Three months of overflowing sewage sludge ‘makes life hard’

The smell and sludge from a blocked sewerage drain has created an unpleasant situation for a resident in Booysens, Yvonne Small, for the past three months.

“I reported this problem three months back. I received a reference number from the Tshwane metro every time I called, but nothing has been done about the drain.”

Small explained that people had come out to look at the problem and try to fix the drain, but they were unsuccessful in their attempts. “They told me the problem was the Tshwane metro’s and that they were the ones who had to fix it. The other people that came out said that there was a problem with a main pipe that had burst, but they could not fix it because they did not have the right machine.”

She explained that she felt disappointed by the service delivery of the Tshwane metro because life was difficult for her with the horrible smell and sludge.

Small mentioned that she had to keep her toilet pipe open because if she closed it, the toilet began to overflow. She told Rekord that she could not even cook because of the smell, since one of the drains was close to the kitchen.

Small has three drains in her yard and all three overflow so heavily that the steel lids on the drains lift up. It is a problem for her because she has dogs and the continual sewage sludge that runs into her yard means they live in an extremely unhygienic environment that poses a health hazard.

Attempts to solicit comment from the Tshwane metro about Small’s problem were futile at the time of going to print.

Small’s neighbour has also been struggling for weeks to get the Tshwane metro to fix his leaking meter box. Her neighbour said that he is afraid that the water being wasted will be charged to his account.

“The Tshwane metro is so quick to come cut our water, but never quick to attend to their people’s problems,” Small said angrily.