Blocked municipal drain turns pool into ‘septic tank’
A Westdene resident now deals with pool full of effluent
As the smell of sewage fills the air of his backyard, Dave Jones stands there, and describes it as ‘A concoction of effluent, and toilet paper.’
These are the sentiments the Westdene resident of 22 years has following a blocked municipal drain that gushed effluent onto his property. This issue dates back to about two weeks ago, when this blocked drain’s hazardous waste made its way not only onto his property but eight other houses found either along 3rd Avenue, where lives, and some of 4th Avenue. When the issue first started, it was at a smaller, though just as concerning, continuous degree. “When you call Joburg Water you end up spending a copious amount of time on hold which costs you an arm and leg.”
Jones did eventually get his reference number and the entity did come to his home to assess the problem but, according to him, they did very little. “They did clear out a drain but a few days later, it was clogged up again causing the same issue.” The matter came to a boil, however on June 15, when the sewage flowed so rampant, in his backyard eventually filling his pool. He and his family, spent the long weekend, not only dealing with the rank stench of effluent, but the health risk of having to clean everything themselves.
Based on the degree of sewage that filled his property he thinks that a hazmat team should have been the people to respond to this issue, based on all the health risks it carries. On a list of his many concerns is that the entity seems to just be doing patchwork and this shows through such issues. “This effluent has run all through people’s property, flooding storerooms, outbuildings and in my case also my swimming pool, which was a sparkling blue and it’s now practically a sewage pit. My entire garden is just affected by this.”
Jones believes some responsibility should be taken by the council, as why else do residents pay their rates and taxes? The pertinent question is what is the cause of this issue? Well, the answer seems to vary from neighbour to neighbour. Jones was allegedly told by an entity it was due to a collapsed drain, while another is said to have been told it was likely due to a build-up of debris and who knows what next may have been told.
When the paper asked Joburg Water the same question, in regard to this specific road, its communication officer, Nolwazi Dhlamini attributed the issue to foreign objects being thrown into the system, making it tough for the entity. This, coupled with the continual misuse and vandalism of infrastructure, “Sets the organisation back in terms of recurring blockages and infrastructure that constantly needs repairing.”
Having lived in the community for over two decades, Jones said this is a relatively new problem, having only picked up in the last four/five years.
Dhlamini explained that though the sewer infrastructure is still intact, she reiterated that the recurring blockages are caused by improper use and vandalism of infrastructure. She also said that if the sewer system is used properly, there should only be a six-month maintenance schedule for the associated infrastructure.
Be that as it may, one has to wonder, some might rightfully argue that if the entity did these six-month maintenances well, would residents like Jones be living with a pool filled with sewage? A cost for which he does not want to be liable but recognises he is now forced to. Having already spent a good measure of his long weekend bleaching his backyard. “The pool, however, is like a septic tank now, it will have to be drained, but I cannot do it now in case it rains again and the drains start overflowing again as they have.”
To this Joburg Water said, “As with any organisation, there are procedures that can be used for making claims.”
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