Hazyview community members sent video footage of raw sewage rushing through nearby farmland and saturating the ground.
The City of Mbombela Local Municipality’s (CMLM) spokesperson, Joseph Ngala said the business expansion not only blocked one of the municipal manholes on the bulk line, but also encroached on municipal property.
He added that the manhole ended up inside the property of the business after its expansion, and therefore the “spill could not be detected sooner when it started overflowing”.
Ngala said staff worked to unblock it on Friday and the pump “was in good working order and a pond has been constructed close to it in order to prevent raw sewage flowing into the river”.
“CMLM is also in the process of upgrading the Booster pump station to cater for the rapid growth of the town of Hazyview.”
At the time of going to press, Ngala had not responded to questions regarding what action would be taken against the business or which one was responsible for it happening.
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The Freedom Front Plus has said sewage flowing into the Sabie River tributary is not a new issue and that there have been previous incidents in Hazyview.
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