Clifton Road residents complain about foul smell from temporary sewage pipe
“We were made aware of the sewage spillage, and at the time there was nothing that the department could do as there was still a power outage in the area.”
Lyttelton resident Kobus van Heerden is greeted by the stench of sewage day in and day out at his house.
Van Heerden said he has been reporting the sewage spillage for the past two weeks with no luck.
When Rekord visited him at his house in Clifton Avenue, we were greeted with a foul smell coming out of the temporary pipes that run the sewage to the manhole.
“I have lost count of how many times I have reported this matter. My concern is not so much for the running sewage and the smell, but the danger of another sinkhole forming,” he said.
Van Heerden said he had also communicated with the ward councillor in the area, David Farquharson.
“I sent him a message on WhatsApp last week Friday, but he just read it and didn’t respond. I guess he has grown tired of my complaints.”
David Farquharson acknowledged the complaint, saying he had taken the matter to the Department of Water and Sanitation.
Farquharson said the sewage pipes were damaged by the new sinkhole that had developed late last year.
“The sanitation department has installed a bypass system, including a pump to get the sewerage past the sinkhole,” said the councillor.
He attributed leakage and blockage of the system to the foreign objects that were being flushed down through the system, adding that the constant power cuts also contributed to the situation.
“The power problem has been resolved and I am expecting the bypass system to resume operating correctly.”
Farquharson told Rekord that he has been in constant contact with the sanitation department to ensure that the matter was being resolved quickly.
The municipality, through its water and sanitation department, acknowledged the sewage problem in Clifton Ave residents were suffering from.
It, however, blamed the problem on the power outages the area had experienced which resulted in the pumping machine not working properly.
“We were made aware of the sewage spillage. At the time there was nothing that the department could do as there was still a power outage in the area. We can, however, confirm that we have fixed the problem and the sewage is running smoothly,” the department said.
However, Van Heerden claimed that it has still not been fixed. and that the sewage had now been running into the veld for a full week.
Clifton residents’ sewage problem started when a 32m by 18m sinkhole developed in the front yard of a local residence last year.
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