Locals put up with horrible stench from Swartspruit
The Swartspruit River had been found to have spills coming into the wetland system giving off a terrible smell for residents.
Residents of Edleen have said that they are living with an unbearable stench emanating from the Swartspruit River.
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According to Tobias Verwey, he and fellow residents started to notice the foul odour around February 15.
“I first wrote to the City of Ekurhuleni on March 8.
“At that point, residents had been subjected to unbearable living conditions for three weeks already.
“Many residents came forward on a WhatsApp group chats to testify to the smell from the spruit. Some even had to go to the clinic to get their health checked,” said Verwey.
According to the frustrated resident, it began to get worse when the contractors working on CR Swart Drive started using water from the Swartspruit to settle the dust on the road.
“We spoke to the contractors and were told that sewer lines on the corner of CR Swart Drive and Green Avenue had burst and that water was going into the Swartspruit River.
“We also received information that the smell was caused by a sewage spill into the river from further upstream,” Verwey said.
He added that he had received no response from officials on what was going to be done to stop pollution in the river.
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The Swartspruit River runs from Rhodesfield through Edleen, Van Riebeeck Park, crosses Pretoria Road into Glen Marais and then flows into the Rietvlei Dam in Pretoria.
Verwey said there were numerous factors at play when it came to the Swartspruit River and residents had run out of ways to get assistance from the city.
He said residents were falling ill and could not understand why the city could not intervene.
“This is not the first time the Swartspruit River smells like this. This issue always comes back to bite the residents.
“After residents spoke to the project manager they stopped spraying the water and it was a bit better, however, some residents downstream have said the smell is still unbearable.”
Verwey added that the issue was so unbearable for some that they are considering selling their properties and moving away.
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The Express sent an enquiry regarding the condition of the Swartspruit River to the City of Ekurhuleni for comment.
Spokesperson for the City Zweli Dlamini acknowledged the receipt of the enquiry but stated that the matter would need to be thoroughly investigated.
The city requested additional time to provide comment on the matter as it would be able to meet the March 20 deadline for comment.
“We endeavour to conduct a full investigation into the matter and report back to the community once investigations are completed.”
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