Sewage leak affecting Centurion residents, river

Residents at an estate near the R21 highway are concerned about sewage leaking into the nearby river, while they live with the unbearable smell in their back garden.

The sewage is flowing from the back of the Rietvlei Heights Country Estate from a broken sewage pump.

The pumphouse’s doors are damaged, while the pumphouse is flooded with sewage from the estate.

From the pumphouse, the sewage flows down from the front of several households into the Sesmylspruit River.

The river has been a topic of concern recently, as protests last week about an upstream coal mine have raised concerns about the delicate ecosystem of the Rietvlei Nature Reserve.

The sewage enters the river as it exits the nature reserve, before joining the Olifantspruit River in Irene to become the Hennops River.

A resident, Sarike le Roux, who lives directly in front of the leak, said that the smell is unbearable, and is worried about her family’s health.

She said the matter was difficult to report because it was not technically on the property.

The manager of the estate told Rekord guards had to be stationed at the pump as the broken infrastructure left the pumphouse vulnerable to theft and vandalism.

The estate also erected a fence to stop people from entering the area, as the estate had previous incidents where pipes and fittings from the pump station were stolen, as well as motors and electrical cables.

The estate first noticed that the pump was leaking in May.

The estate manager at Rietvlei Heights said the two pumps no longer work after a straining system was clogged.

Since then, two visits from the metro’s plumber yielded no results. They were able to confirm to the estate that there was no longer a blockage, but that it was a motor problem.

The estate was told the matter would be escalated, and that the metro did not have the funds to address the matter immediately.

Ward 65 councillor Gert Visser said he was aware of the issue.

“The overflow of sewage into the Sesmylspruit due to a dysfunctional pump station is unacceptable,” he told Rekord.

“A realistic and sustainable plan of action is being put in place to prevent overflow of sewage into the Sesmylspruit.”

Another resident in the ward said he has had three large sewage leaks in his garden over the last two months.

Johan Pretorius said the main sewage line that runs past the back of his house has flooded his back garden, leaving sewage and other waste trapped in his yard.

“This is the third time in two months that it looks like this,” Pretorius told Rekord. The first leak was in early June, then July 16, with the latest over the last weekend of July.

He said he has reported the matter but has not received any feedback about it.

“I am worried about the stability of the wall too, the water lies there for days.

“Who must clean it up?”

Rekord sent an enquiry to the metro but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

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