Carlswald resident accuses North Life Estate of neglecting sewer leaks
Carlswald North Lifestyle Estate manager Denzil Pillay said the overflowing was on the kerb outside their estate and it appeared as if the problem stems from our estate.
An alleged constant sewer leak in Carlswald emanating from Carlswald North Lifestyle Estate (CNLE) has left one woman furious.
Vijay Moodley accuses the estate of neglecting the leaks and not reporting it to Johannesburg Water.
She contacted the paper on January 23 alleging that the leaks were a bi-monthly occurrence on Tamboti Road. Moodley said it’s been over three years, and the estate was not doing anything about it.
“The recurring sewer leaks stem from the estate. The leak is disgusting and always left unattended by the estate management. It’s so unhygienic and we jog on that road daily. On January 22, I drove on Tamboti Road to find the most awful leak and human waste all over the road. The leak extended down the road into the drain of the nearby complex,” said Moodley.
She said she was going to take this to the highest authority possible including the Human Rights Commission as the estate just does not care that other residents actually live on this road and use the road daily. Moodley added that the heat and the fact that the leaked sewer mess is not cleaned up or sanitised have dire consequences for the residents in this area.
“It seems that the legal route is the only one open to us, as we cannot run, walk, and take our children in prams on this road as the estate are a law unto themselves. The constant leak is also damaging the road and causing potholes. I have also reported this matter to the City of Johannesburg Health Department.”
However, estate manager Denzil Pillay said it is unfortunate how the complainant has described her attempt at getting assistance from CNLE.
“For the sake of clarity, the complainant only called my cell number once at 16:03 on January 22. At the time of the call, I was not available. The call came up as a missed call and no further attempts were made to contact me. My call log can easily verify this,” said Pillay.
He added that on the same day, their security company had logged a call with Joburg Water (JW) at around 14:05 about the blocked drain, and the reference number was received.
“With regards to this sewer drain, it is mainline on the municipal sewer infrastructure, which is coming down from the direction of Garden Road. Unfortunately, the drain that is overflowing is on the curb outside our estate and it may appear as if the problem stems from our estate. Our residents have been complaining, but as you are aware we cannot interfere with the municipal infrastructure. Our residents and others using this road must drive through the overflowing drain. This is a health risk.”
Pillay said as the blockage of the sewer has been an issue for some time and there doesn’t seem to be a solution coming from JW, they have asked Ward 112 councillor Lerato Mphefo to assist them in trying to find a long-term solution.
Joburg Water spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala said they were aware of the sewage leak. “However, the entity has no record of the leak occurring frequently as stated. According to our system, the leak has occurred four times in the past three months. Johannesburg Water has no record of the leak occurring twice a week. The blockage was cleared on Tuesday [January 23] using a jetting truck to systematically clean the line. And the entity will continue to monitor the situation,” concluded Shabalala.
Related articles: https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/news-headlines/2023/12/12/sewer-cause-headache-to-gac/
https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/news-headlines/2023/05/30/sewer-flood-property-in-vorna-valley-whenever-it-blogs/
