Sewage spill frustrates Westville community
The community said this has been an ongoing problem which started at the time of the floods in April last year.
THE Westville community has appealed for urgent assistance for what they have described as an ecological disaster.
The management at the Westville Country Club said they have been forced to cancel the eco-trails, which have been a firm favourite for more than a month now, due to the revolting overflowing sewage.
Ed Pieret, Westville Country Club chairman said the sewage is polluting the banks and the river/stream at the Westville Country Club, specifically around the area where where the eco-trails take place.
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“The sewer flows non-stop into a river. It passes the residential homes and flows straight to the Chesterville area. It is frustrating enough that we have to walk through it, what about the children in Chesterville who play in the water and sometimes use the water for drinking, cooking and bathing?” he asked.
“This is concerning as the community can end up with illnesses such as diarrhoea and cholera among others,” added Pieret.
Pieret said due to the sewer the community is struggling to access the eco-trails.
“The eco-trails are used by birders, mountain bikers, residents and it’s also a great outing for school children,” he said.
Lisa Nourse, Westville Country Club manager, said what is happening is so disappointing as it has taken them years of work doing alien invasive eradication and work in the eco-trails to get the river ecosystem back.
Nourse said the problem started at the time of the floods in April last year where blockages and pipe failures in the sewer system resulted in raw sewage running out of broken pipes and overflowing manholes into the adjacent stream and across the trails.
“The municipality was called in after several weeks but did not to come up with a solution. Local residents, Stefan Conrads and Grant Rowe, with the help of Westville Country Club consulted engineers, they also supplied labour and materials, all at their own cost,” she said.
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“The large ‘temporary’ pipes were connected between the open broken end and the closest manhole. This temporary ‘fix’ functioned well and the trails were opened up again until recently when sewage began seeping out of the ground in the bank below the Jimmy Bellows field,” said Nourse.
The Westville Conservancy said they have also tried to seek assistance as the walking and running trails are monitored by them.
PR councillor, Sanelisiwe Chebure said this has been a recurring issue and an environmental and health issue.
“I have raised this with the department ’s senior management on numerous occasions but the city has no sense of urgency as the time frame the city takes to resolve issues does not speak to the urgency these issues require. The residents and ratepayers are fed up of the City’s constant excuses and no regard for human rights.
“We are still sitting with sewer issues that emanated from the April floods of 2022, we still await the city to attend to these to this day,” she said.
The eThekwini Municipality did not comment at the time of going to print.
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