Sewage spill becomes unbearable for residents

TO be forced to live with an unbearable stench and sight has taken its toll on Escombe residents who have had to endure this for more than three months.

A resident who spoke to Queensburgh News, Louise Tholet, who resides in Le Long Place, said the pipe was first broken during last year’s floods.

“After many complaints and going back and forth, the pipe was finally fixed six months later. We also put up gabions to stop the bank from being eroded after our insurance paid out,” she said.

The breath of fresh air was shortlived for the residents as the floods in June caused more damages.

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She said what made it worse was that the municipal workers did not cover the pipe after fixing it. “It was broken, once again, in June, and the gabions have now shifted. It is so terrible that it looks like a whole manhole has been damaged.

“The amount of sewage, toilet paper and nappies is shocking. It has been three months now and nothing has been done – no one has even come out to assess the place – it as if no one cares,” she said with a sigh.

The Queensburgh resident said their home is a family home.

“We are now forced to stay indoors; we cannot go and sit outside to enjoy our lunch or dinner and we don’t have a dining room.”

According to Tholet, they are used to hosting people as they have a beautiful deck outside.

“We cannot do that anymore, but what makes it sad is that my grandchildren can no longer come and have a sleepover – we worry about their health.”

She said that they are now always sick and believe that this ongoing sewage flowing into the river behind their home is the cause of their illnesses.

Tholet appealed to the City to do something about this.

“We cannot live like this – it is just a sad situation. Where is all this sewage going? Surely it is not a good thing for attracting tourists to our beaches. Already our water has high E. coli levels,” she said.

Ward councillor Chris van der Berg said that although he has raised the issue and escalated it, the problem is that fixing that particular pipe would not fix the problem of sewage flowing into the river.

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“The City needs to get to the core of the problem – there are so many broken pipes along the Umbilo River. The main problem is that most of the pipes or infrastructure that was damaged by the floods has still not been fixed to date.

“These are all the issues and more that have led to the ratepayers’ association taking the municipality to court. As a municipality, they need to take a stand, address such issues and plan an action to resolve them. It is unfair that people are exposed to sewage and unbearable stench for months on end,” said Van der Berg.

eThekwini Municipality’s City spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said they have referred the matter to the relevant municipal department to investigate the validity of the issues and claims being raised.

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