A major sewer blockage and subsequent spillage on the pavement near Sydney Road next to Dalton Hostel is cause for concern for resident Chris Michell and has been described by the municipal health department as dire.
For Michell, who took photographs of the foul mess, the situation is disgusting and poses a health hazard. “Newspaper is obviously being used instead of toilet paper in some instances. The sewage is flowing into the gutters and running into storm water drains which flow into the harbour. This is polluting the water. If there is cholera in the sewage it will be able to survive in the salt water and if it gets into marine life consumed by humans like mussels, one can just imagine the outcome,” he said.
Michell said the manhole around the corner from this site also often overflowed.
“The stench in the area is disgusting. The municipality cleared the blockage just two days before I took photos. I am told that the sewage had been running out onto the pavement and into the street for about a week before the blockage was cleared. The fact remains that people seem to flush just about anything down toilets and do not care about the consequences or the environment. One just has to walk through the city streets of Durban to see how filthy they are. Many people fish in the harbour and are probably unaware of what is flowing into it,” he said.
He said he also feared that the situation could result in a hepatitis outbreak.
“It is very clear that Dalton Hostel is a problem. Apart from this issue the hostel appears to be very dirty. When I first came to Durban in the 1980s it was a beautiful clean city and it was a pleasure to walk around the streets and fish in the harbour. Now it is disgustingly filthy and nothing seems to be maintained any more,” he said.
Nicole Graham, the councillor representative in Ward 33 said she had contacted Peter Roberts who heads up the healthBerea Mail brought the issue to the attention of ward 33 councillor, Nicole Graham, who contacted Peter Roberts who is in charge of health issues in the area where the sewage spillage occurs. She said Roberts had conducted an investigation at Dalton Hostel and had described the situation as dire.
“He reported to me that there are just over 1 000 legal tenants and over a 500 illegal tenants and massive overcrowding. The infrastructure cannot accommodate the existing number of people. When toilet paper is provided, it is immediately removed from the ablution blocks for purposes unknown,” she said.
Graham said that D Block at Dalton Hostel had apparently been built on top of one of the sewer lines. She said this meant that if any blockages or plumbing issues occurred on this line it would be impossible to make the necessary repairs. She said it was difficult for the Vector Control Section to conduct rodent control at the hostel due to the overcrowding, internal structures and shacks and piles of refuse.
“Roberts said there is no access control and believes the Municipality has lost control of Dalton Hostel. The situation requires political intervention,” she said, adding that she would keep on eye on feedback regarding the situaion.
Vanessa Burger, independent community activist for human rights and social justice, said the living conditions for Dalton Hostel residents were appalling.
“This is a terrible indictment on the ANC’s so-called commitment to improving the lives of the poor and reversing apartheid’s legacy. Dalton Hostel has a more than 75 per cent unemployment rate – food is therefore more of a priority than toilet paper. Unfortunately, the complainant appears aware of only a tiny part of the broader collapse of our city’s infrastructure. Through lack of maintenance and corruption, our aging sewerage systems leak vast quantities of raw sewage daily into our rivers which, of course, lead ultimately into the harbour and sea,” she said.
Burger said this, together with uncontrolled emissions from chemical industries, had destroyed marine ecosystems up and down the coastline and turned the harbour into a toxic soup where research had shown that the remaining marine life is often stunted and deformed.
“As it is now obvious that our government, just like the former regime, has little regard for the environment or people, communities must work together on issues of common concern. I suggest the complainant visits Dalton to acquaint themselves with the severe socio-economic suffering imposed on the community and consider working with its leaders to establish environmental programmes that would be mutually beneficial. I’m sure they would be welcomed as the squalid conditions are enjoyed least of all by those who have no choice but to endure them,” she said.
