Confusion grows as it becomes increasingly difficult to determine the source of the sewage gushing from the storm water drain at the corner of Hunter Street and Oak Avenue in Ferndale.

The sewage has made the community unhappy for at least the past eight months, as smelly constantly runs down the road, generating a stink and causing severe damage to the road.

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Oak Avenue is covered in potholes that endanger motorists. On June 13, Nombuso Shabalala, spokesperson for Johannesburg Water (JW), confirmed that they are aware of the sewage issue. She said that, at that time, they had started the process of attending to the matter, and investigations were conducted. However, the team could not access the point at which the blockage is occurring, due to the fact that the customer connected a sewer overflow pipe into the storm water pipeline. They were investigating alternative ways to gain access to the blockage.
Four months later, sewage still runs down the streets in Ferndale. More questions were sent to JW, but they had not replied by the time of print. Their response will be published once made available.

Ward 99 councillor Hendrick Bodenstein said that the JW team was on site and will provide a way forward. “That’s not a plan; that’s a stalling tactic with punctuation. Right now, sewage is running through a storm water system, cutting under driveways and pouring into the streets of Ferndale. It’s a health hazard, an engineering failure, and a moral embarrassment. You can smell the dysfunction before you see it.”

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He added that this isn’t a water issue; it’s a wake-up call. “The city has forgotten how to co-ordinate its own departments. Johannesburg Roads Agency and JW need to be on the same site, at the same time, fixing the same drain, not forwarding each other emails.”

Resident Mark Knocker claimed that JW came on site in an attempt to fix the problem, but they did not stop the sewage from flowing out of the storm water drain. “This is a health hazard, and it has destroyed the tar surface at a busy intersection. There’s also the stench that comes from this section of road. The smell is unbearable; the potholes are difficult to navigate around.”

He added that it’s unthinkable how JW allows sewage to run in the streets they are responsible for. “There are churches, schools, and a busy shopping centre not far from where this sewage spills onto the street.”

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