Palm Ridge residents live in a lake of raw sewage

For more than a decade, Olga Mathebula has had to live with a lake of sewage in her yard… and her repeated pleas to local authorities to fix the problem have fallen on deaf ears.

She and her family and tenants at the property in Anaboon Street in Palm Ridge Extension 4 on the East Rand, have had to deal with the persistent stench and fear they will pick up a disease.

“Half of my yard is dead, even the soil and the grass are no longer healthy. I have reported this numerous times but situation is still bad,” she said.

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Causing literal headaches

Her tenants had to endure not only the foul stench, but also health concerns arising from exposure to raw sewage.

A tenant, Frank Watch, who has been staying on the property for over three years, said the problem has been going on for some time.

He said they have had to collect used bricks to create a path to be able to move around the yard.

“The smell is unbearable and causes us to have headaches,” he said.

“The municipal workers only come once in a while to just check and then leave. Sewage pipes in this block are too small to carry all this waste.”

The situation is also dire for children. With the street often overflowing with sewage, playing outdoors has become hazardous, or even impossible.

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Another resident, Simon Gaba, said the whole street was affected “Our children can’t play freely. It’s heartbreaking to see them trapped indoors,” he said.

Mathebula said despite numerous attempts by municipal workers to fix the problem, it persists.

“They come, they dig and say it’s fixed. But then, after a while, it blocks again. Something must be wrong with the pipes,” she said.

Gaba added: “Councillors have come and left, yet the issue remains. We are tired of this problem and we no longer bother calling their office. We have come up with ways to deal with this like covering the sewage with soil or let it be,” he said.

Council refuses to comment

Ward councillor Ntombikayise Mahlangu said she has been advocating for a lasting solution.

She acknowledged the ongoing struggle and confirmed her persistent efforts to escalate the matter to the provincial water and sanitation department.

“The department came and fixed the blockage, but it became worse. It seems as if the water isn’t flowing. We are really affected by this situation,” she said.

“Walls seem to be built on top of pipes because there aren’t building plans at times when walls are built by residents. I have called the sewage department numerous times and I am still waiting for them to come.”

The Citizen contacted Kopano Khoane of the Ekurhuleni water and sanitation department, who said he could not comment, but he had dispatched a team to fix the problem.

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