CONSTRUCTION of a new rising main sewer pipe along the green belt on Armstrong Avenue has been completed.

The R17m project included the placement of a gabion basket stormwater drain or check weir, which also helped secure the banks of the valley which the sewer pipe crosses.

According to the eThekwini Municipality, the project was funded by Derivco.

The project was initiated after the sewer rising main was washed away in 2022, leading to a sewage overflow.

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The overflow streamed into the green belt and a park adjacent to the wastewater pump station on Armstrong Avenue and then into the ocean at Saratoga Beach.

For several months, residents decried what they called an ‘environmental disaster’, with wastewater forming its own pond in the park on Armstrong Avenue.

Ward 35 councillor Bradley Singh welcomed the project, and said it would solve future problems.

“When the project was initiated the timeframe given for the completed work was March this year and that was successfully completed with no hiccups. This much-needed multi-million rand project will serve the ultimate goal of reducing the overflow of Armstrong Avenue sewage from flowing into the park and ultimately the ocean.

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“I’d fielded several complaints from residents who have had to deal with the stench, the negative effect on the environment, for several months. The City carried out patchwork jobs before this project began. This has also been designed in such a way that in the case of an emergency there is a secured catchment area and the rising main sewer pipe was secured properly,” he said.

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