle with asthma because of sewage leaks that have not been repaired for eight weeks.
A young mother who requested to remain anonymous due to fear of public interrogation described her life as ‘a living hell’ and it is all thanks to the sewage that has been leaking for the past eight weeks. She has been going from pillar to post trying to get the pipe burst at the end of Perm Road in Craigavon fixed because the sewage flows near her house.
She said the sewage started leaking on June 26, and informed the municipal officials who reportedly only came twice to the area without touching anything. She reported the problem again, on July 3, 14, 19, 24, and 31 with no success.
“They never fixed anything – they came in, looked at the river and said they needed to go across the river to start with the repairs of the leak. We even had our security take them across the river, just across where I live. They would go and promise to return but never did since. I am so desperate. I have been fighting this all by myself because I am more affected.”
The young mother and one of her children both live with asthma. She told Fourways Review that is the same reason she is fighting so hard for the sewage to get fixed because the stench causes more harm to their health.
“It is unbearable. The stench at night is so bad that you need to put Vicks under your nose. We have constant headaches and asthma attacks, and what is worse is that we cannot invite friends over or enjoy our garden at all. It stinks; I had to give my four-year-old asthma medication at night since the sewage spill.
“I have three kids. I can’t keep them locked inside the house every day; if they play outside, they play 8m from the raw sewage running past. I am tired and have exhausted every avenue.”
She said as a result, she thought about moving from her house to live in another area. “The problem is that no one would buy here. The smell is horrible, and I believe it would be very negligent not to be transparent [to the customers] about the sewage leaks.”
The City of Joburg media liaison, Nolwazi Dhlamini, said, “I have forwarded your query to the relevant department and will share the feedback as soon as I get a response.”
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