Clr André du Plessis, of Ward 23, said sewage water is overflowing from the Goedeburg Bird Sanctuary, on the corner of Venus and Goud streets, into the Atlasville Spruit.
Water flows from the Atlasville Spruit into the Homestead Dam, Middle and Civic Lakes, Kleinfontein Dam, the Blesbok Spruit and the Vaal Dam,
Du Plessis said the leak was caused by a blocked and collapsed sewer line in Goedeburg more than three months ago.
The sewage spewed out of several sewer manholes due to the blockage.
Du Plessis said the pipeline has since been repaired, but the excess sewage is still lying in a large section of the Goedeburg Bird Sanctuary.
Du Plessis described the problem as an “ecological disaster” and said Ekurhuleni should have taken urgent action to prevent the flow of sewage into the Atlasville Spruit.
He is fearful of an E coli outbreak and has asked council to drain the water and rehabilitate both the bird sanctuary and the Atlasville Spruit.
Du Plessis said the issue must be sorted out before the first rains, which will contribute to the flow.
On top of possible diseases in the water, he said bird and frog life in the Goedeburg Bird Sanctuary is also at risk.
Clr Mary Goby, whose ward includes the Homestead Dam, said sewage water is already flowing into the Homestead Lake.
The councillor is very concerned by the flow into the dam, as many people use the body of water for recreational activities.
She was waiting for Ekurhuleni to conduct water tests in Homestead Dam’s inlet and outlet on Monday (September 8).
Goby is warning the public to stay away from the water until the test results have been released.
Ekurhuleni did not respond to questions sent to them on Wednesday, last week.
