Khabazela Village residents fed-up with sewage leaks

RESIDENTS of Khabazela Village are having to deal with yet another sewage leak, the fourth in the last month in the township situated a few kilometres away from Sunningdale. Residents and the community leader have taken drastic action to address the leaks by digging channels in the sand, where possible, to direct the raw sewage away from the road and in some places pedestrian footpaths.

The newest sewage leak on Bheki Makhathini Road has residents concerned for their health. Sto Ndlovu, whose house is a few metres away from two sewage leaks says she is fed-up that no action is being taken.

“There two sewage leaks are within metres of each other and my house. The smell is overpowering and cooking and cleaning is a nightmare because the smell often wafts through my home despite me closing all the windows and doors. The first was flowing into a wetland near Queen Nandi Drive, I’m not sure what caused the leak to subside but once it did, one of the manhole covers on Bheki Makhathini Road began overflowing and the sewage has flooded a footpath used by residents and school children on a daily basis.

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“My neighbour has had to put wire fencing around his home because people were walking through his garden to avoid the dirty water. I’ve reported both problems to the eThekwini Municipality but they have not come and I’m very concerned for my children and I. In the past the City have fixed the leak only for it to re-occur three days later. We are not sure what to do any more,” Ndlovu said.

Another resident, Ayanda Nsibande, said he too was concerned for the school children who use the foot path flooded with raw sewage.

“The flow has been continually running down the road now and everyone is concerned for their health because of the smell and the fact that the waste water covers the width of the footpath. There is also a resident who has chickens and they often wade through the waste water and who forage through the contaminated ground. We would like the Municipality to intervene because we cannot live under conditions like this,” Nsibande said.

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