Upper Highway conservancies tackle sewage issues

THE Mend-the-Molweni Project which was started to address the ongoing spillage of sewage into the streets of central Hillcrest has kicked off to a good start as the work to monitor the sewer lines in the CBD has been welcomed with positive reactions.

The project organisers say the sewage is a concern as it eventually finds its way into the stormwater system and subsequently into the Molweni River which flows from Hillcrest, through Everton, Kloof and Lower Molweni before joining the uMngeni River. This is a joint project of the Hillcrest, Everton and Kloof conservancies.

Kloof Conservancy chairman Paolo Candotti said it is quite understandable that residents are up in arms and very unhappy with the current situation, but the problem is complex.

Also read: Sewage spill becomes unbearable for residents

While the eThekwini Municipality is the ‘easy target’ to blame for the spillages, he said the most serious root cause of the problem is human behaviour.

According to Candotti, the causes can be grouped into two broad categories:

He said the first category is ensuring that the sewerage system works as it is designed, “that pumps and infrastructure are correctly maintained, and generators ‘kick in’ during load-shedding. The mandate for this lies clearly with the municipality.”

Candotti said the second category is to ensure that the sewerage system is used correctly.

“What we are finding is that equipment is failing and pipes and pumps are getting blocked by fats, oils and greases (FOG) as well as foreign solid items such as disposable nappies, wet wipes and rags.

“While the municipality has a responsibility to monitor compliance, the biggest responsibility for this category of problems lies with the users who put FOG and solid items into the system,” explained Candotti.

The project team has chosen to adopt a co-operative-engagement approach rather than a confrontational one with the municipality, and the team is working with the eThekwini Water and Sanitation Department (EWS) to address the ‘technical’ aspects.

Also read: Westville Ratepayers’ Association to tackle sewerage infrastructure issues

Significant progress has been made in this regard with quicker response times, provision of equipment where it was ‘missing’ and the servicing of generators (which the project team helped fund).

The team has also adopted the same co-operative-engagement approach with the users, and numerous meetings have been held (and more are scheduled) with shopping centre owners, centre managers and individual users of the sewer system.

“This is a mammoth task as there are over a hundred users of the system. The Compliance and Education sections of the EWS and the Health Department are assisting in this aspect of the project.”

In addition, Candotti said the team is also monitoring and recording spillage incidents so we have solid information on which of them to plan engagement and make decisions about. The project employed Hlengiwe Magwaza to monitor the sewer lines in the Hillcrest CBD.

Magwazwa walks the sewer line route from Heritage Market to Inanda Road/Old Main Road intersection on a daily basis – excluding weekends.

“The team has been very encouraged by the positive and welcoming reaction from both the EWS and the centre owners, managers and users. By working together, the prospects of finding lasting solutions have increased dramatically.

“Changing behaviour will take some time, so the team is committed to the intervention process through to the end of 2024, which will require funding as the three conservancies have limited resources,” he said.

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