Residents of 2nd Street in Orange Grove have been living with an ongoing sewage nightmare since last November.
A persistent leak from the building’s pipes continues to affect tenants’ homes and daily lives. Rowan Aronstam, from the Yambo Yembo residential complex, described the situation as frustrating and unpredictable. “One week the sewage is running, the next it’s fine. It’s been going on for months.”
Read more: Raw sewage spills into Orange Grove homes and park
The leak has even forced a first-floor tenant to vacate their unit after raw sewage began flooding the shower.
The impact on families has been severe. Children are unable to play outside, and parents are left with no choice but to relocate when their living spaces become uninhabitable. Tenants report that, despite repeated repair attempts, the problem resurfaces after just a few weeks, leaving them in a constant cycle of frustration.
Local authorities are aware of the problem. Councillor Eleanor Huggett highlighted the severity of the situation.
Also read: JRA and Johannesburg Water are aware of Illovo’s 10-year-old leak
“The sewage is pouring down the road, and residents are literally driving through it. Worse, it’s running into people’s homes. This has been ongoing since November. The infrastructure is so broken it needs to be completely replaced. Residents are living in sewage.”
Johannesburg Water officials were on site shortly after Huggett and a Rosebank Killarney Gazette journalist left, but residents remain concerned that meaningful, long-term repairs may take time.
For families on 2nd Street the problem is more than just inconvenient; it’s a daily health hazard. As the weeks stretch on, residents hope that authorities will prioritise replacing the ageing infrastructure before more homes are affected.
Johannesburg Water was asked for further comment and we will publish it as soon as it is received.
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