Burst sewer pipe causes a stink
The Umbango River is polluted due to a damaged sewer pipe, after road works were carried out by a contractor.
The smell of sewage in Umbango, Port Shepstone CBD and Newtown is overwhelming. Since last Friday, the stench has affected everyone living or working in these areas.
Ugu District Municipality issued a warning of a damaged sewer pipe in Umbango last week.
“Residents are advised not to conduct any activities under the bridge at Umbango River due to a damaged 300mm sewer pipe during the bridge rehabilitation earthworks,” said Ugu.
Ray Nkonyeni Municipality (RNM) had also instructed the responsible contractor to carry out repairs as soon as possible.
All the necessary material was gathered to conduct repairs last Saturday. “Ugu teams ensured supervision when repairs were being conducted by the service provider and RNM,” said Ugu.
The Ward 18 councillor, Doug Rawlins, queried what course of action both municipalities had taken to resolve this issue.
Rawlins took to social media yesterday (Wednesday) and requested the help of the municipality. “The Umbango River is stinking terribly, and it is all over Oslo Beach, Newtown and Port Shepstone. Please investigate the cause of the problem urgently. Residents are up in arms.”
One businessman said it is appalling engineering. “How can you build a structure on a broken pipe that will simply undermine the integrity of the structure? How can you simply have a plastic pipe feeding sewage through a riverbend? This is designed to fail. There is clearly no supervising civil engineer in charge here.”
A resident said she was so disappointed in everything the municipalities are doing.
Ugu spokesperson, France Zama, said the Umbango sewer pipe (350 mm) was temporarily fixed after a contractor contracted by RNM to conduct road repairs damaged the sewer pipe.
“As it stands, the area superintendent is meeting with RNM officials to ensure works are conducted permanently. The municipality will also prioritise downstream sanitisation and odour control.”
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
