Centurion plagued by sewage leaks and overflowing manholes
Residents are frustrated with the metro's slow response time to address these issues.
In recent weeks, residents in Centurion have been facing a growing crisis with sewage leaks and pipe bursts, and overflowing manholes across the area.
The situation has left many grappling with health hazards, environmental concerns, and frustration over slow reaction times from the metro, which they believe are the root causes of the worsening problem.
Ward 69 Councillor Cindy Billson highlighted the alarming frequency of sewage-related incidents in Centurion.
Billson said the issue stems largely from ageing infrastructure that needs to be properly maintained or replaced.
She noted that plans to replace sewer lines were proposed as far back as 2016, but delays and budgetary hiccups have stalled progress.
“It should have happened already, but there was a hiccup somewhere. My issue is mainly the reaction time of the city on this and especially the clean-up,” she said.
Adding to the problem, Billson explained that there are illegal connections to sewer lines that exacerbate blockages, particularly during heavy rainfall.
She referred to multiple incidents across Centurion, including ongoing sewage leaks at the corner of Shirley Road and Frederik Avenue and Hyde Avenue and Janet Road.
“In one complex with 34 units, residents were forced to endure sewage spills close to their homes.
“There is a lady who stays at this complex that has a baby less than six months old, and this is a serious health concern,” Billson said.
Other areas, including Olievenhoutbosch, are also suffering sewage problems.
Billson described conditions in Olievenhoutbosch as particularly dire.
“The conditions in Olievenhoutbosch are extremely bad.”
The crisis is not only an inconvenience but also a major public health hazard. On Old Johannesburg Road, near a taxi holding spot, a sewage spill has made it hard for security personnel to patrol the area.
One of the affected areas is Eldoraigne Ext. 3, where resident Brian Williams described a months-long ordeal with a sewage spill near his neighbour’s property on Willem Road.
Williams said he first reported the issue to the municipality on January 7, but two weeks passed with no action.
After escalating the complaint to the ward councillor, the blockage was eventually cleared three weeks later, but the clean-up of the spill itself was neglected.
“The spill created two huge dams, and now with the dry weather, the dams have dried up and left a 3-5cm layer of raw sewage sludge on the pavement,” Williams said.
He added that the horrific smell lingers, worsening with even the slightest breeze.
“The lack of urgency in addressing the clean-up has left us feeling abandoned and exposed to unsanitary conditions.”
Similarly, at Flaho Complex on Cradock Avenue, resident Le-Toyah Jensen detailed her frustrations after a sewer pipe burst in the complex on January 19.
She said inspectors initially responded but halted their work while awaiting additional approvals, leaving the issue unresolved for days.
“It wasn’t until January 27 that the metro teams began addressing the burst pipe.
“This has been a stressful issue because we are directly affected,” Jensen said.
She explained how the sewage spill had disrupted their daily lives, and her children and pets were exposed to toxic waste.
“My pets are dirtying the inside of the house because they can’t run outside in the sewage.
“My son, who is 11 years old, had to mop the floors because the animals have been tracking sewage water inside,” Jensen added.
In Olievenhoutbosch Ext. 36, resident Thabang Makhubu described the dire conditions caused by a sewage overflow in the area.
“The sewage was flowing into the streets and the smell was unbearable,” Makhubu said.
“Teams from the metro came to fix the problem, but the delay in addressing it is the real problem,” he added.
Makhubu emphasised that while the community appreciated the metro’s effort to fix these issues, the slow response times are leaving residents frustrated and exposed to increasingly hazardous conditions.
The Tshwane metro is yet to respond to Rekord’s enquiries about this matter.
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