Glenwood sewage leak a health hazard

THE spokesperson for the eThekwini Municipality, Msawakhe Mayisela, appealed to residents to do their part to prevent sewage blockages. This was after sewage streamed down Cato Road in Glenwood on Monday, September 12.

“The City will never win the war against clogging of manholes unless residents change their behaviour. Over 70% of manholes that are clogged are because of alien objects disposed of in our systems, and these incidents are no exception. We attend to such leaks on numerous occasions, and as soon we turn our backs, we go back to square one,” said Mayisela.

According to Mayisela, common objects found in the sewer include newspapers, tampons, condoms, diapers and oil. He added that teams will be dispatched to investigate the Cato Road leak.

Ward 33 councillor Sakhile Mngadi reported that the recent leak was one of several in an ongoing sewer problem. Mngadi told Berea Mail that the first sewage leak on the road caused a stink in February – several more leaks have followed.

“The sewage leak comes and goes every month. The last sewage leak was in August at the corner of Cato Road and Helen Joseph Road, near an abandoned house. The City unclogged the sewer. At the site of the leak, long strands of paper or some kind of debris are visible. Someone is clearly clogging the sewer line. This is the only area where there are leaks like this,” said Mngadi.

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“The only thing you can throw into a toilet is toilet paper. You can’t flush anything like tampons or non-biodegradable paper or newspaper,” added Mngadi.

A resident who wanted to remain anonymous reported that the issue first cropped up a year ago.

“Apart from this being a health hazard, it’s now a road-safety issue because the manhole lid is off the road so there is a gaping hole there. It’s an accident waiting to happen – it’s not a well-lit road, and there are no cones. If you are a motorist driving at night, who knows what will happen? Residents in the area have to drive over the sewage stream every day. We have children who use this road and pedestrians walking by,” said the resident.

Broader environmental issues

For Mngadi, lengthy turnaround times for sewage leaks to be fixed indicate a bigger issue with environmental impacts.

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“I think there’s a sewer crisis in the City. It’s been reported that 80% of the waste in the City goes into our rivers because of broken-down or old infrastructure that has not been maintained. I think this is a symptom of that. I think the sewage unit is overwhelmed, which is why it takes so long for them to get to these smaller leaks,” said Mngadi.

Mngadi believes that sewage leaks, like the Cato Road leak, impact on E. coli levels in local rivers and coastal water, which then lead to beach closures.

“Just this morning (September 13), health officials at the Umbilo River canal were conducting tests because black water was seen in the canal over the past two days. It’s linked to the same thing; that’s why the beaches have been closed due to high E. coli levels,” said Mngadi.

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