CoE has no money to fix old issues of Elandfontein

The CoE still lacks the funds to address the ongoing sewage problems that have existed for years in Elandfontein.

This comes after the city spokesperson, Zweli Dlamini, replied to media questions regarding the state of Dassie Street and the sewage difficulties.

GCN recently reported that residents were flooded with sewage and rainwater in Elandsfontein – a common scenario for the affected residents for the past few years.

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Dlamini said the city had addressed previous sewer problems caused by illegal electricity connections that affected the Hattingh Street Sewer pump station but does not have an approved budget for the Dassie Street sewage problem.

“We are investigating all avenues to seek temporary relief for the affected residents and to address the sewer blockage in Elandsfontein.

“The removal of the illegal dumpsite and the relocation of the informal settlement will assist in permanently resolving the situation,” said Dlamini.

He said the relevant department was informed of the sewer blockages caused by the illegal dumping in the vlei area. The matter is still receiving attention.

He also said the informal settlement in Elandsfontein was to blame for the area’s serious sewage problems.

“The illegal dumping activities in the vlei area disrupted some of the manholes, which caused rubble to fall into them, causing blockages. The city also suspects the pipe might have collapsed at some points, worsening the situation.

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“Some of the manholes are covered with rubble, and others are now under water, which makes it almost impossible to access them.

“The landfill activities also altered the outline of the stormwater attenuation pond and the vlei. This caused the flooding of the sewer system with rain and groundwater.”

The residents also raised concerns about the safety of the water flooding their properties.

Dlamini said the water quality workers will test various water samples for compliance with specified standards.

These samples get tested for specific biological or chemical parameters as listed in the various compliance standards.

“Flood water does not fall within the daily sampling or testing done by the water quality section.

“In the case of flooding, it might be of interest or importance for the health department to perform their testing to understand what pathogens or any other health risk-based pollutants are present in the polluted water.

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The same with the environmental department, which might want to know what pollutants are in the water that can or are damaging the ecosystems.

“The sampling and testing of such flooding is a completely different approach with a large unknown factor,” said Dlamini.

“All sampling and testing requires a reason for sampling, budget for sampling and testing and interpretation of the results with intervention plans from various stakeholders.

“If the water gets exposed to sewerage, it will be contaminated with sewerage, and the test will be positive. Why waste the money to test?”

Ward 92 Clr Kade Guerreiro said the city is dragging its feet, which will cost it more to attend to the situation.

“It seems like the city has no budget for anything. We are also sitting with the Woodmere sinkhole situation with no budget.

“I am glad the city said they are giving the situation attention, but what does that mean? We need to see action and people on the ground working.

“We have had officials in Elandsfontein promise they will address the matter, but we still have 60 to 70 trucks a day coming to illegally empty at the wetland.

“The entire ecosystem with the wetland is gone. Sizwe Secondary School has had two of their new classes flooded.
“The situation keeps worsening while the city uses the budget as an excuse,” said Guerreiro.