A massive sewage spill on Trezona Avenue on the island at Van Lil Street in Witpoortjie was left unattended for weeks despite numerous complaints lodged with Johannesburg Water (JW).

According to resident John O’Reilly, sewage overflows in this area are commonplace, and despite the frequency of incidents, the entity only applies temporary fixes every time it happens.

“I’m not sure what the cause is, but every time they come to clear one of the overflowing drains with their high-pressure equipment, it only pushes the blockage on to the next drain.

“All we can do is pester them every time one of the drains overflows to come and clear it.”

During the Roodepoort Record’s visit to the site on October 16, the stench of sewage was overwhelming.

A call from a resident on the same day informing the Record that a contractor from the entity had arrived on site to attend to the issue resulted in the planned article on the matter being abandoned, but another community tip-off a few days later prompted another site visit.

On arrival at the site, the Record discovered that a trench had been dug from the overflowing drain, diverting raw sewage into the stormwater drain.

The Record approached JW on October 26 and was informed by spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala that the work undertaken at the site was done by the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA).

“The issue is related to the stormwater drain, and not the sewer network,” she said.

“The island in Trezona Avenue forms the boundary between the City of Johannesburg and Mogale City. The stormwater is originating from the Mogale City side of the boundary and is flowing towards the affected area.”

The Record approached JRA, who undertook to escalate the incident to their regional team.

JRA responded on October 28, confirming that a joint site inspection had been carried out that morning between JW and JRA, where it was concluded that JW would attend to the sewer-line fault.

Shabalala said in her response to questions posed by the Record that a broken section of the sewer line was identified as the root cause of the blockage and that the entity is in the process of sourcing materials with which to replace the damaged section.

Shabalala denied that JW workers or contractors dug a trench to divert sewage into the stormwater inlet and insisted that the stormwater inlet was on the Mogale City side of Trezona Avenue.

She further stated that a jetting truck was deployed on a daily basis to manage the sewage overflow.

Shabalala acknowledged the frustration of residents who say there is constant disagreement between Mogale City’s water department and JW about who is responsible.

“The island on Trezona Avenue serves as the boundary line. In this instance, the sewer line located within the island falls under the ownership and responsibility of JW.”

The Record approached Mogale City spokesperson Adrian Amod for clarification on where exactly the boundary between Johannesburg Water and Mogale City lies, and whether the Mogale City storm water system did in fact affect the sewerage drain.

Amod acknowledged the allegations on November 10, and undertook to respond after consultations with the city’s water and sanitation department.

Watch the video here

@caxton.jhbwest Johannesburg Water denies having dug a trench which directed sewage from the overflowing drain into the storm water inlet across from a school in Witpoortjie. #fyp #johannesburgwater #sewage ♬ original sound – Caxton JHB West