For more than a month, Marais and her son has been living with the unbearable stench caused by the overflowing sewer.
According to Marais, she first reported the blocked drain to the metro on August 9, but nothing was done about.
She then reported it on August 22 and again on September 3, but the metro failed to come out to investigate.
The situation has been getting worse with the sewage not only overflowing from the manhole next to her house and flooding her yard, it is also bubbling up from Marais’ toilets.
The house’s foundation is also soaking wet as the sewage is bubbling up through the ground near her house as well.
“The stench is unbearable, we are sleeping in the lounge instead of the bedroom, as we can leave the patio doors open and get some fresh air. The smell is just too bad in our bedrooms,” said Marais last week.
On September 18, she phoned the metro again and this time the metro finally investigated the overflowing sewer.
The metro workers told Marais there was a big problem with the drain as all the drainpipes in the area seems to be blocked and ‘pops’ the main drain in front of her house. This can be seen as another drain close to her house is also overflowing, with the water running down the road.
“They also mentioned the pump in Welgedacht is broken and needs to be repaired,” she said.
Last Wednesday the ground level, which consists of a flat and workshops, flooded. Water were flowing from the drainpipe in the shower and Marais had to push gloves into the pipe to prevent the water from coming out.
“It helped, but I tried to get rid of the water myself, but there is still water everywhere,” she said distressed.
DA Councillor Ramesh Sheodin went to investigate the blocked drain on Friday and was shocked by what he found.
“It was a mess and I reported it to the sewage and water department immediately,” he said, adding the problem was resolved that same day.
“The metro team will clean up the area as soon as Marais is available for access to her property,” said metro spokesman Sam Modiba on Friday.
According to him, there was another blockage on the main outfall sewer line but it has since been resolved.
Modiba concluded they will do an inspection on this specific line to avoid future blockages.
