A leaking water pipe is one thing and the issue comes up regularly, however a blocked and overflowing sewerage drain is a “hole” other problem.
On the outskirts of Del Judor facing the quarry, residents of the area have reported two open manholes in the open field. According to Louis Steyn a concerned resident these covers have been missing for several months. He also explained that in the beginning of the year the drain became blocked and the field was flooded with raw sewerage. The smell was apparently so strong that people living three or fourth streets away could smell the strong odour.
The drain has since been unblocked and the sewerage water has dried up, but the manholes are still open and may easily become blocked again when the rainy season starts.
On July 27 a woman woke up to a bad smell and when she went outside at 08:30 she found a river of sewerage running down her road in Ben Fleur. She has also apparently reported the issue to the municipality.
With the idea of watching raw sewerage from our bedroom window still fresh in our minds following the sewerage incident in Old Coronation the municipality is apparently trying to clamp down on these issues.
The main issue is the health issues raised when talking about exposed raw sewerage. There is a chance raw sewerage can contain bacteria such as E.coli, which comes from the small intestine and can cause diarrhoea among other more serious conditions. The blue drop and green drop evaluations that were done by the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) in 2012 is an extensive and thorough evaluation of all the systems that ultimately bring water to our homes and take sewerage away. It should be noted that the eMalahleni municipality does not hold green drop status which signifies the efficient treatment of sewerage.
