Another sewage nightmare

On Monday morning, the part of Potchefstroom Street next to the Piet Viljoen Park in Fochville looked more like a stream than a street. So much sewage flowed from a maintenance hole near Gars Street that the road was flooded from sidewalk to sidewalk in one place. Another service hole closer to Lucerne Street was also overflowing, while sewage or water leaked from another one at the corner.
Pedestrians on their way to and from Greenspark, for whom this route is the closest way to the Fochville CBD, were forced onto sidewalks and, in one place, even had to tip-toe over a “bridge” of bricks. All the sewage streamed downhill into the neglected Piet Viljoen Park, eventually ending up in the Loopspruit, the main river flowing through the Fochville area. So much sewage had leaked onto the street that the road surface was badly damaged.
Residents pleaded for help on social media, even asking private helpers to fix the potholes, which are so bad in places that no one can drive there.
According to a bystander, municipal workers were last at the site about two weeks ago. They reportedly blamed the sewage problems on private food businesses dumping their excess fat into the sewage system. The municipality had made this claim before when similar issues occurred at the site.
“If that is the case, why do they not get health inspectors to fine these businesses?” the bystander asked.
The Herald asked the municipality about the problems on Tuesday. “It’s a normal blockage that occurs now and then. The leaks have already been resolved and the municipal roads department is busy fixing the portholes,” the municipal spokesperson said on Tuesday.