Overflowing sewage seems a never-ending problem for Mahube Valley family

A Mamelodi family has been living with the never-ending stench of raw sewage in at home for more than six years.

Homeowner, Dorah Mgijimi of Mahube Valley, Mamelodi East complained she and her family were forced to live with bacteria-infested sewage and wastewater that could cause them intestinal, lung, and other infections around their home every day.

Mgijimi said a sewerage connection in her yard started overflowing in 2018, flooding four houses in Mihloti Street.

She said the Tshwane metro came out to fix it but hardly three months later, started overflowing again.

She said around June she reported the problem again and pleaded with the metro to find a permanent solution, because she has lived with this filth now for years.

On Monday morning, the Mgijimi yard was flooded by sewage again.

Mgijimi said her two children swept the waste away to prevent it from getting into the house and causing damage to furniture.

“This time, the situation is very bad, much worse than the previous times.

We have complained before about damaged furniture, my neighbour’s too was damaged, since 2018. The metro has since promised to compensate us for the damage,” she said.

Mgijimi reported the overflowing sewage again on Monday and is still waiting for the repair team to arrive.

She said her children are now continuously coughing and she was not sure if it had something to do with the human waste in her yard.

“Other residents are worried for their health too,” she said.

Mgijimi said she could no longer go to work, but instead had to sweep off human waste from her yard or hire people to do it for her just for relief.

“Our health is at risk. We are worried that we and our children will get sick.”

She said the overflow has turned her life upside down and she no longer lives like a normal human being, because she can no longer host visitors or go to work.

She said she has done everything in her power to prevent the sewage from getting into her house, including building a brick and mortar barrier around the connection to divert the flow away.

Mgijimi said the spill was also causing tension between herself and neighbours. She said they insisted she buys detergent and cleans her yard to get rid of the stench, as if she was responsible for it.

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