Struisbult residents raise alarm over ongoing sewage crisis
Residents say overflowing sewage has become a persistent problem in the area and a health concern.
Struisbult residents have expressed their frustrations with the raw sewage in the area, which poses a health risk.
Nelie Smit told the Springs Advertise that even after reporting the collapsed sewer line, she received no assistance.
“I went to the municipality two weeks ago to report a sewer line that has collapsed in Struisbult.
“After they sent me from one office to another, they said that they will attend to it urgently. But since then the raw sewage is running down the streets of five manholes but still nothing has been done,” she said.
The affected areas include Malgas and Patrys streets, among others.
One of the residents who lives next to Malgas Street, Charles Vaughan, has a sewage leak in his yard. He shared how his wife had fallen ill.
“You can’t breathe here; we can’t even open our windows because the smell is so bad. My wife has started getting sick because of this and I have to take her to the hospital which is another expense,” he said.
He detailed how the pump station has not been working for months.
“We have been begging for more than a month and nothing is being done. The pump station hasn’t been working for months.
“A couple of months ago, they came to put a pump in and then they took it out again and it hasn’t been working,” he said.
Vaughan, who has been living in Struisbult for the last 26 years, said the issue has only worsened over the years.
“For the past six or seven years, we have been dealing with the same problem. I have asked them to just empty the main drains because they are all overflowing but that also didn’t happen.
“We are getting seriously sick, it is causing stomach problems. We are tired of this,” Vaughan said.
Tshepo Mtsweni added that the area has become a forgotten suburb as they are always complaining about service delivery matters.
Ward councillor Mike du Toit said he has reported the issue multiple times.
“In the last four years, I’ve lost count of the amount of times I have brought people down here; I’ve brought officials and we’ve looked at this and they are aware of this problem.
“They know, but they don’t have the resources to fix it. And it’s the council that is not giving them the sufficient resources to fix this problem,” he said.
Du Toit emphasised that the issue is beyond just a sewage problem and has become a health crisis
“It has to be tackled. It’s a very serious issue. Money has to be set aside to fix these pump stations and to fix the sewage lines.“It’s not healthy for the people who live here as well,” he said.
Comment was requested from the City of Ekurhuleni, which had not responded by the time of publication.
