Sewage spillages in most parts of Ermelo, especially in Sun City Ext 32, 33 and in Wesselton, have caused headaches and discomfort to residents in these areas as they are literally living in the stench of their own sewage.
Mr Ifraim Siboza of Ext 32 has had an overflowing sewer in his yard for years and has resorted to digging trenches to channel the spillage away from his doorstep.
Mr Siboza said it has been three years since he began struggling with the municipality to come and fix the problem.
“I have made numerous calls to the call centre, asking for help and the answer is always the same, but they have never attended to the problem. When they do come by, they only inspect the place and promise to come back, which they never do,” said the visibly frustrated Siboza.
He is concerned about the health of his family, as he has a child who, he says, is constantly sick as a result of the sewage.
Mr Siboza’s sentiments were echoed by his neighbours, most of whom have also dug trenches in their yards to redirect the overflow.
Residents of Klipbou Section Mpanza Street are facing the same problem.
A municipal employee in the technical section, speaking on condition of anonymity, said in some instances the municipality is not to be blamed, as some of the cases are man-made.
“Many people use the municipal manholes as a dumping site. Whenever we unblock these drains, we find foreign objects such as rocks, plastic buckets, blankets, dead animals and foetuses, which are clearly thrown in by the very community,” said the source.
The source further explained that they are doing all they can with the limited resources available to them. When asked how many cases they attend to, the source said they normally attend to more than 170 calls per month.
Themba Khoza from the Department of Water and Sanitation pleaded with communities to play their role in the upkeep of the systems and to refrain from dumping foreign objects into sewer systems. He also said municipalities need to play their part in ensuring that sewerage plants and systems are well maintained.
He warned that sewer spillages negatively affect the quality of the town’s limited water resources.
Sewage spillages are a serious health and environmental hazard and pose a serious threat to the environment through pollution, especially of water resources in terms of quality.
Msukaligwa municipal spokesman Mr Mandla Zwane extended the municipality’s unconditional apology to the Siboza family and any other family who have been inconvenienced by the chronic sewer spillage in and around the area.
He said the municipality appointed Rand Water to do a study on the sewer spillage, among others. The study indicates that the budget for this problem needs to be augmented as it had a shortfall.
The municipality has since started the processes of sourcing funds from the provincial and national government.
Mr Zwane echoed Mr Khoza’s observation that foreign objects being dumped in the sewerage system exacerbate the problem and that residents should desist from this practice.
“We further appeal to residents to report a spillage of sewage or water to the municipal customer care centre for a speedy response and resolving the problem,” said Mr Zwane.
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