Sewage spillage is a recurring problem for White River’s Maluti Street
Despite workers being sent to repair it, another three months down the line, the same problem occurs at a different point on the street.
The City of Mbombela (CoM) is finding itself in dire straits for failing to stop sewage streaming into Maluti Street.Residents of Extension 6 are now demanding a permanent solution to the foul-smelling health hazard after months of complaints and poor attempts of workers to address the problem.
According to a resident in the area, every three months the sewage line gets blocked and contents spill into Maluti Street. Despite workers being sent to repair it, another three months down the line, the same problem occurs at a different point on the street.
One of the residents, who wanted to remain anonymous, told Lowvelder that he had been living in the area for 10 years, and this same problem has been recurring for the past three years. “I have asked the municipality to fix the problem permanently, because every three months we have to deal with stench from the sewer spillages, and it’s not fair, because I pay my services on time,” they said.
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Another resident, Deliwe Nkosi, said the sewer spillage is getting out of hand. She maintained that the residents had been complaining about the constant spillage, but that their complaints have been falling on deaf ears. “I believe that the system is deteriorating due to ageing, and that the municipality should have replaced the line before it got where it is now. They keep on spending lots of money trying to fix this endless problem, instead of installing a new pipeline that will function well. My problem is that sometimes the spillages come into my yard and we are forced to inhale the smell in the house where my kids are,” she said.
Ward councillor Rowan Torr said the White River sewer network is in a terrible state. He said the CoM water and sanitation department has to be continuously reminded to improve the infrastructure. “The municipal manager, Wiseman Khumalo is aware about this problem. The council needs to spend and prioritise their infrastructure budget to sort out this problem. They keep pleading poverty,” he said.
The spokesperson for CoM, Joseph Ngala, was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.
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