WATCH: Residents sick of persistent sewage spill

The residents of Freeway Park continue to endure the sewage stench because the metro is battling to repair the failing sewerage system located in the wetland on Terhon Road near the N17.
The pump station has for months been continually draining untreated sewage into the nearby stream, onto the green spaces, roads, and the yard of the nearby Scout hall in Zone Four.

The Boksburg Advertiser initially reported on the issue at the start of last month.
This journalist revisited the site on March 8 and found the pump station, brimful of raw sewage, still poisoning the environment.

The Advertiser asked the municipality for comment, and the metro blamed the situation on a faulty power supply cable to the pump station.
According to the metro spokesperson Zweli Dlamini, the city is considering the quote submitted for the installation of a new power supply cable to the pump station.

Dlamini pointed out that in an attempt to remedy the situation, in the meantime, a vacuum truck will control the level of the sump in the pump station.
However, dissatisfied residents alleged that the sump is pumped out erratically, hence, the station continues to overflow. Others claimed they spotted the truck emptying the sewage into the nearby stream.

Disgruntled residents complained that the overflowing sewage and sludge that have polluted the environment have left many residents sick and battling to breathe.

“Many people complained that they are blocked up. It has to be the sewage smell. My daughter had to see a neurologist in November because she had constant migraines, burning nostrils, chest problems and nausea,” said resident Vanessa Kilian.
The residents are threatening to institute legal action against the metro.

Hospital parking turned into sewage swamp
In another sewage spill, hawkers selling food outside the Tambo Memorial Hospital complained that, amidst the outbreak of cholera in the city, they have been subjected to a river of faecal material from an overflowing drain in the parking lot outside the health facility for weeks.

The Advertiser visited the area on March 09 and found the river of raw sewage from the damaged drain running down Railway Street before entering the stormwater drain – and polluting the waterways.

Joint service delivery meeting
Meanwhile, the residents of Freeway Park, Parkdene, Parkrand, Cinderella, Libradene, Farrar Park, Sunward Park and Elspark have organised a joint service delivery meeting to be held at the Girl Guides Hall on Southvale Road, Parkdene, on March 9 at 18:00.

Items on the agenda include sewage problems, prolonged power outages, the vandalism of infrastructure, the waste removal backlog, the poor maintenance of green spaces, roads, streetlights and traffic lights, and the lack of communication between authorities and the communities.

Also Read: WATCH: Impala Park residents plagued by a sewage spill