Phalaborwa residents fed up with sewage in backyard
According to Annie Louw, a homeowner, sewage has been flowing from the manhole for the last five years.
Residents in Soetdoring Street in Phalaborwa are sick and tired of the stink that comes from a manhole overflowing with sewage. “A few years ago, we could braai outside in the garden, but we the unbearable smell from the manhole has made it now impossible. Most residents in the area are constantly sick, we contract flu easily and have constant headaches because of the polluted smell in the air.” Louw further said the municipality states it is not able to help them.
When she bought her house in 1999, there were the occasional hippo and many birds around the stream in Soetdoring. Now, with sewage flowing down the stream, the wildlife has stopped coming to the area because of the contaminated stream. She said a popular restaurant nearby was forced to close down its doors because the smell was so appalling that customers stopped supporting it.
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According to DA Clr Sybrandt de Beer, the stream flows to the Tutsi River in the Kruger National Park, then to the Selati River joining the Olifant River. “I have been reporting this matter to the water manager at Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality, Gift Huligani and nothing has been done the resolve the issue.
“I suspect it to be an infrastructure problem because it can’t be that hard to fix a manhole with a capable technical team,” he said. The Herald sent the photos of the manhole to the spokesman of Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality, Jonas Mahesu. He replied that he will report the matter to the relevant people. At the time of print, no further comment was received from Mahesu.
