Sewage spills again in Bryanston amid alleged Johannesburg Water inaction
A Bryanston manhole has become a recurring nightmare, flooding a resident's driveway with sewage and spilling into the Sandspruit River.
For the fourth time since August, raw sewage has erupted from a blocked manhole on the driveway of a home near 22 East River Road East, Bryanston, leaving residents angry, helpless, and worried about public health.
Resident Justin Kretzmar said he reported the issue to Johannesburg Water (JW) multiple times, with the latest reference number, JWAPP-40060470. Despite these reports, Kretzmar said the problem has been ignored or temporarily patched, only to resurface days later.
“After being away on holiday in August, I came home to a disgusting sewage spill in my driveway. It took a week for JW to respond and unblock it. Now it’s happening all over again,” Kretzmar said.
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Attached photos show sewage overflowing from the manhole in Kretzmar’s driveway, flowing down the pavement and into the stormwater system.
A second image shows a separate manhole located near the river path at the end of East River Road, gushing untreated effluent directly into the Sandspruit River, a tributary of the environmentally critical Jukskei River.
“Clearly, they didn’t unblock far enough down the line,” said Kretzmar.
“The manhole in my driveway overflows every morning and evening. The sewage from the other blocked manhole has been spilling into the river since Friday [September 26], and no one has come to fix it despite multiple calls. What’s worse, my reference numbers just keep getting closed.”
Kretzmar said JW initially responded swiftly in August but failed to follow up with proper cleaning or long-term repairs.
“It took a week for them to come and unblock in August; the spill was disgusting, and I’m still waiting for them to come with water jets to clean the road.
“It’s clear there’s a systemic failure. This isn’t just unpleasant, it’s a health hazard for my family and a threat to the environment,” he added.
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Ward 103 councillor Lynda Shackelford, who has been actively involved in escalating the issue, confirmed she has reported the matter several times and remains concerned about the lack of follow-ups by JW.
“East River Road East had a massive sewage spill of faeces all over the road in August,” Shackelford said.
“Joburg Water took forever to get there. Eventually, they came out and tried to clean it, but it didn’t work.
“They had to come again, but Justin ended up having to hose down the road himself, and the rest of the area still hasn’t been properly cleaned.
There’s confusion about the process as this is now recurring, and I’ve escalated this multiple times.”
The Sandton Chronicle reached out to JW for a comment, and the story will be updated once updates become available.
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