Raw sewage has been seen entering watercourses around Christiaan de Wet Road and flowing through greenbelts towards Sjampanje bridge, Peter Road and Cypress Road, with several additional discharge points identified as pollution continues.

The Roodepoort Northsider first reported on the river pollution on August 10, following complaints from residents about a persistent sewage smell and visibly polluted water towards Cypress Road.

This followed an earlier report on July 2, when Johannesburg Water (JW) confirmed that a damaged sewer pipeline near the Sjampanje Street Bridge was contributing to pollution in the river system by spilling raw sewage into it.

JW said flooding and riverbed scour had affected the pipeline, while water testing recorded consistently elevated E. coli levels, indicating sewage contamination.

JW later confirmed that the damaged pipeline at Sjampanje had been repaired on July 25 as an interim measure. A new manhole was constructed to connect an existing steel pipe with an asbestos cement pipe to stop the leak.

The utility said the sewage spill had affected the river downstream and that it would monitor the system to establish whether pollution remained. At the time, JW said no other sources of contamination were under investigation and that follow-up water-quality testing would be conducted.

New discharge points identified

Since then, resident Armand van der Merwe has dedicated his time and traced sections of the river upstream to find the main source of the contamination, identifying further sewage discharge points.

He said one was found on the slip road from Christiaan de Wet Road towards Hendrik Potgieter Drive, where a blocked drain next to a stormwater gully was overflowing with sewage.

“The first time was a blocked drain,” Van der Merwe said. “The second time was grey sewage found about 400m away from a broken 200mm plastic sewage pipe running parallel with the river and spilling sewage into it.”

“You cannot miss the sewage in the river as it is visible from Christiaan de Wet Road to Two Rivers,” Van der Merwe said. He also reported another sewage leak near Christiaan de Wet Road on Wednesday, September 2, after a leak at a business park on Hendrik Potgieter Drive had been repaired. Sewage already in the stormwater system was reportedly continuing towards the greenbelt.

A blocked manhole near Hendrik Potgieter Drive was also reported during the week of August 30. Van der Merwe said sewage from it was entering the Little Falls River, which joins the river system near Sjampanje Bridge.

Ongoing pollution and odour

Several blockages have since been attended to, including the blocked drain and the broken 200mm pipe, which required an excavator. However, Van der Merwe said the Cypress Road section remains polluted and smells strongly.

The broken sewer pipe behind the church was ruled out as the main source of contamination after it was replaced with a steel pipe following a failed PVC pipe fix attempt. No sewage can be seen entering the stream from that point, but the foul odour and greenish colour remain in the water that continues to flow through the area to join other streams downstream.

The Northsider sent a media enquiry to the Johannesburg Water media team on August 28 at 13:24, requesting comment by Thursday, September 3 at 09:00. The enquiry requested comment on the additional sewage discharge points, their sources, stormwater incidents, the church pipe, follow-up water-quality testing, other known leaks or overflows and planned interventions. At the time of publication, no response had been received except for the steel pipe installed behind the church on Florin Road.

A follow-up email has been sent to the Randburg/Roodepoort regional manager Langutani Chauke and the Hamberg depot manager Kobus Beukes on Monday, September 7 and it will be published once it has been received.