Sewerage system causes a stink
Patients of the Waterfall Clinic have had to endure months of sewerage stink and dust as the construction of a sewerage system has taken over eight months to complete.
THE construction of a new sewerage system at the Waterfall Clinic on Link Road, Waterfall has been left stagnant for months after it was initiated at the beginning of the year. According to Councillor Tex Collins of Ward 27 the sewerage system’s construction should have been completed eight months ago.
“There has been no activity for months. On Thursday (10 October) they drained the the sewerage system, which was overflowing and had one man working on the sewerage system with a single shovel. What can one man do with a shovel? This activity only occurred after a series of emails I sent complaining about the construction and the state of the sight,” said Cllr Collins.
“It is a simple job, but the government employs contractors that do not have the required skills. A previous contractor had to be removed as he could not fulfil his duty. It will now take an additional R200 000 to complete the project,” he added.
According to Cllr Collins the construction has caused various health risks and has inconvenienced patients at the clinic. A massive hole had to be dug in order to complete the installation and construction of the new sewerage system, which has blocked the front entrance of the clinic.
“The front entrance was built to provide patients with shelter, but due to the construction they are forced to wait in the sweltering sun or in the rain. In addition to that the patients have had to put up with dust and sewerage stink from the overflowing system,” said Cllr Collins.
Nick Vinton from the architecture department of eThekwini Municipality, responded in an email (Thursday 10 October) saying: “The current work for the sewerage system installation is being undertaken via an independent contract, and as with the main contract, the contractor’s performance has been less than satisfactory. We concur the current situation is not acceptable”.
Vinton also reported that the overflowing tanks were a result of an inability to access or empty the tanks given the state of construction and the state of the incomplete installation. With regards to the latter the system will ultimately be connected to a soak away system, to accommodate the overflow.
“Access and fencing is an issue and the contractor has been instructed to properly secure the site. This will be followed up and if necessary attended to by third party should the contractor fail to act immediately,” said Vinton in the email.
According to Cllr Collins only the reinforced steel rods which will support a concrete wall and slab to be constructed around the sewerage system have been placed in the hole since his visit to the site on Thursday.
“There was nobody on site and perceive this as very little progress. Additionally, the rods were placed vertically in the hole and are very dangerous, since there is no proper fencing around the construction site, and there is a children’s playground adjacent to the construction site. If a child were to fall in he or she would almost certainly be impaled by those rods,” said Cllr Collins.
