HUTTEN HEIGHTS – Imagine sitting in your lounge, and all of a sudden a awful stench invades your home.
This is what a Hutten Heights resident, who wished to remain anonymous, encountered recently when a blocked sewerage pipe caused sewage to rise from his toilet, leaking all over his bathroom.
The resident said the drain outside his home had been leaking for at least two weeks, although he had reported it to the municipality more than once.
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“The municipality has sent people to my house, who attempted to blow out the pipes, but the sewage is still leaking.”
He said the stench was just too much to bear, and it was unhygienic and unhealthy for all residents in the area.
He claimed the municipality ascribed the problem to excessive rainfalls over the last few weeks.
Ward 4 Councillor, Bertie Meiring, said several other households in the street had reported overflowing drains and blocked sewerage pipes
His biggest concern was that residents resorted to alternative ways to stop sewage from flowing into their yards.
“This concerns me, because waste is now flowing in the street into the stormwater drains, which lead straight to our dams, and that creates a whole new problem. But what else must these residents do? They are tired of sewage waste water piling in their yards,” he claimed.
Mr Meiring believed the problem was exacerbated by the lack of maintenance of sewerage pipes, and that damaged pipes should be replaced.
Manager of Newcastle Municipality Customer Relations, Doctor Dumisani Thabethe said the municipality had investigated the complaint, and it seemed the recent heavy rainfalls were to blame.
“The blockage team indicated that between house number five and house number seven on Duiker Street is a massive tree and the roots of the tree are actually growing above the ground. So when the sewer line is blocked, the blockage is usually in the vicinity of this tree, which causes more problems.”
He said it was obvious the roots of the tree had damaged the pipes and caused the problem.
“To resolve this problem the tree will have to be cut down and the stump removed, but this is not the only constraint. There are also power cables as well as Telkom cables on the sidewalk that will have to be reported to the relevant departments before any rectification work can be undertaken.”
He explained the pipeline would have to be replaced between the two manholes, and this meant that all the driveways would have to be excavated and reinstated once the job was complete.
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This was a major undertaking, and would have to be decided by a higher level to employ a contractor to do the job, as the department did not have the capacity to undertake the pipeline replacement, he continued.
The Newcastle municipal communications department advised residents to follow the correct procedures when experiencing a sewage leak in their yard, in order for the problem to be addressed and dealt with efficiently.
Residents can lay a formal complaint either on the municipality’s website, or send an email to complaints@newcastle.gov.za.
Complaint forms can be completed at the Municipal building, on the first floor (rates and taxes department).
Alternatively, contact the water and sewage department on 086 014 4144.
