A SEWAGE leak, which has persisted for over a year now, has not only left residents of Gardenia Park frustrated but has also caused illnesses and destroyed the succulent gardens, the chairperson of the body corporate told Northglen News last week.

Dr Seema Allopi said she has an arm’s length of reference numbers from the eThekwini Municipality, but the problem is yet to be fixed.

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“Each time I report the matter, someone comes out from the municipality, looks at the leak, then sends an inspector, but nothing happens. One of the City’s people who responded even told me that it’s not sewage, it’s water – when you can see it’s clearly waste matter, and it has a stench,” said Allopi.

She said the area’s ward councillor, Shontel de Boer, was aware of the matter and had also escalated the matter but to no avail.

The spill seems to be coming from somewhere above the complex. It flows down the wall and onto the driveway, all the way outside the premises.

“We drive over the sewage in our cars and walk through it when we go on morning and afternoon walks. That’s how we bring it into our homes, and it’s made a lot of families sick, including me and my son,” she said.

“If the City could locate the source, then we will know what to do next. This spill has killed all the succulents in the garden, and it is extremely unpleasant to have raw sewage at the entrance to the premises where you live. The stench is also disgusting, and it attracts flies,” added Allopi.

De Boer said the municipality’s Water and Sanitation Department have been very slow in responding to complaints brought to them.

“Despite reporting and escalating sewer issues, the department is slow to respond. The Sanitation Department have become ineffective, and it is frustrating as residents expect councillors to assist when they are not getting assistance. It is becoming more and more frustrating to escalate sewage problems to the department. Even the heads of the departments are not assisting,” she said.

The eThekwini Municipality did not comment at the time of going to press.

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