BONAERO Park residents’ ‘Poo Lake’ headaches could come to an end as the metro has allocated money for the project in the 2016/17 financial year.
Metro spokesman Themba Gadebe said the metro was aware of the challenges of the sewer line installed on Marignane Street to relieve the existing sewer line, which is currently conveying sewage.
He reacted to a statement issued by the DA mayoral candidate, Ghaleb Cachalia, in which Cachalia said the once pristine wetlands, sanctuary to birds and other animals in Bonaero Park, had become a cesspool of pollution after numerous and ongoing sewage spills had made this area a health risk.
According to Gadebe the physical assessment was done in May to check the number of defects in the sewer line. “The plan is to rectify the defects on the line with the budget allocated during the 2016/2017 financial year. The metro is busy with the assessment report in determining the method of rectification.
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“In the meantime, the metro will continue to have close monitoring systems on the sewer line to avoid sewer blockages and pollution into the dam, by unblocking and regular sweeping the line, Gadebe added.
Cachalia recently visited the site and said he was shocked at what he saw and smelt.
“The spills are the result of mismanagement by the metro over the past three years and despite numerous complaints and petitions the metro has done nothing to stop this catastrophe.
“Residents have been seeking answers since June 2013, when Tsekema Contractors were appointed to replace the old perforated leaking sewerage pipeline with a new one. Instead of drilling through a layer of hard rock when installing the new pipeline, the contractor simply laid the new infrastructure on top of this rock layer, resulting in the new pipeline not functioning properly,” Cachalia said.
Years later, sewage is still flowing into “Poo Lake” and the R2.9-million the metro spent on installing the faulty new pipeline has been wasted.
“Despite numerous promises by the metro and the water and sanitation department to fix the faulty line, and countless deadlines which have come and gone, the problem remains.
“How can the metro flaunt its Green Drop status when lakes, like this one, are overflowing with raw sewage? The ongoing spills have resulted in major contamination of the bird sanctuary and poses a serious health risk to the surrounding community,” Cachalia said.
